Cheryl Shapiro was shocked to discover Hanukkah wrapping paper with a swastika border design at her local Walgreens in Los Angeles this past weekend, NBC News reported.
Shapiro was Shopping with her grandson, which must have made the discovery that much more special… She called the store manager over, and the offending paper was promptly removed. Then one other Walgreens in the area was alerted and followed suit.
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“I told them I wanted this taken off the shelves immediately—not just your store, but national, ” Shapiro, whom we’re told is Jewish, told NBC. “I was really putting my foot down because I was appalled by this.”
Walgreens spokesman Phil Caruso promised his company is busy removing the rolls from its shelves everywhere. He did not know how many rolls of the swastika gift wrapping paper they have already sold.
“I saw it immediately. I think I have a good eye, ” Shapiro told the TV folks. And she called her rabbi as soon as she came home. “He couldn’t believe it, ” Shapiro reported. “I’m still very upset about it, that something like this could be on the market.”
Some tweeters thought Shapiro was overreacting, unaware as she was that the swastika—turning left and right—is a sacred Hindu symbol, and was also used by the Greeks to adorn their vases. But the Nazis probably killed that one art appreciation thing for all of us, Jews.
According to International Business News, where we spotted the story first, in November 2009 an Orlando woman saw the Nazi symbol on wrapping paper bought at a Dollar Mania store. She did not notice the Nazi symbol at first, but as she was wrapping her presents for Christmas, she suddenly caught on.
“I asked myself, is it really what I think it is? Am I making something out of nothing?” Casey Lehman told WESH 2 back then.
“If I had sent this out on my Christmas gifts and someone had pointed it out to me, I would have been mortified. I would have been really embarrassed, ” Lehman said.
And she was wrapping Christmas gifts — can you imagine someone getting their Hanukkah gelt inside that paper? Oy vey…
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