O-blog-dee-o-blog-da

Jews voting for Trump hate the comparison to Hitler.  See the screenshot from Stop Antisemitism @StopAntisemitism, below and the post that introduced it by a member of a Private Facebook Group whose name shall remain anonymous*.  The spread of this ridiculous notion on social media is repugnant to all I have been taught about NEVER AGAIN, and we must respond, which I have done below the screenshot. This is the type of comment we are seeing on social media, followed by the screenshot:

*”It doesn’t matter how much one loathes Trump, comparing him to Hitler is flat out repugnant. Hitler caused tens of millions of people to be murdered in WWII and perpetrated the Holocaust. Even Holocaust survivor Jerry Warstki condemns Kamala Harris for comparing Trump to Hitler. “For her to accuse President Trump of being like H*tler is the worst thing I ever heard in my 75 years living in the United States. I really think this needs to stop “

My Response to this which I have posted on social media is as follows:

I disagree with you 100% and I cannot stand by idly, failing to assert that this remark is dangerous and unhelpful to the election of Kamala Harris. In fact it is this very sentiment that licenses Jews to vote for trump with impunity and no accountability for his horrific trajectory, leading to his NAZI emulated Rally in Madison Square Gardens last night. It is trite and myopic to couch this in making it about “loathing trump”. It is so much more….

Pic:NAZI RALLY AT MADISON SQUARE GARDENS , normalized Hitler and the symbolism of  Trump’s Rally does the same.

Firstly I am not even going to begin to address the feeble attempt at equating Kamala Harris to Trump in any way shape or form. There is not one piece of evidence or word out of mouth justifying this. Trump is the one who reads and quotes Mein Kampf. Trump is the one who supports Nazis such Proud Boys and praises Hitler. Trump is the one who dines with David Duke and Nick Fuentes. Trump is the one who idolizes despots. Trump is the one who uses antisemitic tropes. Now lets talk about the rest of it.

1. It is comments and sentiments like this that causes the VERY PROBLEM we are facing with fellow Jews refusing to see trump for who he is. Jews who think trump does not belong under the big header NEVER AGAIN. Who refuse to see Trump for what he is – an EMERGING Hitler on a Hitleresque trajectory since 2016. It was first the path and now it is the man who took the path.
2. Such statements and sentiments defy the very purpose of NEVER AGAIN. You cannot expect NEVER AGAIN to NOT happen if you do not have access to the very tool that embodies it. That tool is comparing the purveyors of autocracy who express genocidal ideas along that path. Whether they reach the ultimate horror of exterminating people or not. They get compared because of the trajectory they embark upon, travel and what that trajectory can lead to. Making the comparison is the full embodiment of NEVER AGAIN.
3. On day one of the commencement of Hitler’s rise, had German Jews and EU Jews known exactly where Hitlers RALLIES and Policies would lead – to six million slaughtered Jews (not to forget the others such as Gays and Lesbians) – they would have been able to defend themselves. They did not know. They could not have imagined. NOW by this comparison we can imagine where this could lead, except not only for Jews but in this instance he will probably go after Hispanics and Muslims first! Now you want to rob us of this tool while touting NEVER AGAIN? We are compelled as Jews to not turn our back on anyone in the lessons we have learned through our own suffering. We cannot own the Holocaust with the promise of NEVER AGAIN without ALL the lessons it provided. We are compelled to use the ONLY tool that we have – the comparison to Hitler , his trajectory and the result, – THE LESSON!
4. The Holocaust Museum in DC is not intended ONLY as a memory for Jewish suffering and a tool to thwart genocide and antisemitism against Jews, it is intended to strong insist upon NEVER AGAIN for ALL in any circumstance. When you walk into that museum the first messaging that grabs your attention is the scapegoating that Hitler used to grab the attention of the masses in Germany that led to their comfort in committing genocide against the Jews. When I saw Trump coming down that escalator it was my experience at the Holocaust Museum and my life with the blood of Pogrom survivor grandparents running through my veins that had me warn the following. “OMG, I said this sounds like Hitler. I am afraid of a presidential trajectory that starts off denigrating ALL MEXICANS.” Well I was excoriated for having the audacity to compare. Now 8 years later look at how he has raised the hate-hype and succeeding in getting an estimated 80 million on board with his horrific dicta and not only that, look at what he actually did that was indeed Hitleresque. He took babies out of the arms of their mothers and separated them. He locked children in cages. He deported people to their deaths. Now he is threatening mass roundups of Hispanic people and again closing our borders to and deporting Muslims as well. Do you not think this is worthy of comparison to Hitler.

I know how people who say this think. They say well he hasn’t committed a genocide like 6 million Jews exterminated – so we cannot call him Hitler. THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF NEVER AGAIN. The point of never again is to stop the POTENTIAL and the TRAJECTORY when you see the first sign. We already failed there! You see the bottom line is – you do not know where a trump’s trajectory will actually lead until you get there – and so in the true spirit of NEVER AGAIN you are absolutely duty bound to make the comparison. To prevent the worst outcomes you must avail yourself of every tool and this comparison is the most important tool!

Hundreds on the Facebook Group opposed the notion that we should not compare Trump to Hitler, agreeing  agreeing with my above assertions. Here is an example of one such comment:

I agree with you totally.

I am the widow of a Holocaust survivor and what we are hearing from Trump and his supporters is exactly what Germany heard from Hitler before the killing began.

We must remember Hitler was elected to office.

People voted for him.

This post is what is disrespectful to the millions who died.

This post says their deaths were in vain because we have not learned the lessons of hate.

By Melanie Nathan
Commisionermnathan@gmail.com