JERUSALEM (JTA) — The international clothing chain Zara apologized for selling a blue-and-white-striped shirt with a six-pointed yellow star on the chest.
The shirt, for toddler boys, is identified on the Zara Israel website as a “striped sheriff t-shirt,” but Israelis on social media have called it everything from poor taste to anti-Semitic.
The yellow star has the word sheriff cut out in small letters.
The company has removed the stock from its warehouses and plans to destroy it, according to the Israeli business daily Globes. The shirt also was available on Zara’s French, Albanian and Swedish websites.
“We express our sincere apologies for any hurt to our customers’ feelings,” the company said in a statement.
The shirt remained on the Zara Israel Internet site as of early Wednesday afternoon.
In September 2007, Zara removed a handbag with embroidered swastikas. The handbags were manufactured in India and inspired by commonly used Hindu symbols, which include the swastika.
In 2009, the Spanish retailer removed Christmas trees from the windows of its stores in Israel following complaints from customers.
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