DeSean Jackson accepts invitation to visit concentration camp with Holocaust survivor
According to the Jerusalem Post, Mosberg and Jackson spoke Friday via videoconference call, during which Mosberg wore the uniform given to him at the Mathausen concentration camp.
“I grew up in Los Angeles, and never really spent time with anyone from the Jewish community and didn’t know much about their history, this has been such a powerful experience for me to learn and educate myself,” Jackson said during the call.
“I want to take the proper steps to let people know that I never intentionally had any hatred in my heart, I never wanted to put the Jewish community down, I want to educate myself more and help bridge the gaps between all different cultures,” Jackson added.
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.
“Dialogue is the key to making this crazy world we live in a better place, with everything so divided is so powerful to bring us all together,” From The Depths founder Jonny Daniels, who initiated the Zoom call between Jackson and Mosberg, said in a statement. “We are working with DeSean and his team to set dates for this trip to go ahead and are happy that DeSean agreed.”
Mosberg wrote Jackson a letter last week inviting him to tour the concentration camp with him.
“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 last week 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.”
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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