Rep. Steve Israel is still waiting for an apology four days after people protesting health care reform legislation used Holocaust imagery at a rally organized by Rep. Michele Bachmann.
Thousands of protesters, including tea-partiers and anti-abortion activists, attended Thursday’s rally outside the Capitol in response to Bachmann’s request for a “House Call” to urge lawmakers to reject the health care bill the House of Representatives passed Saturday.
Many in the crowd expressed their opposition with signs, one of which read, “National Socialist Healthcare, Dachau, Germany, 1945.” It bore images of Holocaust victims.
Israel, D-N.Y., who is Jewish, objected to the comparison and in a YouTube video posted Friday, called on Bachmann to condemn it.
“I can’t believe that Congresswoman Bachmann would stand where she stood, and see those images, and not have the common decency to say, `I disagree with the use of those images,’ ” Israel said. “I think she owes the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust an apology. She owes us all an apology.”
Israel said that although he strongly supports freedom of speech, “with that right comes a responsibility by leaders to condemn that kind of expression.”
Israel’s spokeswoman, Lindsay Hamilton, said the congressman also sent Bachmann a personal note asking for an apology.
“The congressman is still awaiting an apology,” Hamilton said Tuesday.
Gabby Adler, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which wants to defeat Bachmann in 2010, also called on the Minnesota Republican to denounce the message.
“Congresswoman Bachmann should show some courage and immediately apologize for failing to condemn the use of these grotesque, hate-filled images,” Adler said.
When asked to comment on Israel’s video, Bachmann issued this statement Tuesday:
“Sadly, some individuals chose to marginalize tragic events in human history, such as the Holocaust, by invoking imagery and labels which have no purpose in a policy debate about health care. These regrettable actions negatively shift the focus of the current discussion on this issue. The American people deserve an open and honest debate to ensure the best possible solution to our health care problems, and I agree that these unfortunate instances are wholly inappropriate.”
Kudos to the St Cloud Times for shaming Michele Bachmann into making this statement. They also reported:
Bachmann’s spokeswoman, Debbee Keller, said the congresswoman also sent a letter to the Jewish Community Relations Council expressing her concerns and ongoing support for the Jewish community. Keller said she didn’t know if Bachmann received Israel’s letter.
The Jewish Community Relations Council paid $7,170 for Bachmann and her husband, Marcus Bachmann, to meet with government, military, academic and religious leaders in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel, in November 2008, according to House records. Part of the trip included a visit to the Holocaust memorial.
Bachmann went on a 10-day trip to Israel with her daughter in August, sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation. The group also sponsored a 12-day visit to Tel Aviv by Bachmann and her husband in August 2007. The combined cost for the two trips was $37,211.
Neither the Jewish Community Relations Council nor the American Israel Education Foundation responded to calls for comment.
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