HOUSTON – It's the season for ugly holiday sweaters, and apparently controversial ones too. Nordstrom was recently criticized for a sweater that some say is offensive to Jews.
According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency news site, the retailer pulled a women's Hanukkah sweater from its stores and website because it propagates negative stereotypes of Jewish women.
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The blue sweater has a menorah and the words, "Chai maintenance" and "Hanukkah J.A.P.," which stands for Jewish American Princess. It appears that the sweater is no longer available on the Nordstrom website, but a version without the "J.A.P" reference is being sold on Amazon.
Many people expressed their opinions about the sweater on Nordstrom's Facebook page.
One person wrote: " Cute and kitschy is one thing but perpetuating negative stereotypes as supposedly cute or fun holiday wear is disgusting. I expect more of a large-end retailer such as Nordstrom. Especially when the version for men is just cute, why is the version for women derogatory?"
The men's sweater had "Mazel Tov!" knitted at the top. The website indicates that the product is no longer available.
Nordstrom has since apologized:
"We made a mistake by not looking more closely at the words on the sweater before we posted it had we done so, we wouldn't have offered it. As soon as we heard from customers, we removed it from our site right away. We're terribly sorry for offending people and sincerely apologize."
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