A News Corp company boss in Australia has apologized for giving a Nazi salute that was captured on a recently discovered photograph.
Patrick Delaney said he was "shocked" to see the photo which was published by British publication Crikey on Sunday. "The fact I demonstrated this offensive salute was wrong and I unreservedly apologize," he told Crikey.
Delaney — CEO of Aussie cable television company Foxtel, a majority of which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's conservative News Corp media company — also apologized to his staff.
"I am very sorry for my actions and sincerely apologize to people who have been hurt or offended, especially members of the Jewish community," he wrote late Sunday in the memo also obtained by Crikey.
The "picture is completely inconsistent with my values and beliefs, and family connections," Delaney added.
He told Crikey that he believed that at the time of the salute a decade ago he may have been merely "demonstrating the similarity" between it and a gesture used by some fans of a soccer team.
Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany has apologised to his staff for giving a Nazi salute, as Jewish and media groups condemn the act as "deeply concerning". https://t.co/qiHmXY6DQ2
— Crikey (@crikey_news) August 19, 2024
The surfaced photo ignited a firestorm of controversy.
The Jewish Council of Australia branded Delaney's salute "deeply disturbing."
Equally disturbing is that Delaney "operates in a media industry where he felt this was somehow okay," Sarah Schwartz, the council's executive officer, said in a statement Monday.
"It shouldn't need to be said that the salute is an offensive and violent act not only for Jews" but also for other target groups.
When the photo surfaced, Delaney said he "searched his mind" for why he gave a Nazi salute and came up with the soccer fan theory.
He said he must have just been copying a group of Western Sydney Wanderers fans during the 2014 season while visiting the set of a Fox Sports television program when he was CEO of Murdoch-own channel, according to Crikey.
Delaney said in his staff memo that he condemned "racism in all its forms," and said he would like to continue to meet with Jewish leaders to express his "deep remorse."
The stinging controversy arises as Australia is battling an uptick in antisemitism and racism.
The Australian government last month established a special envoy post to combat antisemitism, and vowed to soon appoint an envoy to battle Islamophobia.
During a visit to Sydney late last year News Corp patriarch Rupert Murdoch's son Lachlan Murdoch called on staff in Australia to "address and tackle" all forms of antisemitism. He said there was "no room for equivocation" on the issue, the BBC reported.
