As Jewish Americans, we recognize the value of freedom of expression and the need for the free exchange of ideas; however, we cannot stand by idly while anti-Semitic tropes are tossed indiscriminately into the public arena. The paper’s misguided attempt to respond to a requirement meant to save lives is an appalling appropriation of Holocaust imagery that is both misguided and painful to the Jewish people in Kansas and around the world. Hateful speech must be called out and opposed wherever it surfaces, and we are saddened that Anderson County has risen to notoriety for dishonoring the memory of those members of our people — men, women and children — murdered by the Germans and their collaborators during WWII.
The Jewish tradition teaches that humans have the capacity to do teshuvah, to repent and return. Repentance begins with expressing a full sense of regret and issuing an apology, but it does not end there. In the fullest sense, repentance must include taking responsibility for our actions and accepting the consequences. As the owner of the paper and creator of the cartoon is the chairman of the Anderson County Republican Party, we look for an unequivocal repudiation of this disgraceful depiction by both state and national party leaders.
We pray that the editor of the paper and his supporters may find a way to accept the consequences of their actions by stepping aside and taking time to reflect on their actions so that they may achieve a profound healing of their moral selves and their relationships with others.
Rabbinical Association of
Greater Kansas City
