Norwegian bank issues anti-Semitic credit card, says sorry
The card features a centuries old trope of the hook-nosed Jew, wearing a kippah and a prayer shawl, rejoicing against the backdrop of gold coins.
By JPOST.COM STAFFUpdated: SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 20:40An anti-Semetic credit card features a hook-nosed Jew, laughing gleefully against a backdrop of gold coins (photo credit: Courtesy)
A pro-Israel advocacy organization demanded an explanation from a Norwegian bank after the company issued a credit card bearing blatantly anti-Semitic images.The Hallelu Foundation, which aims to promote a positive perception of Israel around the world, came across the bank card after it was issued by one of Norway's largest banking firms, DNB, to an Australian national residing in the Scandinavian country.The card features a centuries old trope of the hook-nosed Jew, wearing a kippah and a prayer shawl, rejoicing against the backdrop of gold coins. The DNB logo can be seen beside the image.Upon hearing of the anti-Semitic illustration, the Hallelu foundation immediately contacted DNB's corporate staff.The pro-Israel group passed the image to the company via email and within a short period of time received a response."We have been notified about a picture of a Visa card issued by us, with an anti-Semitic drawing of a Jew," read the apology, which Hallelu posted to their Facebook page, "and found out that this was produced due to a system we have where clients can upload their own pictures and get them printed on their card.""We have, however, strict guidelines for what kind of pictures that are allowed, and this control is manual. Unfortunately, our manual controls have failed in this particular case, and we are deeply sorry for that. This card should never have been printed.""We will contact the client, block the card and issue a new neutral card to the customer," Vastrwald added."Please note that this is not a mass produced card, and the picture has been deleted from our system.""We are very sorry for this, and hope you can convey our answer if you get questions about this."