In September, during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, Nickelodeon published a six-paneled comic strip that portrayed one of its Rugrats infants attending temple services with Grandpa Boris. "Boy, this must be a really good story...Everybody knows it," thinks the child, as he listens to the pointy-nosed Boris and other adults say a Yiddish prayer.
Trouble is, the characters recited the Mourner's Kaddish, a prayer for the dead. That didn't sit well with several readers, who phoned in complaints to the Anti-Defamation League's 30 regional offices. Most callers criticized the use of the Kaddish, which they believe is inappropriate for a comic strip, as well as the depiction of Grandpa Boris, who they say resembles caricatured renderings of Jews that were included in Nazi newspapers such as Der Stürmer.
"It just didn't translate well from TV to the page," ADL spokeswoman Myrna Shinbaum says of Boris, who had originally appeared on the Rugrats show.
The ADL followed its normal procedures on such matters, writing a letter to Nickelodeon stating its complaint. Nick quickly responded with a meeting, then agreed never again to publish the strip, Grandpa Boris or sacred prayers.
Nickelodeon President Herb Scannell apologized for the slight in an open letter to the ADL. "To your point that the television character of Grandpa Boris may not translate well into a comic strip, we agree," Scannell wrote.
"Unfortunately, the creators of the strip made an error in judgment by referencing the Kaddish. I agree with you that, however well-meaning, the use of the Kaddish in the comic strip was inappropriate."