Jewish Ohio Republican Senate candidate
Josh Mandel had posted a video on his Twitter handle on Thursday, comparing
vaccine mandates to the Gestapo. The clip which has had over 1 million views, drew
backlash from some Jewish groups.

Mandel, the former state treasurer, can be seen standing in
a cornfield near Logansville, Ohio in the video. 

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He states that President Joe Biden’s idea to mandate
companies with at least 100 employees, to have their staff either
vaccinated against COVID-19 or subject to weekly testing has his “blood boiling.”

He appeals to Americans not to submit to the
“tyranny.”

“When the Gestapo show up at your door, you know what to do,”
he adds.

During World War II, the Gestapo was a covert Nazi
police force in German-occupied Europe that aimed to transport Jews and other
groups targeted by the Nazis to concentration camps.

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Following the video’s release, Jewish organisations
and others condemned it as insulting and incorrect. The Anti-Defamation League
(ADL) called the video “beyond the pale” and demanded an apology from
Mandel.

“Being asked to wear a mask or take an
FDA-approved vaccine is not equivalent to the actions of the Gestapo in
Nazi-era Germany or the systemic annihilation of an entire group of people.
These comparisons are beyond the pale and need to stop,” the ADL mentioned
in a tweet on Friday.

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, the founder of the
nonprofit RespectAbility, tweeted: “Seriously @JoshMandelOhio the Nazis
DID show up at my fathers house, and they also killed most of his family. This
analogy is deeply offensive and I hope you take it down.”

Mandel hit back at critics and the ADL, saying he
won’t apologize and will keep fighting to “defend the Judeo-Christian bedrock of America.”

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Those opposing vaccination and mask regulations have referenced
the Holocaust as an example of government overreach throughout the
pandemic. Protesters in Quebec were seen wearing yellow star patches in
August, a homage to the forced wearing of the yellow star by Jews during the
Holocaust.