Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) is becoming a reliably staunch supporter of his colleagues whenever they make controversial remarks about the Holocaust.
Nadler, who is Jewish, defended comments by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) likening holding centers at the southern border to “concentration camps.”
“The fact that concentrations camps are now an institutionalized practice in the Home of the Free is extraordinarily disturbing and we need to do something about it,” the freshman Democrat said in an ill-advised rant.
Nadler jumped in by retweeting a message by Ocasio-Cortez that doubled or tripled down (who’s counting) on her reprehensible lie, adding that failure to call out the Trump administration’s “inhumanity” is akin to failing to learn the lessons of “never again.”
The phrase “Never Again” is linked directly to the Holocaust, used by Jews all over the world to ensure that the atrocities committed in Nazi Germany are never repeated.
One of the lessons from the Holocaust is ‘Never Again’ – not only to mass murder, but also to the dehumanization of people, violations of basic rights, and assaults on our common morality. We fail to learn that lesson when we don’t callout such inhumanity right in front of us. https://t.co/EEBBkVL7FG
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) June 18, 2019
Comparing an event in which 6 million Jews were murdered to illegal immigrants being held in detention centers – after they came here of their own volition – simply because their quarters might be a little cramped or the climate control might be set too high, is an abomination.
Nadler’s History of Defending Anti-Semites
Last month, Nadler also rushed to the defense of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) who had expressed her own outrageous Holocaust remarks.
Tlaib suggested in an interview that she gets a “calming feeling” when thinking about the Holocaust because Palestinians created a “safe haven” for some Jewish people.
The statement was both insensitive and historically inaccurate.
Nadler insisted her comments were simply taken out of context in an attempt to smear Tlaib.
“Rep. Tlaib has been purposefully slandered by the President and other Republicans with her comments deliberately taken out of context and mischaracterized,” one of the more powerful and prominent Jewish lawmakers railed. “It is clear from the full quote that she was not making any antisemitic reference.”
Of course, it wasn’t clear at all.
Nadler, a representative whose district encompasses the lower west side of Manhattan, also famously said he has no issue with Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) description of 9/11 being carried out by “some people [who] did something.”
Those ‘people’ were radical Islamic terrorists.
.@jaketapper: Did you take any issue with the way congresswoman @IlhanMN characterized 911?@JerryNadler: No.
This is your daily reminder that Nadler is the representative of the 9/11 district.
Let this sink. pic.twitter.com/ap269oJPx0
— J F (@JFNYC1) April 14, 2019
Nadler Needs an Intervention
Jewish leaders might want to consider stepping in to educate Nadler on his history. Some have already spoken up against the lawmaker for his past support of the Barack Obama Iran nuclear deal.
David Greenfield, a New York City Councilman, said at the time that he was “sorely disappointed” by Nadler’s decision to support the deal.
“I am saddened and I am outraged at Congressman Jerry Nadler’s decision,” he said. “I want you to know that none of us here will ever forget what you did. We will not forget.”
Perhaps they need to step in again.
Nadler, by supporting a country seeking to wipe Israel off the map and now, trivializing the Holocaust, seems to have forgotten.
Fortunately, he is a co-sponsor of the ‘Never Again Education Act,’ legislation that would “award grants to eligible entities to carry out educational programs about the Holocaust.”
Maybe he can participate in one of those educational programs.
