Rabbi Howard Morrison

Earlier this week, I critiqued the banning of the book, Maus, in a Tennessee school, and the boasting of Swastika flags by truckers in Ottawa. I wrote that both scenarios warranted Holocaust education.

Now, Whoopi Goldberg needs a semester of Holocaust Education. Referring to Nazis and Jews as co-equal parties in a humanity versus humanity conflict is wrong and insulting.

While it is true that Jews are not a race, the Nazis utilized the false propaganda of Jews being an inferior race to justify slaughtering six million of our people. Goldberg's comments this week were beyond being offensive, insensitive, and hurtful.

While the network has given Goldberg a two week suspension, what she really needs is some education. Why is no one insisting that she spend time over the next two weeks at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. or the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles?

Decades ago, a couple of non-Jewish teenagers had painted swastikas on the garage door of a rabbi in Los Angeles. The rabbi insisted that more than punishment, the teens needed education in order to comprehend the evil of their wrongdoing. Thus, the rabbi had the teens spend time learning the consequences of their actions by attending the Museum of Tolerance.

I would suggest the same course of study for Whoopi Goldberg. A sincere apology should lead to sincere follow up action.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Howard Morrison