Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
February 2, 2022
“Let’s be truthful about it, because the Holocaust isn’t about race… It’s about man’s inhumanity to man.” - “Whoopi Goldberg” (Caryn Elaine Johnson) - Monday, January 31, 2022 on The View
That brief statement of insensitive ignorance sparked a firestorm that led ABC News President Kim Godwin to suspend Goldberg for two weeks effective immediately, Tuesday, February 1.
While I remain a vigorous defender of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, words have meaning and words also have consequences.
Goldberg, who, make no mistake, is not Jewish, has disgraced the Goldberg name with her thoughtless invective, then compounded it, adding, “these are two white groups of people.” Does that lessen the severity of the Holocaust because “these are two white groups of people?” Are six million Jewish people any less dead because they were slaughtered by other white people? That is insanely obtuse of Goldberg to think, let alone utter out loud on national television.
Should the pandemic of Black on Black crime be dismissed because these are two Black groups of people? How about the genocide and slavery of over a million Uyghurs by the Chinese Communist Party? Should that be ignored because these are two Asian groups of people? Of course not - that would be outlandish. And deeply offensive.
On Monday, StopAntisemitism.org posted, “Newsflash @ WhoopiGoldberg 6 million of us were gassed, starved and massacred because we were deemed an inferior race by the Nazis. How dare you minimize our trauma and suffering.”
The Jewish people were defined as a subhuman race by Hitler and the Nazis, subjected to any attrocities and degradation that could possibly be perpetrated against another human being. In reality, the Jewish people can be defined as a race, a religion, a culture, but one rabbi friend said the Jewish people should be considered a family, or a faith community. After all, one need not be born into Judaism to be Jewish, and Jewish people come in numerous colors and nationalities.
The Nazis sought to create a superior race - an Aryan race, as part of Hitler’s so-called Thousand Year Reich, which at 12 years, was already a dozen too many. Such a desire is the epitome of racism - if there is to be a superior race, by definition there is to be an inferior race. Anti-Semitism is a form of racism - against the race of the Semites, the Semitic peoples. Yet, the so-called prevailing wisdom is that the Jewish people are white, assumed to be of means, and therefore cannot be a minority nor should be treated as one. However, rising anti-Semitism both in the United States and abroad, say otherwise. At less than two percent of the American population, and less than one-tenth of one percent of the global population, the Jewish community is the ultimate minority.
And the Jewish community seems to be a minority on The View. Although Barbara Walters, a founder of The View, is Jewish, there hasn’t been a Jewish host on the program since her departure in 2016. Apparently there have only been two Jewish hosts of the more than two dozen in the 25 year history of The View. I don’t believe in affirmative action, therefore, if the best hosts for that program are not Jewish, so be it. Whether it’s the ballfield, the boardroom, or the operating room, I want the best players on the field regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, etc.
Goldberg, who has co-hosted The View since 2007 attempted, rather poorly, to offer a non-apology apology during her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Monday night. “I feel being Black, when we talk about race, it’s a very different thing to me. So I said that I felt that the Holocaust wasn’t about race. People were very angry and they said ‘no, no, we are a race.’ And I understand - I understand. I felt differently.”
That so-called apology went over like a lead balloon. “Let me use Whoopi’s words ‘let’s be truthful,’ she marginalized the deaths of six million Jews,” said civil rights attorney Leo Terrell, appearing on The Faulkner Focus on Tuesday, February 1. “And what makes it insulting is that she provided cover for those who are anti-Semitic; those who really try to downplay that the Nazis systematically tried to eliminate every Jew on this planet…. She’s using her race as a cover. Whoopi Goldberg apparently missed World History class in high school.
“I feel, as a Black man, as a civil rights attorney, and as a history teacher, that what she said was anti-Semitic, racist, and downplayed that six million people were murdered…. It’s an attempt to ignore what happened [80] years ago. This world should never forget that a madman tried to eliminate a religious group off the face of this earth,” said Terrell.
Hate speech, ignorant speech, should be combated with more speech, not less. Shine a bright light on people’s words and let viewers or listeners decide whether or not they choose to watch or listen any longer. Those same people will also decide whether or not to patronize the advertisers of such programs. Advertisers should be judged upon the company they keep. Do I wish to patronize a business that de facto supports the words (or actions) of ignorance, hate, racism or anti-Semitism being spewed?
“Jewish Americans like myself are used to this,” said former State Department spokesperson and United States Navy veteran Morgan Ortagus, also appearing on Harris Faulkner’s program on Tuesday. “It’s quite sad - one in four Jews have said in the past year they have experienced some form of anti-Semitism. We’ve seen this from some very radical leftist members of Congress.
“The bigger picture here too, which everyone is missing, is that not only did Hitler exterminate the Jews in the Holocaust because he believed they were an inferior race, newsflash to everyone - not all Jews are white - you should go to Israel. You should see the fact that there are Jews from around the world - all colors - complete ignorance about the Jewish people - it’s incredibly offensive - lines up with the leftist agenda towards Jews and America, but broader to Israel as well.
“We look at the UN - at their resolutions condemning various countries around the world, last year, guess who got 14 condemnations? It was Israel. North Korea got one. Iran, the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, got one. Just last week swastikas were painted on Union Station steps away from the US Capital. This is a continuing, rampant problem.
“Unfortunately, Whoopi Goldberg stepped into it… in a way that perpetuated lies about the Jewish people that we’ve heard for decades. Specifically, those lies were rampant during the Holocaust. I’m glad she apologized, but I think it just speaks to a broader need for people to really understand how Jews - American Jews - are being targeted by leftist institutions.”
Ortagus is absolutely correct. Overt anti-Semitism has been on the rise for decades in the US and abroad. Those attacks have come in the form of desecration at synagogues - including mine in Carmel, IN, repeated assaults on religious Jewish men and women in New York City and the surrounding area, as well as gun violence that has claimed almost 20 lives in just over three years.
Just three weeks ago, on January 15, Shabbat services were disrupted by a gunman who held four hostages for about 12 hours at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, TX near Dallas.
December 11, 2019 two gunmen slaughtered four people in and near a kosher grocery in Jersey City, NJ. One of the murdered included Jersey City Detective Joseph Seals.
April 27, 2019 a gunman invaded the Chabad in Poway, CA near San Diego during Shabbat services murdering one congregant and wounding three others, including the rabbi.
October 27, 2018 in the worst attack on the Jewish community in United States history, a gunman violated Shabbat services at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. Eleven congregants were slaughtered and six others were wounded, including four police officers.
Countless anti-Semitic attacks have been heard coming from Washington, DC as House members Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) among others have brazenly, verbally assaulted the Jewish community and Israel with tired old tropes. They, like Goldberg, have displayed their ignorance, which is horrific, yet not surprising. And the new shtick by anti-Semites is to couch their anti-Semitism by hiding behind the guise of anti-Zionsim - opposing the existence of the State of Israel. To be fair, one can oppose policy in Israel and not be an anti-Semite. One can oppose the opinions of a Jewish person and also not be an anti-Semite. I disagree with virtually everything coming out of the mouths of US Rep. Bernie Sanders (S-VT) and US Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and certainly does not make me an anti-Semite.
Whoopi Goldberg may or may not be an anti-Semite - I don’t know her, nor do I know what is in her heart. Clearly we now know what is or is not in her brain as stated on The “Dim” View. On Tuesday, February 1, Goldberg began The View with a more well-crafted apology than offered on Colbert’s show the night before. “It is indeed about race because Hitler and the Nazis considered Jews to be an inferior race. Words matter, and mine are no exception. I regret my comments and I stand corrected. I also stand with the Jewish people as they know, and y’all know - because I’ve always done that.”
In spite of that apology, ABC News President Kim Godwin did the right thing by giving Goldberg a two week timeout. “Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments. While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.”
While that apology has been accepted by many in the Jewish community, some still call for Goldberg to be fired. I support free speech and Goldberg’s right to say stupid, insensitive, and offensive things. I also support ABC and its right to make personnel decisions that are best for its company and its bottom line.
As a Charter Member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in our nation’s capital, I invite, and strongly encourage Whoopi Goldberg to visit the museum and truly learn about the Holocaust. Bring friends, Ms. Goldberg it’s free and open to the public six days a week - closed Wednesdays, Yom Kippur, and Christmas. For more information visit www.ushmm.org.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN and has been a Charter Member of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum since its founding in 1993.
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