The word “Nazi” is too casually and flippantly bandied about these days, especially by Jews. (“The Yom Kippur Brawl,” Oct. 27).
How shameful it is that some people, who should know better, exploit, diminish and distort the significance of a word that brings to mind atrocities the likes of which the modern world has never seen in order to further their own biased agenda and promote a particular point of view. How offensive it is to draw any equivalency between Nazis and the majority of Donald Trump supporters. There is none.
Rabbi Mlotek, in his piece, relates how a Trump supporter reaches out a hand on Yom Kippur to wish a fellow congregant well. He is met with a brusque rejection and an epithet: “You Nazi.” Who’s the bad guy in that scenario? Rabbi Mlotek states these people are passionate in their beliefs. No rabbi, anyone who can respond in that way is not being passionate, he is being ignorant, condescending and intolerant.
Common decency, or a lack thereof, tells the truth about who we are more so than slogans and brash political pronouncements. Name-calling and insults are not the behavior we ought to be modeling for our children, no matter what political side we are on.
Jamaica, N.Y.
The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today.
