Fox news star Greg Gutfeldwhose latest book comes out on Tuesday, is currently being criticized for his recent remark that Jews “must be useful” to survive in the concentration camps, prompting the Auschwitz Museum to criticize his comments as an “oversimplification” of the Holocaust.
Above all, the White House condemned Gutfeld! the presenter’s comment was an “obscenity”, while Anti-Defamation League said it was unclear whether he was spouting “nonsense” or arguing a “well-proven” point.
Furthermore, Fox News employees and insiders told The Daily Beast it was a “disgusting thing” for a resident “comedian” of the network to say it was “disgusting,” adding that “anywhere else his career would be over.”
Recently, some Fox News characters—including Gutfeld’s new primetime colleague Jesse Watters— hastily defended Florida new and controversial educational program, teaches children that slavery helped Blacks develop skills, thus giving them “personal gain”. Meanwhile, amid widespread criticism of the “anti-wake” lesson plan, Florida governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis have double downwhile also suggesting that slavery was a beneficial experience for some slaves.
During the Monday broadcast of Fox News’ Year, which both Watters and Gutfeld co-hosted, the board vehemently opposed Vice President Kamala Harris’s condemnation of Florida’s curriculum as racist. For example, Watters criticized not wanting “African Americans and white Americans to know that black Americans have learned skills despite being enslaved.”
The heated discussion, however, took a nasty turn when lone liberal panelist Jessica Tarlov drew parallels between slavery and the Holocaust, wondering if Florida schools taught that Jews received some benefit from the Nazis systematically killing them in death camps.
Gutfeld, referencing a famous book by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, accepted Tarlov’s challenge and ran with it.
“Have you ever read? People search for meaning?” Gutfeld wondered. “Vik Frankl talks about how you have to survive in a concentration camp with skills. You must be useful. Practicality! Gadgets to help you survive!”
ONE clip Gutfeld’s comment quickly went viral on social media, prompting an immediate backlash from media observers And journalist who felt that the harsh Fox host crossed the line, even for the right-wing network.
“Everybody else at Fox agrees with Gutfeld’s suggestion that Jews sent to concentration camps can survive ‘by being helpful?’ How could any of his panelists show up tomorrow to sit next to him? neoconservative expert Bill Kristol, who is Jewish, asked rhetorically Monday night.
Trump impeachment whistleblower Alexander Vindman, also Jewish, is much more outspoken than Kristol.
“This damn stupid @greggutfeld makes no sense. He argues that holocaust honed Jewish skills allowed some to survive,” he said. Written on the second night. “Over SIX MILLION men, women and children have died because they were not useful enough. @FoxNews is complicit in this hateful period. #Never repeat.”
Meanwhile, Media Matters senior writer Eric Kleefeld, declare that Gutfeld “ironically” praised the value of the infamous phrase “Arbeit macht frei,” which was hung above the entrance to the brutal Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.
It doesn’t take long to Auschwitz . Museum consider of Gutfeld’s remarks, pointing out that the self-described “King of the Late Night” does not seem to fully understand the horrors of the Holocaust.
“While it is true that some Jews may have used their skills or usefulness to increase their chances of survival during the Holocaust, it is essential to properly contextualize this claim and understand that it does not represent the complex history of the Nazi genocide,” the museum wrote in a lengthy statement.
“Victor Frankl’s remarks on the specific situation in Auschwitz, which at one time served as a camp connecting concentration camp and extermination center functions and where deported Jews went through the selection process, highlights how some Jews became registered prisoners and may have used their skills to gain favor or extend their lives,” the statement said in the statement. However, it never gives them complete protection.
Noting that there was “no choice in extermination camps” and “useful does not provide protection” during the final stages of the Holocaust, the museum blamed Gutfeld for oversimplifying the horrifying historical period.
“Therefore, while it is correct to admit that some Jews may have temporarily survived by their perceived usefulness, it is important to remember that the Holocaust was a systematic genocide whose ultimate aim was the extermination of the entire Jewish population,” the statement concluded. “It would be more appropriate to say that some Jews survived the Holocaust because they were considered temporarily useful, and the circumstances of the collapse of the Nazi regime prevented their killing. We should avoid such oversimplification when it comes to this complex tragic story.”
Additionally, an ADL spokesperson noted that while it was unclear exactly what Gutfeld was actually suggesting on Monday, it appears he didn’t fully grasp the facts.
“From Gutfeld’s comments, it is unclear whether he is arguing that the Jews learned skills during the Holocaust, or that the skilled Jews had a higher chance of survival. The latter is something well documented, while the former is nonsense. That said, many millions of Jews who, in Gutfeld’s words, have “gadgets,” are still murdered,” the spokesperson told The Daily Beast.
“Moreover, the main argument in Frankl’s book is about how people who have a reason to live – a relative they want to be with, a book they want to write, research they are working on, etc. – have a better chance of spiritual survival because it motivates them not to give up,” he added.
Fox News did not respond to a request for comment.
For its part, the White House took issue with Fox News for not speaking out about Gutfeld’s remarks.
“What Fox News was allowed to say on their broadcast yesterday – and so far has not condemned – is obscene,” said White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates. told CNN.
He added: “In defense of a horrible, dangerous, and radical lie that insults the memories of millions of Americans who have suffered the crimes of slavery, a Fox News host has told another horrible, dangerous, and extreme lie that insults the memories of millions of people who have suffered the crimes of the Holocaust.
“Let’s get straight to one thing that the American people understand very well and it’s not complicated: there’s nothing good about slavery; there is nothing good about the Holocaust. Stop completely,” Bates concluded. “Americans deserve to be brought together, not divided by poison. And they deserve the truth and the freedom to learn, not the prohibitions and lies.”
Additionally, Gutfeld’s comments were not well received by some at the conservative cable giant, which has long dealt with inflammatory rhetoric from hosts and commentators sometimes criticized as anti-Semitic. In fact, ADL has many times condemn network for oxygen supply to “racist” and “marginal” comments, such as white supremacy “Great alternative” theory.
A Fox News producer said: “Obviously, that’s a disgusting thing to say, like Jesse’s comment on the matter. “Overall, I am amazed that FOX is able to retain employees from multicultural backgrounds. Our workplace is very diverse because vitriol is often present in the air. Understand that they might be here for the same reasons as me, these jobs are scarce, but I can’t help but feel bad for them because they certainly see this nonsense and can’t do anything to stop it.”
Another reporter merely told The Daily Beast “yike” when asked to react to Gutfeld’s remarks, while an insider suggested that there was “a lot of internal anxiety” about the host’s latest controversy, especially as he had just moved into prime time.
The insider added: “Anywhere else, his career would be over.
While Gutfeld would love to take on the role of Fox News’ “shrewd” provocateur, who isn’t afraid to take on contrarian positions, such as protect After the Charlottesville riots, Donald Trump also criticized others for invoking the Holocaust in “offensive” ways.
In one Fox News Segment 2015Gutfeld lashed out at actress Shirley MacClaine for suggesting in her memoirs that Holocaust victims may have “balanced their karma from ages ago” due to the possibility that they were either Roman soldiers or crusaders in another life.
“That’s not only offensive, but it’s also an example of intelligence impersonating, for a mind that knows no boundaries is just stupid,” he exclaimed, adding: “Shirley wasn’t in a concentration camp, allowing her to use their hell for fun and profit.”
Gutfeld concludes: “Did Shirley write this terrible book to punish her for being a scary person in a past life? No, because she is a scary person in the present life.”
