Upon seeing this mailer, a District resident immediately emailed us the following opinion:
I am Jewish. I was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust — both of my parents are concentration camp survivors.
I have not taken any public position on this race, but I am shocked and appalled that Mike Lenett would actually use Holocaust images for political purposes.
Though now I understand why he polled and asked whether respondents were Jewish. In fact, during the so-called poll, my wife was specifically asked if she would be more or less likely to support Lenett if she knew that Lenett was involved in recovering millions of dollars for Holocaust survivors.
This mailer is disgusting.
Last year, the American Defamation League (ADL) issued a blanket condemnation of any use of Holocaust imagery for domestic political purposes. In a letter to U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, ADL said:
Reasonable people can and do differ about health care reform. However, as divided as our nation may be on the best way to effectuate such reform, there should be absolutely no division when it comes to condemning the use of the Holocaust and Holocaust imagery for domestic political purposes.
ADL has consistently objected to the use of the Holocaust in this way, no matter who is invoking it, and no matter for what political purpose it is being invoked. We cannot and will not in good conscience stand by and allow the enormity of the Holocaust — the death of six million — to be invoked in a way that trivializes the memory of those who perished.