opinion
on aid to Israel and denounced the Biden admin-
istration’s efforts to appease Iran.

These are the sorts of things we’re used to
hearing from evangelical Christians who are, if
anything, more vocal in their hardline support
of Israel than most liberal Jews, who are often
uncomfortable with the Jewish state’s positions.

But it is heady stuff coming from a self-described
“secular Muslim” whose skills as a speaker were
on display at the RJC event.

Indeed, Friedman saw Oz’s support for Israel
as in keeping with his own experiences helping
to broker normalization agreements with Arab
and Muslim countries. If, as he said he recently
told Trump, “It is easier to get a kosher sandwich
in Dubai than in Washington,” it stands to reason
that an American Muslim could be just as comfort-
able in supporting that expanding circle of peace
for a secure Israel as anyone else.

That is not the message that groups like the
Council of American Islamic Relations, which
was founded as a front for Hamas in the United
States but now claims to be a civil-rights orga-
nization, support. CAIR is virulently antisemitic,
yet it is widely assumed by the mainstream
media to speak for most Muslims. Their opin-
ions are echoed by others on the left who have
denounced Oz as not fit to be the first Muslim U.S.

senator because he is supported by Trump.

Like most other non-Jewish politicians who
may think backing Israel is a path to Jewish sup-
port, he’s about to learn that this is a myth. The
overwhelming majority of Jews in Pennsylvania
are, like elsewhere, liberals and loyal Democrats
who don’t prioritize Israel as conservative and
Republican Jews do.

If Oz faces an uphill struggle to win in November,
it is due to concerns about his retaining his Turkish
citizenship (which he says he will renounce if he
wins); the fact that he spent most of his life living
outside Pennsylvania, as well as the notoriety he
earned as a television personality who backed
products most doctors shunned; and some gaffes
that make him look out-of-touch with voters, not
his foreign-policy positions.

Still, win or lose, the fact that the first Muslim-
American to have a reasonable shot at winning a
Senate seat is someone who has placed unques-
tioned support for Israel among his priorities
ought to be viewed as an encouraging sign by all
those who care about the Jewish state.

In much of the Muslim world, there is still
strong resistance to normalization with Israel that
is rooted in pervasive antisemitism. That’s why
even Democrats who won’t vote for Oz should
be cheering the idea that a Muslim candidate is
willing to speak up for the Jewish state.

If the Abraham Accords truly represent the
future, we are going to need a lot more moder-
ate Muslims like Oz who, whatever their political
affiliations, are willing to stand with the Jewish
community in support of Israel. JE
Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS.

A Wrongful Salute
to Nazi Symbols
BY PHYLLIS HEIDEMAN
A wristwatch belonging to Adolf Hitler was
recently sold by an auction house in the United
States for over a million dollars.

Other items in the auction of “historical militaria”
included a sketch by Hitler of his proposal for the
Munich Opera House, described in the auction
catalog as “a superlative Hitler piece.” The Nazi
leader, said the catalog, was a “dedicated opera
devotee.” The catalog also included a signed
birthday greeting to Heinrich Himmler, one of the
architects of the Final Solution, and a cap worn by
a concentration camp guard.

While some of the items on auction may have
been valuable for a museum that would place them
in historical context, one can only wonder who the
buyer might be for a “superlative” Hitler sketch.

An auction of Nazi memorabilia under the feeble
excuse, “If you destroy history, there is no proof
that it happened” contributes nothing to historical
memory or teaching the lessons of the Holocaust.

In fact, it hands a victory to Nazi sympathizers by
cheapening the memory of the genocide, eroding
the stigma associated with Nazi symbols and cre-
ating indifference to their display. To paraphrase
Elie Wiesel, “Indifference is the greatest enemy in
combating hate.”
Sadly, the auction was only one in a long list of
examples of the trivialization and mainstreaming
of Nazi iconography. For example, we have seen
anti-vaccine activists using a yellow star to protest
mandatory health measures during the COVID-
19 pandemic, and the use of Nazi “aesthetics” in
fashion, with well-known clothing brands incor-
porating Nazi symbols as though they were just
another graphic element.

The Nazi swastika has been banned in many
countries — most recently in Australia, where pub-
lic displays of the symbol have been prohibited
and criminalized by the State of Victoria. In other
countries, most notably the United Kingdom and
the United States, the swastika and other Nazi
symbols are being displayed with impunity on the
pretext of freedom of speech and expression.

At a time when antisemitic incidents are on the
increase throughout the world, we cannot allow
extremists a free hand to glorify Nazi symbols and
exploit them to deliver their heinous political mes-
sages. Freedom of speech is one thing, freedom
to glorify systematic genocide is quite another.

Antisemitism must be fought wherever it raises
its ugly head. Countries around the world should
follow Victoria’s example and adopt strict laws
that ban all insignias, emblems and symbols asso-
ciated with the Nazi Party — such as already exist
in Austria and Germany. However, legislation in
and of itself is not enough. These laws must be
diligently enforced.

Moreover, tech giants are not doing enough to
combat online hate, particularly on social media.

On the Dark Web, overt and shameless antisemi-
tism remains rife.

Society needs robust political leadership that
will speak out against all forms of antisemitism
whenever and wherever it raises its hateful voice.

We must tackle the root causes of antisemitism,
and the only way to do so is through education.

Teaching the history of the Holocaust and the nature
of antisemitism should be mandatory in all schools.

We cannot allow
extremists a free hand to
glorify Nazi symbols and
exploit them to
deliver their heinous
political messages.

As French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, the
daughter of a Holocaust survivor, recently said at
a ceremony commemorating the Nazi slaughter
of French Jewry, “Do not forget, never forget, the
duty of remembrance is a duty for the future. …
We will teach again and again the reality of the
genocide and its dark years. … There is not a
classroom … where the memory of the Holocaust
should not be taught, not a school where it can be
challenged.” For over three decades, the International March
of the Living has delivered in-depth education to
hundreds of thousands of students and adults as
preparation for their participation in the march.

We strive to inspire our participants to fight racism
and injustice.

Listening to the stories of survivors and visiting
the sites where the unspeakable horrors of the
Holocaust took place create indelible impressions
and provide information essential to understand-
ing the past and committing to help ensure a bet-
ter future for all. JE
Phyllis Greenberg Heideman is president of the
International March of the Living.

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