North Bay’s Jewish community disappointed by PPC candidate’s tweet comparing vaccine rules to Holocaust
Members of North Bay's Jewish community are disappointed in People’s Party of Canada candidate Greg Galante, who compared COVID-19 measures to the Holocaust.
Galante tweeted that there are parallels between current public health guidelines and the events leading up to the Holocaust.
“There’s fair points to debate when it comes to COVID response,” said Larry Fuld, treasurer of Sons of Jacob Synagogue. “But, I don’t think anything that’s been said or done which comes close to comparing it to what happened in Nazi Germany.”
Before the Nazis sent the Jews to the concentration camps, Adolf Hitler’s government began isolating them from society. This included the boycott of Jewish-owned businesses, Jews were forced to identify themselves with the Star of David and they were separated into ghettos.
Half of Fuld’s father’s family perished in concentration camps, while other family members were able to flee Nazi Germany in 1941.
“I can assure you that that they weren’t fleeing the public health policy of the time,” said Fuld. “That wasn’t the issue.”
Galante was responding to a tweet posted by Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson where he called out those who are comparing masks and vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.
“How did the Holocaust start?" Galante tweeted back. "Oh that’s right with a systemic and programmed stigmatization of a certain segment of society. They were demonized, labeled, targeted and then ultimately rounded up.”
CTV News offered Galante a chance to clarify his stance. He initially agreed to an interview, but then cancelled.
Fuld said the comparison has no merit.
“It’s disappointing to see a candidate for political office make what I consider an absurd statement,” he said.
Dr. Jim Chirico, North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit medical officer of health, also condemned the tweet during a Thursday morning media conference.
“People recognize a statement like that for what it is: absurd,” Chirico said.
Wednesday marked the start of Yom Kippur. It is the holiest time of the year in Judaism. Fuld said the comment made by Galante disrespects everyone who suffered through the Nazi reign of terror.
“It’s not appropriate on any day, the comment,” he said. “It’s an affront to all of those poor souls who were tortured and murdered in those camps.”
Fuld said he hopes Galante will reflect on his tweet and do research on the horrors of the Holocaust.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
DEVELOPING Canada's annual inflation rate ticked down to 2.8 per cent in February, defying expectations
Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate edged down to 2.8 per cent in February.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.