/ 4 July 2014

An apology to our readers

An Apology To Our Readers

I never thought the day would ever come when I was ashamed of something published in the Mail & Guardian, but here it is. Owing to a lethal confluence of ill luck and human stupidity, this week we published a crude advert that likens the slaughter of pigs to the extermination of Jews in concentration camps. This is one of those times when apologies almost seem ineffectual, so gross is the offence caused. But we do apologise, unreservedly. Not only to the Jewish community, who must necessarily be the primary offended party here, but to all our readers who share the core values of the Mail & Guardian.

We also apologise to Pick ’n Pay and the Ackerman family for any embarrassment caused.

We will be donating the proceeds of this advert to charity, and taking internal measures to tighten controls to make sure such an error is not repeated.