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New York City pols are putting Amazon on blast over a Halloween display that’s been ripped as fueling antisemitic tropes for portraying a witch holding a spell book adorned with a Star of David.
The City Council’s “Antisemitism Task Force” filed a formal complaint with the e-commerce juggernaut, requesting it take down its listing for the $219 six-foot animatronic decoration from Collective Home.
“While it is unclear if this symbol was an attempt to depict a hexagram or another occult symbol, the Star of David is the most widely recognizable symbol of the Jewish people,” the bipartisan task force wrote in an October 14 letter to Amazon.
“We are living at a time of unprecedented and extremely alarming antisemitism, the likes of which have not been seen in our lifetimes in this City and Country,” the letter noted. “Given the long history of antisemitism and the persecution of Jewish people, the use of this symbol in a context that may associate it with sinister or threatening imagery is particularly disturbing.
“Such imagery can reasonably be perceived as demeaning to Jewish people and hurtful to members of the Jewish community. It may also incite violaence against the Jewish community,” the council members wrote.
The Post reported Tuesday that one Brooklyn woman who inadvertently planted the decoration on her front lawn was horrified to discover the seedy symbolism.
“I’m very upset, this is horrible,” cried the woman, who insisted, “I don’t want to insult any religion. I’m sensitive about these things. I’m a big supporter of Israel and the Jewish people.”
Her handyman unboxed and assembled the towering witch and “I didn’t even look at it,” she told The Post, adding, “I should take it up with Amazon.”
Council Speaker Julie Menin (D-Manhattan), Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) and Jewish Caucus Chair Eric Dinowitz (D-Bronx) are among the eight signatories calling for the listing to be taken down.
“We urge Amazon to immediately remove this product considering its policies concerning hateful, discriminatory, and offensive content and to consider the broader implications of making such merchandise available to the public,” their letter said.
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.