Russian sweets company unveils new ice cream cone called 'Poor Jew'

Russian Jewish leaders spoke out against the sweet treat, calling it "racist."

By JTA
Updated: MARCH 11, 2018 09:18
Ice cream cone (illustrative) (photo credit: ING IMAGE/ASAP)
Ice cream cone (illustrative)
(photo credit: ING IMAGE/ASAP)
 Jews in Russia’s Tatarstan region are objecting to a new ice cream called “Poor Jew.”
The ice cream cone, announced last month by the Slavitsa company in Naberezhnye Chelny, 600 miles east of Moscow, is wrapped in an image of Israel’s flag.
Leonid Shteinberg, a leader of the Jewish community in Naberezhnye Chelny, has called the name “racist” and demanded its production and sale be halted, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
The city prosecutor’s office says it will investigate the complaints.
A Russian ice cream cone called "Poor Jew" (credit: Screenshot)
A Russian ice cream cone called "Poor Jew" (credit: Screenshot)
In a social media post announcing the ice cream’s launch on Feb. 28, the company describes it as a “crusty horn” filled with chocolate- and prune-flavored ice cream and topped with peanuts.
“Trying all this tastiness, it turns out that he is not so ‘poor,'” the post asserts.
The Slavitsa company has been criticized previously for creating a chocolate ice cream named after then-President Barack Obama, which had a wrapper depicting an African boy, and for naming another ice cream with an ethnic slur for Ukrainians.