Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., January 17, 2008 Shvat 10, 5768 | | Israel Time: 17:25 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

A Web site shows a shirt with yellow Star of David used to liken treatment of smokers in Germany to that of Nazi-era Jews. (AP) Last update - 15:02 12/01/2008 German Jews enraged as group likens smoking ban to Nazi rule By The Associated Press Tags: Central Council of Jews  FRANKFURT - A T-shirt using a yellow Star of David to liken the treatment of smokers in Germany to that of Jews during Nazi rule has angered German Jews. Earlier this week, after several German states introduced sweeping bans on smoking in restaurants and bars, an events planner called DMP started offering the T-shirt for sale on its Web site. Jewish groups responded with outrage. Advertisement The operator of the Web site said on Friday that he had not sold any of the shirts and that it was a publicity stunt gone awry. The only publicity it generated was from the angry response of German Jews; and it got the attention of public prosecutors who were investigating whether the shirt broke any laws. "This is an absolute abuse of the Jewish genocide," the deputy president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Dieter Graumann, said Thursday. "It is a scandal to exploit the murder of the Jews in order to symbolize the people's desire to smoke." The shirt features a yellow Star of David similar to the one Jews were forced to wear under the Nazis. The world "smoker" is written across the star instead of "Jew." Graumann said the sale of the T-shirt did nothing to help German smokers. Instead, it reminded Germans - Jews and otherwise - of worse times, he said. "It is unimaginative, brainless and tasteless," he said. Dennis Kramer, who was listed as the contact for the site, told The Associated Press Friday that he had not actually sold any shirts, nor had any even been made, despite a declaration on the site that 1,000 shirts had been sold since December. "That 1,000 T-shirts were sold was a lie for promotional purposes," Kramer said. He apologized and said, "I have to agree. This was tasteless." Kramer also said that the Web site had only gone online on Wednesday and the picture of the shirt was removed on Thursday. Later Friday, the Web site carried a statement that it regretted the shirt had angered and offended people. Previously, a statement on the site said the shirt had been designed to highlight what it called the "disgraceful exclusion" of smokers by society. "After decades of tolerance, the smoker is being denounced as an outcast, a second-class human being," the online statement said. More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us   And the winner is Haaretz's Gideon Levy wins prize for cultural dialogue. The Amona syndrome Gov't fears it will pay the public price of removing outposts.   1.   Another "shock-value" technique of drug addicts 10:05  |  Global Citizen 12/01/08   2.   complaining about exploiting the murder of Jews 10:24  |  Sarah 12/01/08   3.   Brainless and Tasteless Business...! 11:46  |  Stephen. 12/01/08   4.   Wrong way around - smoking is Apartheid! 12:13  |  Tomi 12/01/08   5.   OY VEY, GEVALT 12:15  |  Zelda 12/01/08   6.   #1? 12:19  |  itsik 12/01/08   7.   Addicts? Golda Meir, Churchill, FDR 13:03  |  Petra 12/01/08   8.   "The Holocast Industry" has its undying compatition, 13:25  |  Akram Zekaria 12/01/08   9.   More criminalizing of free speech 14:00  |  Jason 12/01/08   10.   Where can I get one? 14:44  |  Paul Wood 12/01/08   11.   Smoking is banned in places in Canada 15:06  |  Jackie 12/01/08   12.   Infaltion 16:10  |  TOBIAS RÜGER 12/01/08   13.   The Reaction is Worst the the Tee Shirt. 16:33  |  Reader 12/01/08   14.   haha 17:27  |  priceless 12/01/08   15.   Tobbaco Kills! 18:23  |  Shlomo 12/01/08   16.   Happy ZdJiD 18:49  |  Dav 12/01/08   17.   yellow star 19:03  |  muggi 12/01/08   18.   Exaggerations like this are Insulting and Will not gain Sympathy 19:20  |  Efox 12/01/08   19.   re: Sarah 19:24  |  Efox 12/01/08   20.   Nobody Is Forcing Jews to Live in Germany 19:45  |  Tod Zuckerman 12/01/08   21.   Germany 19:50  |  Human Being 12/01/08   22.   Corruption of the truth by the Tobacco Lobby 20:33  |  Clickfool 12/01/08   23.   For Petra # 7 20:39  |  Clickfool 12/01/08   24.   Two words for you Sarah (and your ilk) 20:44  |  Avi 12/01/08   25.   Zelda 20:50  |  Avi 12/01/08   26.   How twisted 21:50  |  KUTW 12/01/08   27.   clickfool #23 22:15  |  larry from maine 12/01/08   28.   Smoking Kills! 22:50  |  GPS 12/01/08   29.   Dav 23:13  |  bytheway 12/01/08   30.   Better than PETA 00:41  |  Sherlock Holmes 13/01/08   31.   # 1 Sarah, Its not unmique to germany to compare any legal ban to 01:01  |  Max Zinger P.Chimist 13/01/08   32.   Can we move on? 01:04  |  Robert 13/01/08   33.   # 14 priceless: Ho,Ho Ho-Waht did you meant with 02:23  |  Priced les on Boxing 13/01/08   34.   #29 Thanks 09:43  |  Dav 13/01/08   35.   Clickfool`s Dilemma 12:23  |  Janice 13/01/08   36.   #20 TODD-There seems to be more antisemitism in the USA than..... 23:23  |  Anthony Fallon 13/01/08   37.   #36 FALLON: Is this a Joke? 01:16  |  Grif 16/01/08

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