Many media typically run segments on major Jewish holidays for their viewers. Children lighting candles. Young boys wearing yarmulkes. Matzah. Shofars. Dreidels, dreidels, dreidels.
When Chicago’s WGN aired a report on Yom Kippur Sept. 22, it used an available image of a Jewish star to honor the Day of Atonement. Now WGN is atoning for its sins of inattention and self-admitted ignorance.
We don’t know who was responsible for approving the graphic — a badge shaped like the Star of David bearing the word “Jude”and set above concentration-uniform stripes — as an appropriate symbol for Yom Kippur. But whether that person was 25 or 65, his abysmal dearth of knowledge is astonishing.
The anchor who read the story on air apologized, saying “we apparently used a symbol that is extremely offensive to the Jewish community.” Only to the Jewish community? Therein lies the ignorance.
Due to a resurgence of interest in the Civil War, many Americans might be able to distinguish between Union (blue) and Confederate (gray) uniforms. How could dehumanizing Nazi symbols be less familiar?
The station immediately received numerous complaints via Twitter, Buzzfeed and other forms of social media. The next day, WGN responded:“Regrettably, we failed to recognize that the image was an offensive Nazi symbol . . . Ignorance is not an excuse.”
Still, why didn’t one person in the WGN news studio yell, “Take that off!” as the image blared across the screen? Did no one catch the error in real time? If so, this is truly frightening.
Misspelled names and incorrect dates happen in our business. But WGN’s ignorance transcends typos. It represents the ultimate in neglect. Jews won’t forget the Holocaust — but many more non-Jews than Jews died at the hands of the Nazis. “Remember!” is for everyone.
Copyright © 2015 by the Intermountain Jewish News
