Walgreens Pulls Swastika-Patterned Hanukkah Gift Wrap From Stores


Swastikas in any pattern are terrible. But swastikas — intentional or not — in the pattern of Hanukkah-themed items are even more jaw-droppingly terrible. And that’s exactly what a California customer says she found when she went shopping at Walgreens.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports that a 63-year-old grandmother outside of Los Angeles was shopping for Hanukkah gift wrap when she came across this particular product. “We were wandering around the store and saw the wrapping paper and I looked at it and said, ‘These are swastikas,’ and I just blew it. I didn’t know what to do,” she told the Daily News.

She brought the paper to the attention of the store’s manager, who assured her it would be removed from store shelves not just at his location but nationwide. Walgreens confirmed with the Daily News that they were in the process of removing the gift wrap from all store locations.

The wrapping paper was made by Hallmark and distributed exclusively at Walgreens. A Hallmark representative said that the pattern was unintentional and told the Daily News in a statement, “As soon as we were made aware of the situation, we began taking steps to remove the gift wrap from all store shelves and we will ensure the pattern is not used on any product formats going forward.”

Porter Ranch woman gets Hanukkah ‘swastika’ wrapping paper taken out of Walgreens stores [Los Angeles Daily News via HuffPo]

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