Pennsylvania State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) with Rabbi Joseph Kolakowski on March 11, 2024. Courtesy of Joseph Kolakowski

By Jacob Kornbluh March 12, 2024

Doug Mastriano, a Christian nationalist Pennsylvania state senator and failed gubernatorial candidate, introduced a bill Monday to promote Holocaust education with a Hasidic rabbi who repeatedly attributed the cause of the Holocaust to Zionism. 

“Our friendship has gone on for a little while,” said Joseph Kolakowski, who calls himself the Koblentzer Rebbe from New York, thanking Mastriano for inviting him to an event to announce the bill at the state capitol. The legislation aims to enforce Holocaust education in Pennsylvania public schools.

Kolakowski, who previously promoted the QAnon conspiracy and defended the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, endorsed Mastriano’s 2022 gubernatorial bid. 

In a series of tweets on X (then known as Twitter) during that campaign, Kolakowski wrote that the millions of Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust died “because of Zionism.” He also claimed that most Jews died “because the Zionists pressured every country to reject Jewish refugees.”

Following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, in which terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped more than 240 Israeli and foreign nationals, Kolakowski posted, “The idea that the state of Israel and IDF protect us from another Holocaust was proven wrong.” In one post, he quoted former British Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks saying, “Holocaust education in itself offers no meaning, no hope.” 

“We count you as a friend,” Mastriano said as he introduced Kolakowski. 

The Pennsylvanian Republican didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Mastriano referenced the Oct. 7 attack in his remarks as a reason for introducing the legislation, as an Israeli flag was placed behind the podium. 

“When we think about the barbarism of Oct. 7, that it occurred not only on a Sabbath but on a holy Jewish day, shows you how insidious the wickedness and evil is,” he said. “The scourge and ideas that drove the Nazis, or the pogroms in Russia or Haman in Persia, that same spirit is alive today, and we have to stand against it and say, ‘Never again,’ and be active in opposing it.” 

Mastriano himself has made some controversial statements invoking the Holocaust and drawing Nazi analogies. He likened Democratic gun-control proposals to Nazi policies, referred to abortion as a “barbaric holocaust,” and compared the march and riot on the Capitol on Jan. 6 to the 1933 Reichstag fire. 

And just last year, Mastriano compared his lack of support from Pennsylvania churches to Jews failed by churches that did not stand up to the Nazis. He also took heat during the 2022 campaign for his divisive rhetoric and association with antisemites and conspiracy theorists. He welcomed support from the founder of Gab, a social media platform that serves as an echo chamber for far-right extremists and antisemites. And he attacked now-Gov. Josh Shapiro for sending his kids to a “privileged, exclusive, elite” Jewish day school.

Kolakowski in an email wrote that he reached out to endorse Mastriano for governor and had offered to give a benediction at a campaign event. “I have not heard any statement from Dr. Mastriano that I find problematic,” Kolakowski said in an email, referring to the senator’s doctoral degree in history. 

At Monday’s announcement, Kolakowski condemned Hamas as more cruel than the Nazis and criticized those accusing Israel of genocide. He briefly mentioned his anti-Zionist views. 

Kolakowski said in an email that he asked Mastriano after the event if he was upset that he had made some political statements in his speech, “and the senator said he vigorously supports free speech.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount