OFFENSIVE COMPARISON

The heading of the JC report discussing the Chief Rabbi’s recent visit to refugee camps in Greece ( JC, Nov 19), Camp has made me think of Auschwitz, is offensive and ill-advised.

To compare the condition of refugees fleeing from war-ravaged countries who now find a glimmer of hope in refugee camps, to the conditions in the notorious death camp Auschwitz is, quite frankly, ridiculous.

However difficult the refugees’ situation may be, it cannot be reasonably compared to mass extermination.

It appears from the content of the report that Rabbi Mirvis has been misquoted as this claim clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding and sensitivity.

Were a politician to make the same remarks, I do believe there would be an outcry of antisemitism as to use the Holocaust as a comparison undermines its true atrocity and is offensive to survivors.

As a granddaughter of an Auschwitz survivor, I am certain that there is no equivalence between Auschwitz and 21st-century refugee camps.

Tell me, do they use Zyklon B in the gas chambers in Greece? Avital Mendelsohn, London Nw11