Officials condemn COVID-19 protest at National Holocaust Monument

Officials at the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa are condemning weekend protests at the monument.

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) say the protest was held by “COVID-19 conspiracists” and they could be heard comparing the Holocaust and Jewish discrimination to the health mandates in place during the pandemic.

“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, conspiracy theorists around the world have compared pandemic health measures to aspects of the Holocaust,” said FSWC Director of Allyship and Community Engagement Dan Panneton in a released statement. “Any of these Holocaust comparisons are deeply troubling and an affront to each and every Jewish person who was dehumanized, persecuted and murdered by the Nazis.”

“We’ve seen protestors adorn themselves with yellow stars, invoke the Nuremberg Code, compare themselves with Holocaust victims such as Anne Frank and equate government and public health professionals with Nazis,” Panneton continued. “Antisemitic ‘puppet master’ theories invoking George Soros and the World Economic Forum have also been prevalent throughout the movement.”

The FSWC released video footage  of the April 2 gathering and say one person was seen standing on the monument and there was a flag associating Jewish billionaire Soros, a common target of conspiracies, with the infamous “Great Reset.”

“Incidents like this past weekend’s protest at the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa highlight the importance of high-quality Holocaust education that discourages making simplistic, ahistorical and deeply offensive equivocations,” said Panneton. “Carefully and respectfully applying the lessons of the Holocaust is an essential exercise in any liberal democracy.”

Photo courtesy FSWC