Nashville hat shop apologizes for selling yellow Jewish stars that read ‘Not Vaccinated’
HatWRKS in Nashville.
(JTA) — A Nashville hat shop apologized for selling yellow star patches opposing coronavirus vaccination policies after Stetson said it was pulling its products from the store.
HatWRKS last week posted on its Instagram account a photo of an unnamed woman, apparently the shop’s owner, wearing a yellow Star of David that read “Not Vaccinated.” During the Holocaust Nazis forced Jews to wear the same type of stars with the word “Jude,” or “Jewish.”
“5$ each…strong adhesive back,” the Instagram post said. “We’ll be offering trucker caps soon.”
NASHVILLE — Hatworks is literally selling Jewish stars that say “Not Vaccinated” — out here making MTG look tame
hatwrks@gmail.com (615) 678-5690 pic.twitter.com/11fN9eS5gX
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) May 28, 2021
The post led to outrage including a protest last week outside the store.
“Using the yellow star, or any Holocaust imagery for anything is a disservice to the memory of the 6 million Jews who were systematically murdered during the Holocaust,” Rabbi Laurie Rice of Congregation Micah in Brentwood, Tennessee, told News 4, a local NBC affiliate.
Stetson, the famous hat maker, took notice and said on Twitter Saturday night “Stetson and our distribution partners will cease the sale of all Stetson products” to hatWRKS.
The shop removed the post and apologized. “In NO WAY did I intend to trivialize the Star of David or disrespect what happened to millions of people,” the Instagram account said, hours after Stetson posted its decision.
The post Nashville hat shop apologizes for selling yellow Jewish stars that read ‘Not Vaccinated’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
