Update: On June 15, 2010, Jerry Brown apologized for his remarks.

San Francisco, CA, June 14, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown's use of Nazi imagery, when he compared political opponent Meg Whitman's campaign methods to those of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, deeply offensive and inappropriate.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Mr. Brown told a Bay Area radio station that, "It's like Goebbels. Goebbels invented this kind of propaganda. He took control of the whole world. [Whitman] wants to be president. That's her ambition, the first woman president. That's what this is all about."

ADL issued the following statement:

ADL is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry.  We are non-partisan and take no position with respect to either of the candidates for governor. However, we believe that the use of Nazi references to underscore a political point is inappropriate and offensive under any circumstance.

 

Comparisons to Nazis trivialize the extent of the Nazi regime's crimes against humanity, diminish the suffering of survivors, and offend those who understand the profound evil that Nazism represented.

 

We urge Jerry Brown to publicly retract his statements, and urge all political candidates to use their stature as political leaders to condemn the use of Holocaust references for political purposes and find other ways to communicate their views.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.