(HARRISBURG) – State Senator Cris Dush (R-25) issued the following statement today to address concerns that were raised after he quoted a constituent issue during a Senate budget hearing with the state Department of Health:
“On March 23rd, I was moved by the testimony of the son of a Jewish gentleman who had fled his village into the forest, survived the war, and avoided the Nazi death camps. Before that, I was moved by the words of my constituents who had fought the Nazis and seen the camps.
“Both drew parallels to the regime and to what their loved ones experienced.
“I’m aware of – and to the extent one can, who has not lived through the situation – truly appreciate the rawness of the emotions which surround the atrocities committed by the German Nationalist Socialist Workers Party against the descendants of Abraham.
“In Genesis 13:3, Almighty God said ‘And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.’ I will stand with Israel, both those who live there and the people because God commands it.
“God instructs the people of Israel to set remembrances about the things His people have gone through in order that people not forget and in order that His People may recognize the signs and the times and do that which is necessary to prevent recurrence of such things. Purim and the story of Esther are one excellent example. Memorials such as the Holocaust Museum are excellent examples of the Jewish people continuing the tradition of setting remembrance markers from which to teach.
“My question to the Health Secretary today was meant to honor what God had intended for us to use these examples as a warning against heading down that road. There was no intent to demean the significance or the atrocities of the Holocaust. Like that Jewish son with whom I enthusiastically stood, I will remain vigilant and ask the tough questions.
“I pray God’s Blessings on the descendants of Abraham, the peace of Israel, The People of Pennsylvania and the United States of America.”
CONTACT: Zack Ankeny