Milwaukee Jewish Federation issues statement on comparison | Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle

Milwaukee Jewish Federation issues statement on comparison

 

Milwaukee Jewish Federation issued a statement June 9, 2021, regarding a comparison that invoked the Gestapo. The Federation statement reads:

The Milwaukee Jewish Federation strongly condemns the Facebook post and subsequent Facebook video that Wisconsin State Representative Shae Sortwell made this past week, which likened the Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum to the Gestapo for their announcement of new Covid protocols for guests.  

We must be absolutely clear that equating the use of public health strategies to the genocidal targeting of Jews by Nazis is both harmful and dangerous. At a time when we are witnessing a surge in attacks on Jews across the country, narratives that conflate inconveniences to the general public with actual violence that targets specific groups threatens our safety.  

Sadly, we are seeing an increase in comparisons that trivialize the Holocaust, both in Wisconsin, and across the country. We urge community leaders and government officials across the political spectrum to understand that it is never acceptable to make Holocaust comparisons. It is imperative that we all speak out when we hear these disrespectful remarks 

Following the historic passage of Wisconsin’s Holocaust Education Bill, which passed unanimously, we must remember that the purpose of this legislation is to promote deep empathy and understanding of the lessons of the Holocaust. We erode this mission when we tolerate the degradation of the memory of the six million Jews, and millions of other victims who were killed by the Nazis and their collaborators.