AJC CEO Denounces Jemele Hill for Tweeting U.S. ‘Is Nearly as Bad as Nazi Germany’

American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO David Harris denounced Jemele Hill, a contributing writer for The Atlantic, for tweeting that the United States “is nearly as bad as Nazi Germany.”

On August 23, Hill tweeted, “Been reading Isabel Wilkerson’s new book, ‘Caste,’ and if you were of the opinion that the United States wasn’t nearly as bad as Nazi Germany, how wrong you are. Can’t encourage you enough to read this masterpiece.”

Been reading Isabel Wilkerson’s new book, “Caste,” and if you were of the opinion that the United States wasn’t nearly as bad as Nazi Germany, how wrong you are. Can’t encourage you enough to read this masterpiece.

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) August 23, 2020

Harris tweeted in response to Hill, “[America] is imperfect, still striving to achieve its noble aims. But to compare democratic U.S. & Nazi Germany, the most evil, barbaric & deadly regime in history? Words escape me.”

“If you were of the opinion that the U.S. wasn’t nearly as bad as Nazi Germany, how wrong you are.”

🇺🇸 is imperfect, still striving to achieve its noble aims.

But to compare democratic U.S. & Nazi Germany, the most evil, barbaric & deadly regime in history?

Words escape me. https://t.co/oSYxJA0FZq

— David Harris (@DavidHarrisNY) August 24, 2020

Sinai Temple Rabbi David Wolpe tweeted, “Comparing things to Nazi Germany shows a genuine inability to grasp the magnitude of the Nazi’s cruelties and murders. The Shoah was not a riot, discrimination, segregation or wanton cruelty. It was the planned brutalization and execution of millions.”

Comparing things to Nazi Germany shows a genuine inability to grasp the magnitude of the Nazi’s cruelties and murders. The Shoah was not a riot, discrimination, segregation or wanton cruelty. It was the planned brutalization and execution of millions.

— David Wolpe (@RabbiWolpe) August 24, 2020

In response to one commenter’s criticism, Hill argued that she wasn’t saying “the current state of America is like Nazi Germany. I was referring specifically to our racial history. The parallels have been pointed out by plenty of historians, not just Isabel Wilkerson.”

Nowhere in my tweet did I say the current state of America is like Nazi Germany. I was referring specifically to our racial history. The parallels have been pointed out by plenty of historians, not just Isabel Wilkerson. You tell me to grow up. I say, you need to read more.

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) August 24, 2020

Former Democratic New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind argued that Hill’s rationale was insufficient. “Jemele, ‘parallels’ as you say now and ‘as bad’ as you said in your original tweet are two different conclusions, for starters,” Hikind tweeted. “Second, the notion that such comparisons serve anything of value is ludicrous, so why do it when you know you’re distorting the truths of both?”

Jemele, “parallels” as you say now and “as bad” as you said in your original tweet are two different conclusions, for starters.

Second, the notion that such comparisons serve anything of value is ludicrous, so why do it when you know you’re distorting the truths of both?

— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) August 24, 2020

One commenter defended Hill in a reply, stating, “The fact that Nazis studied USA jim crow laws/apartheid system of and determined some measures were too extreme for their purposes and STILL able came up with the Nuremberg Laws leading to the massacre of 6 million souls speaks volumes about USA.”

“Precisely,” Hill replied. “For example, I knew that Hitler admired Henry Ford for his racism. I did not know that they stole the one-drop rule from us as well as criminalizing interracial marriage. Also, what does it say that in 2020, lynching still hasn’t been outlawed?”

Precisely. For example, I knew that Hitler admired Henry Ford for his racism. I did not know that they stole the one-drop rule from us as well as criminalizing interracial marriage.

Also, what does it say that in 2020, lynching still hasn’t been outlawed? https://t.co/7hgzU5iW9h

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) August 23, 2020

The one-drop rule was a Jim Crow-era policy stating “that anyone with any black ancestry was legally black and could not marry a white person,” according to History.com. As part of the Nuremburg Laws, the Nazis banned marriage between Jews and non-Jews; the laws defined someone as Jewish if they had at least three Jewish grandparents, History.com states.

Times of Israel military correspondent Judah Ari Gross tweeted, “That Germany studied American racism before the Holocaust is well documented, troubling and demands recognition and consideration. To leap from that to saying the US was (is?) nearly as bad as the Nazis is ludicrous and unconscionable.”

https://twitter.com/JudahAriGross/status/1297764041256042497?s=20

In July, Hill wrote a piece for The Atlantic expressing remorse about how she wrote in a 2008 ESPN column, “Rooting for the [Boston] Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim.”

“More than a decade later, I still cringe when I think about it,” Hill wrote. “Not only had I severely insulted the Celtics’ fan base, but I had made a joke about the Nazi leader who orchestrated the murder of 6 million Jewish people. I was, of course, aware of the Holocaust, but I had given little thought to the feelings of the Jewish community because, frankly, it wasn’t my own.”

She added that she subsequently wrote a column apologizing for the joke, and ESPN suspended her for a week.

Hill later addressed Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson’s social media posts that featured a fabricated Hitler quote and glorified Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who Hill said has a “long, vile record of anti-Semitism.”

“The unfortunate truth is that some Black Americans have shown a certain cultural blindspot about Jews,” Hill later wrote. “Stereotypical and hurtful tropes about Jews are widely accepted in the African American community. As a kid, I heard elders in my family say in passing that Jewish people were consumed with making money, and that they ‘owned everything.’ My relatives never dwelled on the subject, and nothing about their tone indicated that they thought anything they were saying was anti-Semitic — not that a lack of awareness would be any excuse.”

She added that the “thirst for liberation and equality can never come at the expense of dehumanizing other marginalized groups — especially at a time when hate crimes against Jews have increased significantly.”