The boss of Foxtel – a majority News Corp-owned cable television company in Australia – has “unreservedly” apologised after an image surfaced of him performing a Nazi salute.

Patrick Delaney said he believed he was showing “the similarity” between the gesture and one used by some fans of a Western Sydney soccer club when the photo was taken a decade ago.

“Regardless of the context, the fact I demonstrated this offensive salute was wrong,” he said in an email to staff seen by the BBC.

The Jewish Council of Australia condemned Mr Delaney’s actions as “deeply concerning”.

“Equally [concerning] is that he operates in a media industry where he felt this was somehow okay,” Sarah Schwartz, the council’s executive officer, said in a statement on 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 racialised groups.”

In his internal memo, Mr Delaney said that he had been “searching [his] mind” for a circumstance where “a photo capturing me in this pose could ever be possible”.

He then explained that he believed he was impersonating a threatening gesture made by a group of Western Sydney Wanderers fans during the 2014-15 season, while visiting the set of a Fox Sports television program during his tenure as the channel’s CEO.

Mr Delaney said the photograph – first published by Crikey – was “completely inconsistent” with his “values, beliefs, and family connections”.

He also condemned “racism in all its forms”, pointing to his commitment to the ‘Say No to Antisemitism letter’ which he signed along with other prominent Australian leaders in the wake of the unprecedented Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October.

About 1,200 people were killed in that attack, and 251 others were taken hostage.

Mr Delaney added that he would continue to meet with Jewish leaders to “express” his “deep remorse”.

But Ms Schwartz said the idea that Mr Delaney could sign a letter condemning antisemitism, while also feeling comfortable doing a Nazi salute, was proof the nation needed “more than superficial pledges”.

The scandal comes at a time when Australia is grappling with a sharp uptick in both antisemitism and Islamophobia, amid rising community tension over the Israel-Gaza war.

In July, the federal government installed a special envoy to combat antisemitism, while promising to appoint an Islamophobia equivalent in the coming months.

During a visit to Sydney in November, Lachlan Murdoch called on News Corp’s staff in Australia to “address and tackle” all forms of antisemitism and said there was “no room for equivocation” or fence-sitting on the issue.

Once a mainstay across the nation’s homes, Foxtel’s business model has been in sharp decline in recent years, after being displaced by the rise of cheaper international streaming services.

Earlier this month, News Corp said it was considering selling the ailing pay TV company.