Holocaust survivor, Julian Edelman invite DeSean Jackson to learn about anti-Semitism
“Your post on Instagram quoting Adolf Hitler, the man behind one of the most evil regimes this world has ever known and the man 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,” Mosberg wrote in inviting Jackson to visit Nazi death camps “to understand what evil truly is, and why sharing quotes of the man behind this evil, is so offensive to us all.”
On Thursday, New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, who identifies as Jewish, invited Jackson to visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum with him.
“I know he said some ugly things, but I do see an opportunity to have a conversation,” Edelman said in an Instagram video, adding that an anti-Semitic slur was directed at him on the field during a 2011 game.
“We need to have those uncomfortable conversations if we’re going to have real change,” Edelman said. “So to that end, DeSean, let’s do a deal: How about we go to D.C. and I take you to the Holocaust Museum and then you take me to the Museum of African American History and Culture. Afterwards, we’ll grab some burgers and we have those uncomfortable conversations.”
Edelman wrote Friday that he had spoken with Jackson and “we’re making plans to use our experiences to educate one another and grow together.”
Jackson apologized Tuesday for his Instagram posts and called them a “mistake.” The Eagles, whose team owner and general manager both are Jewish, called Jackson’s comments “offensive, harmful, and absolutely appalling” and said they would “take appropriate action.”
Mosberg is honorary chairman of From the Depths, a group that works with Holocaust survivors “to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and to give a name to those who were brutally murdered in the dark days of the Holocaust and to continue the message to the next generations of those who survived,” its website says. The group has hosted former NBA star Ray Allen — a Holocaust awareness advocate who has served on the governing board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum — on previous concentration camp visits.
David Adelman, chairman of the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza in Philadelphia, announced Tuesday on Twitter that Jackson had accepted an invitation from him to visit the memorial for an education session and tour.
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