Rep. Thomas Massie was asked to apologize Thursday after the Kentucky Republican shared an image on Twitter that likened private businesses requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to the Holocaust.
Several top Jewish advocates slammed the congressman for comparing the enforcement of so-called vaccine passports with the Holocaust that murdered six million Jews and said he should apologize immediately.
Mr. Massie had prompted the criticism Wednesday after sharing an image on social media that prominently depicted a wrist tattooed with a number, not unlike how Nazis branded Jewish prisoners in the 1940s.
Text displayed in the image above and below the wrist reads: “If you have to carry a card on you to gain access to a restaurant, venue or an event in your own country … that’s no longer a free country.”
While the actual Twitter post disappeared from the congressman’s account within hours, it was archived by a CNN reporter who captured a screenshot of the since-vanished tweet and shared it on the service.
“Members of Congress who continue to exploit the systematic murder of six million Jews to appease a political base have lost sight of their morals,” the American Jewish Committee (AJC) reacted on Twitter.
“The comparisons between public health measures and the Holocaust must stop,” AJC said in a tweet responding to the CNN reporter’s screenshot, adding that Mr. Massie “must apologize immediately.”
The local brand of the Anti-Defamation League, or ADL, in Cleveland reacted similarly to Mr. Massie as well.
“We should not have to keep repeating this — health safety measures are in NO WAY comparable to the atrocities of the Holocaust. Making this comparison dishonors the memories of those murdered by the Nazis,” the ADL’s Cleveland office tweeted, adding Mr. Massie “should apologize immediately; deleting this isn’t enough.”
“This is horrifying,” added Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, one of the nation’s leading Jewish advocacy groups. “It’s another day, another trivialization of the Holocaust. There is no comparison — full stop. We need our elected leaders to be just that — leaders — not enablers and certainly not proponents — of this offensive rhetoric.”
Indeed, Mr. Massie is hardly the only member of Congress to recently compare efforts to combat the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic with the forced extermination of millions of Jews during World War II.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, publicly apologized months ago amid facing a potential censure for comparing mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations and face mask requirements with the Holocaust.
“I’m truly sorry for offending people with remarks about the Holocaust,” Mrs. Greene told reporters in July after visiting the Holocaust museum. “There’s no comparison. There never ever will be.
Mrs. Greene later referred to Americans encouraging others to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, as “medical brown shirts” — a comparison to pre-Holocaust Nazism.
The Washington Times has asked Mr. Massie’s office to comment on the Twitter post and the criticism it sparked despite its removal. The congressman’s representatives provided no immediate response.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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