‘Holocoste’ sweatshirt taken down by Ukrainian Jewish group
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Mira Fox December 17, 2021
Thousands of stores sell knockoff brand merchandise. But one decided to take it a step further by bringing antisemitism into it with a “Holocoste” sweatshirt, featuring a crocodile like the Lacoste brand’s logo.
Elina Katz, a program coordinator for Project Kesher in Ukraine, noticed the sweatshirt for sale on a major e-commerce site called Prom, the Ukrainian equivalent of Amazon, and posted screenshots of it in a group chat with other Project Kesher leaders.
“Holocoste” sweatshirt Image by Screenshot courtesy of Project Kesher
“It’s very stupid humor,” said Vlada Nedak, the executive director of Project Kesher Ukraine, when we spoke over Zoom. “It’s not even humor, it’s some kind of antisemitism.”
So, Project Kesher, which works to advocate for women, the Jewish community and minority groups, in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, and Israeli Russian-speaking communities, sprang into action.
Ukraine passed an antisemitism law in 2021 that makes “antisemitism and its manifestations” illegal, so the women composed a letter to the site explaining that it could be subject to fines for selling the sweatshirt. Nedak said that only two hours later, they received a response saying the site was taking down the sweatshirt and apologizing profusely.
“Our lawyer said to me, ‘Two hours, it’s too long. They should answer you in less than 30 minutes,’” recalled Nedak, laughing. “The next time I will know this better.”
Though the sweatshirt will no longer be for sale, it was designed by a Russian company, and Project Kesher Ukraine reached out to colleagues at their Russian wing to try to shut down the Russian-based distributor.
Nadek said she saw the sweatshirt, and their success at removing it, as a lesson for how to address antisemitism in the future. Often, she said she saw antisemitism addressed in formal letters from chief rabbis or reports that were produced and read only by Jewish organizations, meaning the message rarely left a small bubble.
This instance, she hoped, would reach a wider audience. “It’s not the picture, it’s what we can influence, what we can demand from our society,” she said. “It’s an example how to struggle against not just antisemitism but online hate.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
