The boss of an Australian cable television company has apologized after an image of him giving a Nazi Party salute and mimicking Adolf Hitler leaked online.
Patrick Delaney, CEO of Foxtel, a majority News Corp-owned television provider, said he was “very sorry for my actions” and added that he wanted to “sincerely apologize to people who have been hurt or offended, especially members of the Jewish community.”
The apology came after Crikey, an Australian news site, posted a photo of Delaney making the salute on a “closed set” while he was Fox Sports CEO around ten years ago. (Fox Sports is a subsidiary of Foxtel.) He can be seen holding up his right arm, with two fingers from his left hand held above his lips to impersonate Hitler’s mustache.
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In an internal memo, Delaney reportedly said he was copying a gesture made by football fans and it was “completely inconsistent” with his “values, beliefs, and family connections.”
President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, David Ossip said he accepted the apology and told ABC: “He made it clear that regardless of the context in which he performed the salute, he understood the offense and hurt that the gesture causes.”
However, the Jewish Council of Australia condemned Delaney's actions. “It shouldn't need to be said that the salute is an offensive and violent act not only for Jews but also for other racialized groups.” Sarah Schwartz, the council's executive officer, told the BBC. “Equally [concerning] is that he operates in a media industry where he felt this was somehow okay.”
