Republican Senator Bernie Moreno speaks to journalists, Photo: Kayla Bartkowski / Getty images
Scandal in the US Senate
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio, who was elected to Congress last November, caused a scandal when he referred to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer as “the Fuhrer”. This word is mostly associated with Adolf Hitler, who led Germany during World War II and was responsible for the deaths of six million Jews. This was reported by The Jerusalem Post.
Moreno made the announcement to reporters outside the Senate chamber as his fellow party members tried to reach an agreement on a strategy for passing President Donald Trump’s tax cut programme.
Reuters reminds that Chuck Schumer recently published a book entitled “Anti-Semitism in America: A Warning”.
Reaction to Moreno’s statement
In response to Moreno’s statement, Schumer’s spokesman said: “This is a classic example of anti-Semitism, so we will not comment.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League in the United States, condemned Senator Moreno’s statement in a commentary to Reuters:
“There is no justification for comparing the Jewish leader in the Senate to Adolf Hitler. Such references only trivialise the Holocaust and the memory of the six million Jews who perished during World War II. Furthermore, describing an elected Jewish official in this way is deeply repugnant,” Greenblatt said.
Political leaders and human rights activists are demanding an apology from Bernie Moreno, and the scandal continues to gain momentum. Observers note that such statements could have serious consequences for the politician’s career, especially in the face of growing public rejection of anti-Semitism.
