The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), Australia’s leading organisation combatting anti-Semitism and hatred in all its forms, has expressed its outrage and alarm at Clive Palmer’s comparison of Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison to SS leader Heinrich Himmler. In his statement, Mr Palmer said, “Scott Morrison said he would lean on ASIC to take action against me. His comments were similar to what Commandant Himmler used to use in the Gestapo in Germany.”
Dr. Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, issued the following statement:
“I have spoken out against the manipulation and distortion of the Holocaust for political aims in the past and have registered my disgust at the use of Nazi analogies by Mr Palmer. Regardless of what Clive Palmer thinks of Scott Morrison, the comparison to Himmler was insensitive and deeply offensive. Himmler was the Nazi leader responsible for implementing the Final Solution that led to the murder of millions. By using this inappropriate equation, Clive Palmer betrays an ignorance of what really happened in Nazi Germany and it’s time for him to stop poisoning the public square with his false and tasteless Nazi linkages. Such foolish and dangerous rhetoric fuels the gross trivialization of the atrocities of the Holocaust and demeans the systematic extermination of millions of Jews and others by the Third Reich. Not only are such references historically inaccurate and extreme, they are also deeply hurtful to Holocaust survivors, their families, as well as to anyone who fought bravely against the Nazis in World War II.”
The Anti-Defamation Commission, founded in 1979, is Australia’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through educational programs that combat bigotry, prejudice and all forms of hatred.
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on (03) 9272 5677
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