Does Beck Think Jewish Summer Camps Train Hitler Youth?

David A. Harris — July 26, 2011 – 6:04 pm | Abusive Holocaust Rhetoric Comments (2) Add a comment

I wish I were making this up. In addition to the pain caused by Beck’s latest verbal assault, I’m left wondering: just what does he think of Jewish summer camps that play a key role in our community? Read on for more.

Just when we think Glenn Beck could not get any more offensive, he ups the ante. Yesterday Beck—who was too extreme for even Fox News—horrendously compared the young children who were massacred in Norway to the Hitler Youth simply because they attended a “camp for kids that’s all about politics,” in his own words. As we have said repeatedly, it is repugnant and unacceptable to invoke the Holocaust to make political points. But for him to do it like this, while discussing a summer camp that experienced such a horrific attack, plummets Beck to a new low.

After myriad offensive examples of abusive Holocaust rhetoric, the time has finally come for Glenn Beck to cease and desist. Doing otherwise dilutes the memory of the Holocaust and stains the memory of the victims in Norway as well.

As someone who considers himself to be an advocate for Israel and a friend to the Jewish community, Beck surely must know that a significant portion of American Jewish youth spend their summers in summer camps around the country. Most of these camps have a strong social justice component and many promote a fundamental Zionist message designed to strengthen Jewish identity. The majority of camps combine these important themes into a curriculum that has proven indispensible for uniting and inspiring generations of American Jews. Yet on his show Beck referred to political components such as these that made the camp in Norway sound “a little like the Hitler Youth” to him. As a self-identified friend of Israel and American Jews, Beck certainly needs to clarify his views about the summer camps that are an essential component of the upbringing of so many American Jews.

Because of this, we are asking American Jews to take a stand against Beck and his atrocious comments. You can help by contacting Beck and:

• Demanding that he apologize for his comments about the Norway tragedy;
• Imploring him to cease his deeply offensive invocations of the Holocaust; and
• Asking him how, as a self-proclaimed friend of the Jewish people, he can engage in such disturbing rhetoric about a summer youth camp that promotes social engagement—similar to Jewish summer camps around the country—let alone one where such a terrible tragedy occurred.

 

You can also help us by passing this on to at least five of your friends. We need as many voices as possible to take a stand against Beck’s outrageous and offensive language.

With your help, we can keep up the pressure on Beck and get him to clearly address some hard questions.

 

David A. Harris is the President and CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council

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