Chicago TV Station Wishes Jews Happy Yom Kippur with Nazi Emblem

[Stuart G]

Source: Talking Points Memo

A Chicago television news station made a truly unfortunate art choice to accompany a segment on the Jewish High Holidays on Wednesday: the yellow Star of David that Jews were legally required to wear during the Holocaust.

The stock photo was first flagged by a Chicago editor, who posted a screenshot of the WGN news broadcast online.

In a statement posted online, the station said the picture came from its image bank, and they "failed to recognize that the image was an offensive Nazi symbol."

"We are extremely embarrassed and we deeply apologize to our viewers and to the Jewish community for this mistake," the WGN statement said. "Ignorance is not an excuse."




Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/wgn-yom-kippur-nazi-badge

---

Stupidity has no limits..No, you cannot make this up. This was during the news, and the idiots there do not have any idea about the history of the news...

Oh, WGN TV, Channel 9..for your information. So called "independent station" owned by the Tribune Broadcasting subsidiary of Tribune Media. .For those who do not know, Yom Kippur is the most holy day of the year for Jewish people all over the world. This is an incredible insult...

Like posting a picture of the informant on Jesus who was responsible for his crucification. And that picture is a tribute to Jesus on the most holy day of the entire year. Just the picture of the informant, nothing else.. A stupid moment on live television that will go down in history..

[Sam_Fields]

1. I just don't think this was an accident

Maybe I'm a conspiracy theorist, but I think someone slipped that in on purpose.

[Stuart G]

2. Would not be surprised

Last edited Wed Sep 23, 2015, 04:11 PM - Edit history (1)

[Gidney N Cloyd]

9. Of course it was an accident.

[appalachiablue]

34. This was intentional, not a mistake. For shame these racist, bigoted media people.

The TV station image is identical to the official Nazi Yellow Badge for Jews.




~ Nazi Holocaust Yellow Badge for Jews in Germany, Alsace, Bohemia and Moravia ~



Source: Jewish Virtual Library, 'Holocaust Badges',
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/badges.html

[appalachiablue]

39. A Jewish man wearing the yellow star walks along a street in Nazi Germany.

[appalachiablue]

83. Does anyone think this was an accident? L- Striped prison clothing with the Nazi yellow star

emblem worn by Jewish inmates and slave laborers in Nazi concentration camps in 1940,

AND R- a striped shirt made in 2014, with a Yellow Star sold by the international clothing company Zara. After protest the company claimed the yellow star was emulating Old Western US sheriff and lawmen badges. Sure...

Look again at the identical 'Jude' Yellow Star on the striped cloth selected by the Chicago TV station for Yom Kippur wishes.

[yardwork]

68. I have trouble believing that was an accident.

Lots of sneaky anti Semitism around, unfortunately.

[Behind the Aegis]

86. I am willilng to entertain the idea of an accident because of profound ignorance.

But, I also agree, "Lots of sneaky anti Semitism around", more so than many would even admit.

[uhnope]

52. oh come on. Some idiot looked for a Star of David image and accidentally used this one

Probably an intern or something. Never underestimate the stupidity of interns.

[yeoman6987]

77. I don't even think the news needs to mention the day

It's better to report on news that is going on in the community. A religious holiday can be celebrated within the temples.

[oberliner]

3. You also don't wish people a "Happy Yom Kippur"

But I guess that's the least of the problems here.

[ColesCountyDem]

38. "May you have an easy fast" is appropriate, I think. n/t

[oberliner]

41. That was what President Obama tweeted

Barack ObamaVerified account ‏@BarackObama 5h5 hours ago
"Michelle and I extend our wishes for an easy fast to all those observing Yom Kippur." —President Obama

[murielm99]

65. Because I don't know that,

and because I am unsure about the appropriate image, I would ask, respectfully. I have friends who are observant Jews. I would ask them. Don't tell me there are no observant Jews at the TV station, who could suggest the correct words and images!

Was this intentional? Who knows? Someone should be fired.

[yardwork]

71. One would think a news station would have access to researchers.

[still_one]

42. Exactly. This was intentional by somebody

[yardwork]

69. Tends to reinforce my feeling that this was intentional.

[restorefreedom]

94. exactly

just another sign of how m$m is more interested in getting their ratings than in getting it right.

i mean, an intern could not take 2 minutes and read the wiki entry on yom kippur?

sad.

[packman]

4. Stupid or crazy?

?t=8

[marym625]

5. if it was the morning news with robin and gang

I have no problem believing they're clueless. Because, they're always clueless. It's a damn comedy show and each one is the straight man

[Stuart G]

6. This one will be seen all over the world..

WGN will become the laughing stock of all TV news...make a certain politician named Trump look intelligent and completely serious..

[marym625]

8. good. They need serious anchors, news and behind the scenes stuff

The current bunch sucks

[Gidney N Cloyd]

14. The web site says it was last night.

[marym625]

16. interesting

Then, perhaps, the entire newsroom staff should be looked at

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

7. Happy Yom Kippur, everybody!!

[marym625]

12. WOW

Just, wow!

[SusanaMontana41]

21. Oh my Fucking god. n/t

[irisblue]

27. wow, just wow

[arcane1]

33. Good lord, not only was it the symbol, but it's ON STRIPED CLOTHING!

[SusanaMontana41]

36. Mmm mmm.

An apology just won't cut it.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

46. It's not something I ever expected to see on US local news.

I still can't fathom the ignorance at hand that allowed that to be broadcast.

[Holly Merry]

58. Some Americans are foreign born

And not all are from countries with Holocaust education.

.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

63. The entire news staff?

[wordpix]

59. no---is that photoshopped or what was used in the broadcast?

unbelievably stupid if the latter was a "mistake."

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

64. No that was the actual broadcast.

[wordpix]

95. crazy! No one thought to ask, "What does 'Jude' on the star mean?"

I mean, even if you're so uneducated as to not know, wouldn't you ask?

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

10. What they said: "we failed to recognize that the image was an offensive Nazi symbol."

What they meant: "We're sorry we didn't pay attention to history in middle school, and consequently aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, but we mean well!"

[marym625]

13. par for the course with this crew

[oberliner]

28. That is crazy

I'd like to know who actually signed off on that image and hear what that person has to say.

[SusanaMontana41]

37. "We failed to recognize that the image was an offensive Nazi symbol"?

Too bad they didn't have a 10-year-old editor on the payroll.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

43. Obviously the editor (no disrespect) is under 30.

And I say that as a 60 year old that would LOVE to be under 30!

[SusanaMontana41]

67. I was thinking the opposite.

Too bad a 10-year-old wasn't on the payroll!


(And right on, Chica! I'm not far behind if we're counting years … let's not do that. The numbers mean nothing, but you knew that.)

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

75. How many US adults are NOT smarter than a 5th grader?

[SusanaMontana41]

89. ZING! You're on a roll!

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

91. You may be on to something!

[SusanaMontana41]

93. Elmer, shouldn't you

be hunting wabbits?


Shh. Be very quiwet.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

90. Well, you know how people lie on the internets

I could be 92, with a good grasp of technology and no arthritis!

Sorry I'm late, but I just now noticed your last comment!

[beam me up scottie]

11. O. M. G.

Just when you think you've seen everything.

[Stuart G]

15. That is exactly what I thought. How stupid can they be?

Well...pretty stupid I guess.
About as stupid and insensitive as one can imagine. I would have thought nobody is that stupid..

[Skittles]

44. SCHEDULING STUART G. FOR ASS KICKING

for thinking there is a limit to stupidity

I WILL MAKE YOU THINK OTHERWISE

[jberryhill]

54. No limit?

Is that just on DU, or everywhere?

[Skittles]

60. there is stupidity EVERYWHERE

and yes, I see examples on DU daily - for example, people who think there's really nothing that can be done about American's gun problem - THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS!!!

[jberryhill]

61. So that's just the way it is?

[Skittles]

62. LOL - EXACTLY

that's the way IDIOTS think, because they are unable to recognize there's a PROBLEM - jeez, they're like ADDICTS

omg that movie reminds me of one of my favorite actors from back in the day - Terry-Thomas

[nichomachus]

17. Oh, come on

These images are selected by some 20-year-old intern from an image library. it's not stupidity as much as ignorance. The kid saw the star of David and thought it matched the story. Most kids today, unless they're Jewish, have no idea about the Holocaust.

Besides anyone at the station who would have put the kibosh on it was at Temple marking Yom Kippur.

[7962]

20. Any student who doesnt know that symbol went to a shitty school.

I dont care how old you are

[nichomachus]

32. Not true -- not true at all

Don't imagine that they know what you know.

I taught college in the '90s. I used the Nazis as examples of pure evil, as professors are wont to do. After a few classes, one of the students, actually one of the best students in the class, put her hand up and said, "I don't mean to be rude, but we don't know who the Nazis were and why they were so bad."

Needless to say, I was floored. I had no idea how to answer that. But it certainly woke me up.

[7962]

53. Well, today I'd have to agree with post #45

Especially today. I would think at least they would have heard of Nazis even though it may be from one of the stupid references people make to them!

[yardwork]

73. Where is this college?

[leftynyc]

96. Really?

College students didn't know who we fought in WWII? Do you mind telling us which state has this pathetic excuse for a college?

[Skittles]

45. GOOGLING IS VERY HARD FOR 20-YEAR -OLDS

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY HARD TO VERIFY ON THE INTERNET

jeez, he probably could have done it from his phone

[yardwork]

72. I disagree. I know lots of kids in their 20s and they probably know more about the Holocaust

than I do. It is taught in school, in more detail than when I was in school.

Personally, I suspect that this was done on purpose.

[Behind the Aegis]

87. Well...then there is this...

Holocaust -- knowledge of and denial

It is shocking to see how little people actually know. I don't expect people to know as much as I do (I know quite a bit), but some of the basics seem to be missing from some people's knowledge. Knowledge of the Holocaust is called "Jewish history" not "World history."

[Gormy Cuss]

82. I'm sorry but "kids today" who have no clue about the Holocaust shouldn't be working news.

That's a level of ignorance that is incompatible with journalism --- or at least, it used to be.

[radicalliberal]

18. The dumbing down of America continues. n/t

[tabasco]

79. And accelerates.

The people who started this country were united in their belief that good education and an educated electorate were vital to democracy. Nearly 240 years later, our education is failing and so is our democracy.

[radicalliberal]

92. Yep.

[Matariki]

19. "happy" Yom Kippur?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

23. Yeah, a little like "Happy Memorial Day"

And, to both, I'd say "thanks", assuming the wisher meant well.

[Matariki]

24. Yeah, but a news station has the luxury of time to Google

before saying dumb shit

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

26. Ah, that's true.

In my neck of the woods, there are plenty of folks who wish each other "Happy Ramadan" when that Muslim month rolls around. It always seemed odd to me, since Christians don't generally wish each other "Happy Lent".

I'm sure the TV station has gotten plenty of feedback, from viewers and employees.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

47. It's much better to just say

"I hear it's Ramadan. I'm sorry I'm so ignorant, but do you mind explaining it to me?"

Or better yet, google it.

[CanonRay]

22. Holy S***

How stupid can you get. This is a prime example of how low our media has sunk.

[geardaddy]

25. I hate Illinois Nazis

[appalachiablue]

49. +10.

[yardwork]

74. Thread winner.

[douggg]

29. On prison stripe cloth.

Smooth move, Ex-Lax.

[Holly Merry]

30. you can guess how it happened

"Not the candlestick, thats for Jewish Christmas"

"What then?"

"When in doubt use the blue and white triangle star"

"Heres a triangle star on blue and white stripes"

"Use it"

It could have been worse.

It could have been a crucifix. "Isnt it Jewish Easter? Because Jesus was a Jew, right?"

You have to spend a little time in a community college to really understand.

[gopiscrap]

66. Welcome to DU

[Timmy5835]

31. You have to understand......

It's mostly kids that work in television newsrooms today. Experienced journalists left broadcast news long ago. The pay is too poor and the corporate owners are not interested in quality just filling the space between the commericals. So basically uneducated children are preparing your nightly news every night.

[Holly Merry]

35. Uneducated children with BAs

Anyone who watches the news should sort of get that this symbol is different from the rest. You dont see it in holiday displays. You dont see it on greeting cards. You dont see It in stories about Jewish holidays or the Jewish community.

Could some kid have confused Yom Kippur with. Yom Hashoah? That at least makes some sense.

[Holly Merry]

40. Yom HaShoah is Holocaust Remembrance Day

Remembrance and atonement have in common mourning, sorrow and regret. They are similar and thus easily confused. Both days begin with "yom". You can see how a kid who isnt a dumbass might think this was Holocaust Remembrance Day and :that the patch was an appropriate symbol.

Just trying to be charitable.

Didnt journalist Thomas Freidman say long ago that Holocaust awareness and aupoort for the modern state of Israel were replacing religious Judaism for a younger generstion? There can be factors beyond stupidity in cultural illiteracy.

[jmowreader]

48. I wouldn't have known either, and I went to a decent-enough school

They taught us the Jews were ordered to wear yellow badges, but we never saw what they actually looked like.

In Chicago, you'd think a television station would have at least one Jewish person on staff who WOULD know this was a Nazi symbol.

[Holly Merry]

56. or an older person

I didnt have a lot of Holocaust education, but I learned the basics, and it was drilled into us that if we forgot it could happen again. Probably from movies and magazine photos I recognised the patch and stripes and the German word.

[taught_me_patience]

50. I understand the mistake. I wouldn't have known

Some kid in the backroom was probably rushing and didn't have a chance to double check.

[Codeine]

76. How could you not know?

This is basic, basic history. Low level stuff. Grade school, ferfuxsake.

[tabasco]

80. Read more

is all I can say to you.

[taught_me_patience]

85. I'll pass

I know plenty about the Holocaust. I don't need to know the details of what people wore during an even that happened 70-80 years ago. If you need to know what color shoes confederate soldiers wore in 1862, have at it... I'm moving on with life.

[randome]

81. I think most people would not have known, either.

It's bizarre the way so many are eager to point fingers. Just waiting in the wings for the opportunity, I suppose.

Not everyone spent their school time studying Jewish history.

That being said, you would think most publications -TV or otherwise- would actually consult with someone of the Jewish faith before putting something like this on the airwaves.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[LiberalElite]

51. Boy, if there were ever an example of

ignorance being no excuse this is it.

[jberryhill]

55. Well look at the bright side...

This puts the lie to all that "Jews control the media" conspiracy crap.

[SeattleVet]

57. Someone was even more clueless than the Balducci's employee

that did this several years ago:

[yardwork]

70. I suggest that you add the actual broadcast photo to the OP.

Seeing the actual image that they broadcast is highly informative. It's hard to believe that that was a mistake..

[appalachiablue]

84. I second that, it would be very helpful. Thanks.

[tabasco]

78. This would be an inexcusable mistake for a small city TV station

For a huge operation like WGN, it's unfathomable.

[BigDemVoter]

88. Oops.

SOMEBODY is dumb.