Opinion: yellow stars in protests are ‘shameful and an affront’

Article content

A recent protest in Montreal against COVID-19 vaccination requirements saw several people wearing the yellow Star of David, wanting to compare their supposed plight with that of the Jewish people in Europe during the Holocaust. It was not the first time the stars had been seen at these rallies, here and elsewhere.

Article content

Appropriating the Star of David to defend passports for vaccines or other public health measures is shameful and an affront to the 6 million Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis and those who survived. By engaging in these unacceptable analogies, the protesters are not helping their already difficult case.

Comparing their situation to the horrors that Jews faced during World War II reflects a profound ignorance about the Holocaust. Protesters would do well to listen to those who experienced persecution under the Nazi regime.

French Holocaust survivor Joseph Szwarc was shocked to see the yellow stars at the protests in France. “You can’t imagine how much that bothered me,” he said. “This comparison is hateful.” Former Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld emphasized that “the yellow star was a symbol of death that excluded Jews from society and marked them for extermination, while vaccines, on the other hand, save lives.”

Article content

Most of the world’s Holocaust survivors are in their 80s and 90s, and many suffer from a wide range of medical problems. Therefore, they face a particularly high risk of serious illness from exposure to the coronavirus. Holocaust survivors and their families are grateful for the availability of vaccines, which have saved many lives in Canada and elsewhere.

One of those survivors is my mother, Bella Jedwab, who was in the ghetto in Lodz, Poland, where she was forced to wear the yellow Star of David. Today, he resides in a long-term care facility in Montreal. Many of those institutions had to deal with the spread of the virus, and my mother’s facility was no exception. Several residents were infected and, tragically, some died under very difficult circumstances. Fortunately, all residents of the facility are now fully vaccinated.

Article content

I was unable to see my mother for an extended period of time due to the confinement measures that were taken, and rightly so, to protect her and others. My family remains grateful for the care my mother received during this difficult time. Without the vaccine, my mother would have remained isolated for an even longer period of time. Therefore, my family and I were ready to get vaccinated so that we could resume the visits that she appreciates so much. We also wanted to protect each other and the people we come in contact with. It’s the most responsible thing to do to help everyone be as safe as possible.

Over the years, my mother had the opportunity to tell us about the many things she experienced and witnessed during the war. There was a constant shortage of food and limited access to hygiene. There was the tragic widespread separation and the loss of many friends and loved ones under the Nazi regime. It is absurd for anyone to compare the current pressures to get vaccinated with what my mother and other Holocaust survivors endured. Such analogies are offensive, and those who formulate them make their case unworthy of serious consideration.

Article content

Many of the vaccine protesters feel that the threat of COVID-19 is not real, contrary to the opinion of the vast majority of Quebecers and other Canadians, not to mention experts from around the world. This is confirmed by a recent Leger poll, where some six out of 10 unvaccinated Quebecers believe governments are exaggerating the threat posed by the pandemic. But with nearly 5 million people around the world having died from COVID-19, the threat is all too real.

Jack Jedwab is the president of the Association for Canadian Studies.

All our news related to the coronavirus can be found at montrealgazette.com/tag/coronavirus

For information on the vaccine passport, Click here.

Sign up for our email newsletter dedicated to local coverage of COVID-19 at montrealgazette.com/coronavirusnews.

Help support our local journalism by subscribing to the Montreal Gazette here.