Erie County, NY – A leading Jewish group rejected an up-state Republican’s apology for comparing Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver, the Orthodox Jewish speaker of the state Assembly, to Adolf Hitler and calling him an anti-Christ.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a statement saying the mea culpa by Erie County Executive Chris Collins, who is eying a run for governor, “is small solace.”
“This was not an off the-cuff remark made in the heat of political debate or battle, but during remarks made and prepared for a public audience at a fund-raising event,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Collins tried to call Silver yesterday, but did not get through and did not receive a return call.
As was reported yesterday that during a GOP dinner in Buffalo, Collins compared Silver to Adolf Hitler and called him an anti-Christ.
Collins through a spokesman said he made a “poor joke” and extended his “sincerest apologies” to Silver.
A Silver spokesman declined to comment for a second straight day.
(Source: NY Daily News)
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2 Responses
Technically speaking, Silver is anti-Christ. The comparison to Hitler was a bit over the top, though. Hey, folks, this is politics. Grow a thicker skin or find another line of work.
if it would have been a democrat that called silver hitler it would have been ok