Capitol Chaos: Anti-Semitic Apparel Worn During Riot Traced To Website Based In New York City
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There is outrage over an anti-Semitic sweatshirt worn by a man during the U.S. Capitol riot last week.
The website selling the propaganda has a New York City address and on Sunday night thousands of people were calling for it to be shut down, CBS2's Lisa Rozner reported.
The viral photo of a man at the Capitol wearing a "Camp Auschwitz" hoodie that reads "Work brings freedom" has sparked worldwide rage as it makes light of the horrors of the Nazi's notorious concentration camp.
Rabbi Diana Fersko leads the Village Temple in Union Square.
"We're all a living remnant of that historical crime, whether it's direct knowledge or indirect knowledge and it's something that many of us feel very, very close to still," Fersko said.
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And the propaganda appears to have come out of New York City, where Councilman Chaim Deutsch says there are more than 1 million Jews.
He urged people to e-mail TeeHands.com, which was selling it under the category "Trending T-Shirt."
Deutsch posted on Facebook, "As the son of a man who survived Auschwitz ... I am disgusted."
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The website listed an address at 85th Street and Second Avenue. Councilman Ben Kallos represents the district and believes it was run out of a resident's apartment there.
"The Upper East Side is the neighborhood that welcomed my grandparents when they fled antisemitism in Europe. They welcomed my wife, who fled antisemitism in Russia," Kallos said. "It's enraging to think that Nazis were selling antisemitic propaganda, hiding in plain sight."
On Saturday, that specific apparel was taken down from the website, but until Sunday afternoon the virtual storefront was selling other hate speech items.
Another trending shirt was this one that reads "6MWE," standing for "6 million wasn't enough," suggesting more Jews should have been murdered during the holocaust.
Early Sunday evening, the entire website stopped working as a petition against it gained thousands of signatures.
But the message it sent cannot be ignored.
"Holocaust education in our country is at a devastating low. Only 16 states nationally require holocaust education and if it's not curriculurized, if it's not mandated, people won't know about it," Fersko said.
Councilman Kallos said he'll contact the board of the building where the website may be operating out of and see if the author can be educated.
It's not clear if the website was taken down for good or who is behind it. CBS2's e-mail seeking comment was not returned.
CBS2's Lisa Rozner contributed to this report
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