The entrance to Auschwitz, in a 2005 image. Image by Getty

(JTA) — A Poland-born Holocaust survivor from New Jersey invited Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to tour Auschwitz following her remarks about concentration camps.

Edward Mosberg, 93, on Friday extended the invitation to the Democrat lawmaker who on Monday touched off a heated debate in the media about her use of the term, which is widely associated with Nazi Germany, to describe facilities where aliens found to be staying illegally in the United States are held.

“It should be a requirement of all United States Congressmen to visit Auschwitz,” wrote Mosberg, honorary president of the Holocaust commemoration group From the Depths.

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)

It is necessary in Ocasio-Cortez’s case because of her “lack of proper education on the Holocaust,” the foundation’s founder, Jonny Daniels, also wrote in the invitation.

Mosberg, a multi-millionaire who had survived several Nazi camps, wore a kippah bearing President Donald Trump’s portrait to a Holocaust commemoration event earlier this year.

Amid criticism by Jewish groups and others over the analogy she made — including by Yad Vashem, Israel’s state Holocaust museum — Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter doubled down on her use of the term.

Her critics, including historian Deborah Lipstadt, argued the analogy is inaccurate and therefore potentially harmful to efforts to reverse the government’s detainment policies.

Many others defended Ocasio-Cortez’s comparison, including George Tekai, an actor who was imprisoned in the United States during World War II because he is of Japanese descent.

“I was inside two of them, in America,” he tweeted. “And yes, we are operating such camps again,” Tekai wrote.

Ocasio-Cortez has faced backlash for her comments from political allies like presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

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. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount