Jewish groups slam ex-SA reporter comparing Fauci to Mengele

News reporter Lara Logan is known for her shocking statements, but she took it to new heights when she compared Dr Anthony Fauci to Dr Josef Mengele on Fox News on Monday, 29 November 2021.

Fauci is chief medical advisor to United States President Joe Biden. He’s also a physician-scientist and immunologist serving as the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Mengele, also known as the “Angel of Death”, was a German (SS) officer who tortured and experimented on Jews in the Auschwitz concentration camp. He also selected victims to be killed in the gas chambers and was one of the people who administered the gas.

Logan was born and raised in Durban, South Africa. She’s not Jewish. On Monday, in a rant against pandemic restrictions and concerns in light of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Logan claimed that many unnamed “people” had told her that Fauci “doesn’t represent science to them, he represents Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor who did experiments on Jews during the Second World War and in the concentration camps.

“And I’m talking about people all across the world [who are] saying this,” she continued. “Because the response from COVID-19, what it has done to countries everywhere, what it has done to civil liberties, the suicide rates, the poverty, it has obliterated economies. The level of suffering that has been created because of this disease is now being seen in the cold light of day, i.e. the truth. And people see that there’s no justification for what’s being done.”

Logan was immediately denounced by several prominent Jewish organisations, including the Auschwitz Museum. “Exploiting the tragedy of people who became victims of criminal pseudo-medical experiments in Auschwitz in a debate about vaccines, the pandemic, and people who fight to save human lives is shameful,” the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial said in a Twitter statement. “It’s disrespectful to victims and a sad symptom of moral and intellectual decline.”

The American Jewish Committee said the comments were “utterly shameful”, and noted that Mengele had earned his “Angel of Death” moniker by performing deadly experiments on Auschwitz prisoners, including many children. “There’s no comparing the hell these victims went through to public-health measures. An apology is needed,” it tweeted. Comparing Fauci to “history’s most sadistic medical experimenter is beyond vile”, said David Harris, the chief executive of the committee.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, said there was “absolutely no comparison between COVID-19 mitigation efforts and what happened to Jews during the Holocaust. This includes making outlandish analogies suggesting Dr Fauci is akin to Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele, known for his gruesome medical experiments on prisoners.”

But Logan doubled down on her comments. The day after her comments, she filled Twitter with links to conspiracy theories about Fauci. She also retweeted a user with only one follower who wrote, “Shame on the Auschwitz Museum for shaming Lara Logan for sharing that Jews like me believe Fauci is a modern-day Mengele.” In addition, the Auschwitz Museum said that Logan had blocked it on Twitter.

On Thursday, Fauci called Logan’s comment “absolutely preposterous and disgusting. It’s an insult to all of the people who suffered and died under the Nazi regime in the concentration camps. It’s unconscionable what she said.

“Forget about the fact that she was being totally slanderous to me and, as usual, had no idea what she was talking about,” he continued. “Saying that it’s as benign as flu. When did influenza kill 770 000 Americans?

“So, not only is she being slanderous and disrespectful to so many people who were killed in the concentration camps by Dr Mengele, but she absolutely has no idea what she’s talking about,” Fauci said. “She’s completely incorrect in everything she says.”

Fauci asked why no disciplinary action had been taken against Logan. “What I find striking is how she gets no discipline whatsoever from the Fox network,” he said. “How can it let her say that with no comment and no disciplinary action? I’m astounded by that.”

Local antisemitism expert and emeritus professor of history at the University of Cape Town, Milton Shain, says “the use of the Holocaust in everyday language tells us something about the ways in which the heinous crimes of the Nazis have penetrated popular discourse. At one level, this should be welcomed as an indication of knowledge about these horrific years. At another, we see the increasing trivialisation of an unprecedented crime. Logan’s comments about Dr Fauci illustrate this. Making such comparisons is stupid and wilfully hurtful. They dishonour the real victims and make a mockery of real evil. Every person should call out such trivialisation and stupidity, not just Jews.”

Logan’s comments came amidst a worldwide trend of comparing COVID-19 restrictions to the Holocaust. Just before a major conference in Malmö in October 2021, where world leaders pledged to further Holocaust remembrance and combat antisemitism, a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation) report warned of this phenomenon.

The report was written by Stefania Giannini, UNESCO assistant director-general for education, and Kathrin Meyer, the secretary general of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Among other points, they explained that “all around the world, opponents of COVID-19 measures invoke the genocide against the Jewish people by Nazi Germany and its collaborators to paint themselves as victims and their governments as persecutorial regimes.

“In many cases, Holocaust distortion serves as a bridge between mainstream and more radical ideas. It fans the flames of hate – of antisemitism, conspiracy myths, hate speech, science scepticism, and distrust of democratic institutions, all of which have reached new heights during the pandemic.”

The report points out that “this history is abused, excused, misrepresented, and manipulated. Regardless of its form, Holocaust distortion always helps Holocaust denial, antisemitism, conspiracy myths, and populism to thrive.”

Holocaust distortion can be found at all levels of society and is far from a fringe phenomenon, the UNESCO report emphasises. “Often camouflaged as opinion, distortion is difficult to identify and frequently goes unchallenged. Nowhere is this clearer than online. This primes people for more radical points of view. Holocaust distortion and its effects – antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and extreme nationalism – are international in scope. Countering distortion therefore requires an international and interdisciplinary approach that bridges the gap between governments, experts, and civil society.”

The IHRA and UNESCO are therefore jointly launching a new programme to develop training and resources to empower education professionals, policymakers, public servants, and journalists to address and prevent Holocaust distortion.

“Each person has a responsibility to address Holocaust distortion and antisemitism wherever they may encounter it. Everyone has a stake in understanding the accurate lessons of the Holocaust and standing up to hate today,” they conclude.

Logan was formerly a star correspondent at CBS News’ 60 Minutes. She was forced to take a leave of absence after her erroneous reporting on the 2012 Benghazi attack. She left CBS in 2018. She joined Fox Nation to host Lara Logan Has No Agenda in 2020, and has repeatedly engaged in controversy ever since.