New York, NY, May 16, 2005 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today denounced as "abhorrent" the recent comments by syndicated columnist and CNN commentator Robert Novak on judicial nominees.  In a discussion May 14 on CNN's "Capital Gang," Mr. Novak argued that for Senate Republicans to consider reaching a compromise with Democrats on judicial nominees would be, "… like going to a concentration camp and picking out which people go to the death chamber."

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

Robert Novak is at it again.  It is one thing to oppose the Senate filibuster, but it is another to compare an American democratic process to the horrific spectacle that took place in the shadow of the Nazi gas chambers – the selection process that led to the murder of six million Jews and others, which still scars the memory of Holocaust survivors.

One would hope that Mr. Novak will wake up and realize how abhorrent, how deeply offensive and insensitive his remarks are, especially for survivors of the Holocaust and their families.  He owes them, and the American people, an apology for distorting an important issue with such an inappropriate comparison to the Holocaust.

 

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.