The Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg and the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition strongly condemn the recent post of a horrific and plainly anti-Semitic image by the campaign of U.S. Congressman Scott Perry (PA-10).   

PennLive, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Insider and others have reported that Congressman Perry shared the anti-Semitic image on his campaign’s Facebook page with the approving comment, “Says it all . . . .” The image shows six men sitting around what appears to be a Monopoly board with a pot of money in the middle. The game is literally being played on the backs of numerous naked individuals with shaved heads.  And the men playing the game – with beards, mustaches and hooked noses – are instantly recognizable as classic stereotypes of Jewish bankers. The image, which came from a 2012 London mural, has been widely recognized as anti-Semitic.  

Despite his claims to be a friend of the Jewish people, this is not the first instance of Congressman Perry’s insensitivity to – if not outright embrace of – prejudice against the Jews and Judaism. In a speech at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference three years ago, he analogized his political opponents to “Nazis.” At that time, the Federation and the Coalition joined others in calling out his offensive and reckless rhetoric.

Mr. Perry’s latest anti-Semitic post follows a series of other comments and statements that both are anti-Semitic and anti-Semitic adjacent, including embracing the tenets of replacement theory and, just a couple months ago, claiming that the KKK is the militant wing of the Democratic Party. This pattern of references and behavior from our sitting Congressman is not just nonsensical – it is offensive, painful and troubling.

When Congressman Perry was questioned about his most recent endorsement of the bigoted Facebook post, his campaign removed the post, emailing only a brief and anodyne explanation to Jewish Insider. But the explanation lacked any semblance of an apology, public or otherwise. Worse, it implied that historical research was required to determine whether the image was anti-Semitic, a dubious proposition his campaign sought to support by claiming to have located at least some Jews who were unfamiliar with the image and its history. 

The Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg and the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition strongly condemn the recent and approving “share” of this horrific and clearly anti-Semitic image by Congressman Perry. Congressman Perry should have taken ownership of his indefensible promotion of the image, expressed only antipathy for this infamous slander of Jews, and condemned anti-Semitism in all its pervasive and pernicious forms. He has failed to do so.