Image by Forward Montage

By The Scribe June 19, 2018

In the United States, we’re currently facing a crisis: Trump’s latest policy move has resulted in thousands of children being separated from their families and kept in large cages. While it’s undeniable that the situation is terrible, there’s a debate in the Jewish community about whether or not it’s appropriate to compare the atrocities in any way to the Holocaust.

The Anti-Defamation League released a video in which children hidden during the Holocaust share just how terrible family separation policies are:

WATCH: Children separated from their parents during the Holocaust speak out about the trauma it has caused. How can anyone defend such inhumane policies? https://t.co/YjxQzAQ2s8 #FamiliesBelongTogether pic.twitter.com/QqavaIcZai

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

— ADL (@ADL_National) June 19, 2018

And Forward columnist Elad Nehorai says we have bigger things to worry about than the appropriate use of the term:

As a Jew, I find it much more offensive that some of my fellow Jews are more upset about Holocaust comparisons than about the actual atrocities happening in our country.

— Elad Nehorai (@PopChassid) June 18, 2018

But there are some who find the comparisons to the Holocaust offensive, or just a bad idea:

One of the many reasons Holocaust analogies are a bad idea is that they let the bigots turn the debate into one over whether the analogy is correct, when the policies are in fact evil *regardless* of whether they are anything like the Holocaust. https://t.co/tfh78gcnfv

— (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) June 19, 2018

What do you think?

Is it ever appropriate to compare modern crises to the Holocaust?

— The Forward (@jdforward) June 19, 2018

Have more to say? Email us.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount