US Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene received a fresh wave of backlash on Thursday from Jewish organizations after she compared House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to continue requiring mask-wearing on the chamber floor to the "yellow badges," or "yellow stars" which the Nazi regime used to mark Jews during the Holocaust.
Greene - who has a long history of making racist, antisemitic and Islamophobic remarks, as well as supporting the antisemitic "QAnon" conspiracy theory - made the comments in a conversation with the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody on Real America's Voice TV show The Water Cooler.
"What is this, the honor system?" Pelosi told reporters in a clip which was shown to Greene immediately prior to her remarks. "The honor system? As to whether somebody has been vaccinated? Do you want them breathing in your face on the strength of their honor?"
Hey Marjorie Taylor Greene... COVID restrictions ARE NOT like gold stars & gas chambers in Nazi Germany!My 95-year-old grandmother can tell you what the Holocaust was REALLY like: Nazis killed her parents, all 6 siblings & all extended family.STFU pic.twitter.com/3cBRUKJQwe
— Jake Lobin (@JakeLobin) May 21, 2021
"You know, we can look back in a time in history where people were told to wear a gold star and they were definitely treated as second-class citizens, so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany," Greene said, responding to Pelosi's remarks in the video.
"And this is exactly the type of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talking about," she added.
"You can never compare health-related restrictions with yellow stars gas chambers and other Nazi atrocities. Such comparisons demean the Holocaust and contaminate American political speech," the American Jewish Congress said in a tweet in response to Greene's comments, demanding she immediately retract her comments and apologize.
Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol's attending physician, said in a statement on Wednesday the House floor's mask mandate would remain in place "until all members and floor staff are fully vaccinated."
According to a CNN survey of members of Congress, 92% of Senate Republicans say they are vaccinated, but only 44.8% of House Republicans would say if they have received the necessary shots. More than 100 Republicans in the House still won't disclose their vaccine status.
The same survey also found that all Democrats in both the House and Senate are fully vaccinated.