The head of an Australian cable television company has apologised after a picture of him appeared on the Internet giving the Nazi salute and imitating Adolf Hitler.
Patrick Delaney, CEO of Foxtel, a majority-owned television operator by News Corp, said he was “deeply sorry for my actions” and added that he wanted to “sincerely apologise to those who were hurt or offended, particularly members of the Jewish community”.
The apology came after Crikey, an Australian news site, posted a photo of Delaney saluting a “closed set” about a decade ago when he was CEO of Fox Sports. (Fox Sports is a subsidiary of Foxtel.) He is seen holding his right arm up and holding two fingers of his left hand over his lips to mimic Hitler’s moustache.
In an internal memo, Delaney reportedly said he had copied a gesture from football fans and that it was “completely inconsistent” with his “values, beliefs and family ties.”
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chairman David Ossip said he accepted the apology, telling ABC: “He made it clear that regardless of the context in which he performed the salute, he understands the insult and pain that this gesture causes.”
However, the Jewish Council of Australia condemned Delaney’s actions. “It goes without saying that the salute is an offensive and violent act not only to Jews but to other racially discriminated groups,” Sarah Schwartz, the council’s executive chair, told the BBC. “Equally concerning is that he works in a media industry where he felt that this was somehow OK.”
