Amazon Pulls Halloween Witch Animatronic Featuring Star of David
The e-commerce giant removed the controversial decoration after New York City officials called for its removal, citing antisemitic imagery.
Amazon has removed a $219 animatronic Halloween witch from its platform after it was criticized for featuring a Star of David on its spell book. The listing for the six-foot-tall decoration, sold by Collective Home, is now marked as "currently unavailable."
New York City politicians, including members of the City Council's Antisemitism Task Force, had called for the removal of the item. The lawmakers sent a formal complaint to Amazon on October 14, stating that the imagery could be perceived as demeaning to Jewish people and potentially incite violence against the community.
Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, a co-chair of the task force, described the decoration as "tone deaf" and said it conjures up "age old libels about Jews." She commended Amazon for its swift action in addressing the concerns.
The controversy came to light when a Brooklyn woman who had purchased the decoration discovered the offensive imagery and expressed her distress. She emphasized her support for Israel and the Jewish people, stating she did not intend to insult any religion.
An Amazon spokesperson told The Post that the third-party seller had removed the product from its page.