Jewish Groups Slam Glenn Beck for Bloomberg Nazi Salute
Television personality Glenn Beck has aroused Jewish criticism for depicting New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg giving a Nazi salute.
By Arutz Sheva staff
First Publish: 5/7/2013, 11:06 PM
Television personality Glenn Beck, who has been known for his staunchly Israel and conservative views, has aroused Jewish criticism for depicting New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg giving a Nazi salute.
Speaking at the National Rifle Association's annual convention on Saturday night, Beck likened the mayor to a Nazi for his campaigns to limit the size of sugary drinks, salt intake, curb tobacco displays and gun control.
"Glenn Beck, the keynote speaker at the NRA's annual convention, trivializes the Holocaust when he compares New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Adolf Hitler," the Jewish B'nai B'rith organization told ABC News.
"The casual use of Nazi imagery or words serves to undermine the atrocities of the Holocaust. Glenn Beck should apologize," the organization said.
Abraham Foxman, a Holocaust survivor and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, objected to the image and Beck's comments.
"While he doesn't say it, it seems Glenn Beck is implying through an image of Mayor Bloomberg in an apparent Hitlerian salute is that the mayor's policies on gun ownership and other issues are turning New York city into a Nazi-like state. That suggestion is outrageous, insensitive and deeply offensive on so many levels," Foxman said, according to ABC.
"Glenn Beck should know better. He has drawn similar inappropriate analogies to the Holocaust before. We wish he would stop trivializing the history of the Holocaust to score partisan political points," he added.
Mayor Bloomberg, who is Jewish and who has spearheaded a new effort to widen background checks for individuals buying guns, declined to comment on the comparison to a Nazi or to the other criticisms at the NRA convention.
The Fox News commentator travelled to Israel on a solidarity mission, dubbed “Restoring Courage,” in August of last year, where he addressed thousands of supporters in a highly anticipated Jerusalem event.