Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 22, 2021

Clackamas County commissioner Mark Shull is once again drawing condemnation after sharing a meme Sunday on his Facebook account that appeared to compare COVID-19 health restrictions to the Holocaust.

The post, which has since been taken down, references restrictions placed on Jewish people in Nazi Germany during World War II, including the requirement to wear a yellow star on their clothing while outside. It asks, Anyone see the parallel?

The other four elected members of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners issued a statement Tuesday decrying Shull for comparing COVID-19 health restrictions to the horrific crimes and atrocities the Jewish community faced during the Holocaust.

We want to be clear that our County and we as commissioners, condemn antisemitism, racism and bigotry, the statement said. Mark Shulls post does not reflect the values of Clackamas County or this Board.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland also called the comparison appalling, offensive and an affront to the memory of all who perished during the Holocaust.

The group urged Shull to issue an apology for making such a comparison.

Shull defended his actions during a Tuesday board of commissioners policy session. He said the post was sent to him by community members that were concerned about potentially losing their jobs if they did not get vaccinated. He said the post was meant as commentary on what can happen when people dont speak up about restrictions on civil liberties and said that there was nothing in the post that compares vaccine mandates with the Holocaust.

His post came less than a month after a Clackamas County employee was charged with a bias crime for painting a swastika on the sidewalk at a memorial for a Black man who died after being held at the countys jail.

This is not the first time Shull has drawn backlash for his inflammatory comments.

In June, Shull compared COVID-19 vaccine passports to Jim Crow laws that legalized racial segregation. That prompted county board chair, Tootie Smith, and the other three commissioners to vote in consensus to restrict Shulls ability to serve as a liaison to various boards and committees.

In January, Shulls history of xenophobic social media posts, as well as comments about Islam, Muslim people, transgender people and the Black Lives Matter movement, prompted a board-imposed censure and widespread calls for him to resign.

Shull blamed the calls for his resignation on cancel culture.

The Recall Mike Shull campaign, which began after Shulls comments in January, renewed its call for Shull to resign in a statement Tuesday.

The disgusting and offensive use of the Holocaust to advance his political agenda is yet another confirmation of why Mark Shull is unfit to lead this county, said local labor activist Ira Erbs, a child of Holocaust survivors and a campaign leader. It is past time for Shull to step down, and if he fails to do so, we intend to ask the voters to replace him.

Cris Waller, an organizer with the campaign, said they are still gathering pledges from people to sign the recall petition. Once the petition is officially filed, they only have 90 days to collect the slightly over 30,000 signatures needed for a recall vote.

We are working with a large coalition of individuals from all walks of life to ensure that Shulls harm to our communities will end, Waller said.

-- Jaimie Ding

jding@oregonian.com; 503-221-4395; @j_dingdingding

Read more:

Clackamas County commissioner Mark Shull condemned after sharing post comparing COVID-19 restrictions to Holo - oregonlive.com

Category: Holocaust
Tags: