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Subscribe to RSSA fitness club in Dubai has brought down a heap of outrage on itself for using a photograph of the Auschwitz concentration camp on an advertisement promoting itself.
The owner of the club, The Circuit Factory, apologized.
The director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham H. Foxman, welcomed the apology but said: "We are increasingly troubled by both the ignorance and mindset of a generation that appears to be so distant from a basic understanding of the Holocaust that it seems acceptable to use this horrific tragedy as a gimmick to bring attention to promoting losing weight."
NBC Sports' Off the Bench has the offending ad itself and more on this.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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Friggin sick and I'm sure intentional!
Unintentional? I'm not buying that. My opinion is they thought it was funny and JP is right. It is sick.
They probably shouldn't have hired Bruno as their creative designer.
I love this sense you say blame the creative designer like the business owner knows not what is being printed for his company are you that brain numb that you would actually believe it was the designers decision only to print this ad. Like many USA companies blame the lowest on the pole and the ignorant will believe it because they can't think for themselves and know who really the bad guy is.
I just couldn't believe this actually happened; it looks so much like something only Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno character would do. The point was the Bruno reference. But you're probably too ignorant to have gotten the reference.
Gee, where did they get their marketing director; at the home depot parking lot?
nope a mexican would have done a better job for pennies on the dollar.
What [expletive] idiots the owners of that club are. Especially if they care more about the attention their club is getting from the ad than anything else.
well, you would be burning off calories.
clever use of a double entendre, good for you.
Many of the poor victims got a work out in Auschwitz while others were simply denied food and these clowns are using this in jest.
Are their trainers wearing boots and have guard dogs to enhance exercise?
This is purely intentional and it displays stupidity.
I kinda figured it's location said it all - Dubai. I will get slammed for not being politically correct, and for insulting a religion, but face it, Dubai is in the middle of Muslim Country. Islam and Judaism - not particularly friendly toward each other - mostly because the Muslims want to kill all the Jews (at least that is what the vocal extreme says).
Civility has gone right out of the window!
The wikipedia summary of the case notes charges of a coverup - that suggested Argentine officials were involved in the bombing and suggests that the charge that some Iranians were involved isn't fully plausible.
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
"
Over the years, the case has been marked by incompetence and accusations of cover-ups. All suspects in the "local connection" (among them, many members of the Buenos Aires Provincial Police) were found to be not guilty in September 2004. In August 2005, federal judge Juan José Galeano, in charge of the case, was impeached and removed from his post on charge of "serious" irregularities and of mishandling of the investigation.[5]
On October 25, 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo Martínez Burgos formally accused the government of Iran of directing the bombing, and the Hezbollah militia of carrying it out.[6][7] According to the prosecution's claims in 2006, Argentina had been targeted by Iran after Buenos Aires' decision to suspend a nuclear technology transfer contract to Tehran.[8] This however, has been disputed, because this contract was never terminated, and Iran and Argentina were negotiating on restoration of full cooperation on all agreements from early 1992 till 1994, when the bombing occurred.[9"
sorry - posted on wrong story
insensitive idiots.
I am of that generation and still feel the sensitivity, butI realise that it all took place 70 years ago. If I look back at what was happening 70 years before my birth, I do not feel so sensitive about the 1870 siege of Paris, or the British concentration camps of the Boar War. I am afraid that we cannot expect generations of the future to be as sensitive as we would like (see Prince Harry attending a fancy dress party dressed in a Nazi uniform). Nonetheless, I do think that this thing went too far!
yes see prince harry attending a fancy dress party in a nazi uniform the reality of that is (he is a nazi)the nazis are running the world and we the people are allowing them in all aspects of our life. Do you think we stole thier scientists to go into space only or to learn the tricks of controlling masses of people to destroy other masses of people based on lies.
Hey , I am so fed up with the name ....this town name as of end of the war in 1945 came back to original and is Oswiecim !!! When the hell people are going to learn and use it ? Towns were under german names during war ONLY and back to polish names after . Why the whole media and every person here still call Auchswitz is stupid as hell . Is the original name to hard to pronounce ? I don't really care , say it right or don't say it at all .
Makes you wonder if they picked the concentration camp photo over the starving kids in Africa. Just awful.
Jeeze, you'd think the muslim owners might have been trying to target their market? nah, i'm sure they didn't mean anything by it.
Enough already....people are sick of the ADL and it's director.
We see other tragedies and holocausts routinely being exploited, but of course, the media does nothing. What about the Holocausts involving African-Americans, American-Indians, Russians, Palestinians, that have occurred.
Where is the ADLand other related Special Interest Groups when anti-Semitism is being practiced by Israel against the Palestinians, and the apartheid by Zionist's against their neighbors and follow citizens.
The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people. ADL fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for all.
so you see... that's what it was created for. African-Americans, American-Indians, Russians, Palestinians, have their own organizations one would think. you are absolutely correct about people being sick of the ADL and it's Director. I'm sure anyone who is a bigot is sick of them. thanks for the comment. you have a nice day.
@ KTBFFH I was just using the term American-Indian because AP-1097554 used it, and unlike you, i don't have delusions about knowing what was meant by that term. at least i know you payed attention in 1st grade when you learned all about Christopher Columbus. See you have worth. i don't care what everyone says about you. you're special. so turn that frown upside down and believe in yourself. Jesus does!
I wonder if they had shown a picture of a slave ship, would there be the same outrage. Not being the least bit anti-Semitic, and I would never marginalize anyone's suffering, but how come there is such an outcry when the Holocaust is questioned but when the horror of amerikkkan chattel slavery (more than 6 millions lives were lost alone in just the middle passage) it is disregarded.
Is it possible that Black life is not as valuable as white life in many people's minds?
Mars Blackman --------- "...how come there is such an outcry when the Holocaust is questioned but when the horror of amerikkkan chattel ... it is disregarded." ------------I googled "Holocaust" and got a figure of 32,500,000 mentions. I googled "American slavery" and got 240,500, 000 mentions and, YES, all my zeros, all of them are correct. Live long and prosper !!!
This is really bad - I hope everyone quits going to this fitness club.
They got what they wanted...for free! The controversy alone has created free advertising. Many people will come visit this business out of curiosity alone! And, unfortunately, out of bigotry as well.
OMG
:(
...retired teacher
Shocked at the insensitivity involved, as well as people's hateful commments that follow! It is that very hate that caused the problem in the first place.
If you really want to see full throttle hate, visit in on some of the OWS blogs when they resurface. The OWS is so full of hate and bigotry - it's shocking !
Too bad the anti-defamation league isn't so vocal about the American holocaust and genocide against the native people. Too bad none of you monkey's give a rats arse about it either, hypocrites, nothing but stinking hypocrites sealing this nations fate.