Holocaust survivor invites Eagles' DeSean Jackson to Auschwitz
The invitation was posted on Twitter by From The Depths, an organization that seeks to protect the memory of the Holocaust, of which Mosberg is honorary chairman.
By AARON REICHHolocaust Survivor Edward Mosberg outside Birkenau.(photo credit: WWW.FROMTHEDEPTHS.ORG)
Holocaust survivor Edward Mosberg has extended an invitation to star NFL football player DeSean Jackson to visit Auschwitz, following the latter’s controversial Instagram post quoting Adolf Hitler.The invitation was posted on Twitter by From The Depths, an organization that seeks to protect the memory of the Holocaust, of which Mosberg is honorary chairman.Jackson, a star wide receiver with Philadelphia Eagles, published a string of derogatory social media posts over the Fourth of July weekend, one of which had an image of a page out of a book that included antisemitic quotes that were falsely attributed to Hitler. Jackson followed up with another post, saying “Anyone who feels I have hate towards the Jewish community took my post the wrong way I have no hatred in my heart towards no-one!! Equality Equality.”He then shared the same page with part of the excerpt scribbled out and this passage highlighted: “[They] will extort America, their plan for world domination won’t work if the Negroes know who they were.”Jackson also shared two posts with images and praise of Farrakhan, the controversial religious figure who once described Hitler as a great man.The Eagles slammed Jackson’s posts as “offensive, harmful and absolutely appalling” and said the team would take “appropriate action.” Team owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman are Jewish.On Tuesday, Jackson issued an apology on social media for the posts.“I want to apologize to the Jewish community, Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman, Doug Pederson, the Eagles organization and our fans for the insensitive and ill-informed posts that I shared on my social media. My intention was to uplift, unite and encourage our culture with positivity and light. Unfortunately, that did not happen. I unintentionally hurt the Jewish community in the process and for that I am sorry! Now, more than ever, we must work together to end discrimination of all types and against all people and communities.“This apology is more than just words – it is a promise to do better. I will fully educate myself and work with local and national organizations to be more informed and make a difference in our community. I will consider my words and actions moving forward. I will seek out voices from other communities and listen to their words, thoughts and beliefs. In a time of division, I am committed to doing my part in making this world a better place for our children.”The invitation to Auschwitz by Mosberg included his personal story from the Holocaust.“Almost my entire family was murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. I survived multiple Nazi death camps, including the Mauthausen concentration camp, and my late wife was a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau,” the 94-year-old Holocaust survivor wrote.“After the terrors of the Holocaust, I was blessed to have the opportunity to come to the United States of America. I arrived as an immigrant without a penny to my name and worked hard to build a future for my wife and family,” he continued.“Your post on Instagram quoting Adolf Hitler, the man behind one of the most evil regimes this world has ever known and responsible for the deaths of over 6 million Jews, including my dear parents and sisters, as well as 2 million ethnic Poles and millions of other nationalities and minorities, is heartbreaking and so deeply wrong. The Allied Forces, including American troops, carrying with them American flags, fought valiantly and suffered unspeakable losses to stop this evil, the same man you quote!”Mosberg then added that he would like to invite Jackson to join him at the site of these death camps, “to understand what evil truly is, and why sharing quotes of the man behind this evil is so offensive to us all.”He concluded by saying that From The Depths would host him in Auschwitz-Birkenau, “to educate you as to what happened during these times.”From The Depths is serious regarding this invitation, and hopes Jackson accepts.“Education is the key to making the world a better place and I truly hope that DeSean accepts Mr. Mosberg’s invitation,” From The Depths founder Jonny Daniels told The Jerusalem Post. “There is nothing more powerful than visiting a such a horrendous site, with someone who survived and hopefully after that he will realize quite how stupid and offensive his fake quote of Hitler was.”Reuters contributed to this report.
