Leading high-street retailer Zara has apologised after it sold a striped T-shirt with a yellow star which bore a striking resemblance to the uniforms worn by concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust.
Zara has removed the T-shirt – which had a six-point star on the left breast - from its website on Wednesday.
The garment had been available in the UK.
A spokesman for the Spanish brand said on Twitter: “We honestly apologise. It was inspired by the sheriff’s stars from the classic Western films and is no longer in our stores.”
The garment, priced at £10.99, for children aged three months to three-years, was condemned by Jewish community groups.
A spokesman for the World Jewish Congress described the design as “reminiscent of the Holocaust.
“The Zara version sported horizontal rather than vertical stripes – however the shirt bore a large yellow star in the exact place where Nazis forced Jews to wear the star of David,” he said.
Jon Benjamin, the former Board of Deputies chief executive, tweeted: “Made in Turkey, but just thoughtless and no quality control at Zara. Shows a lack of education and awareness.”
This is not the first time the brand has come under fire. In 2007, the brand withdrew a line of handbags – adorned with swastikas – from its UK stores.
