Far-right Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has drawn ridicule for using an image of a Hanukah menorah in an attempt to commemorate the unrelated Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
The derision the Georgia representative brought upon herself comes after she was previously criticized for perpetuating antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Green on Sunday posted a message on X – previously known as Twitter – on Sunday wishing observers a meaningful fast for Monday’s observation of Yom Kippur. She tried to add a traditional Yom Kippur greeting but misspelled it: “Gamar Chasima Tova!”
The backlash soon ensued.
Critics noted that Greene’s use of a menorah in her message recognized a completely unrelated Jewish holiday observed in December. Past comments of hers which alluded to antisemitic tropes also undermined her message to Jewish observers.
Florida congressman Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat, corrected his Republican counterpart by noting that the solemn Yom Kippur and celebratory Hanukah were completely different occasions.
Mentioning that Yom Kippur focused on the atonement of sins, Moskowitz added: “Lord knows you will be very busy.”
That’s a picture for Chanukah. Different Jewish Holiday. Yom Kippur is where you atone for your sins. Lord knows you will be very busy. https://t.co/gFJHO0MD07
— Jared Moskowitz 🟧 (@JaredEMoskowitz) September 24, 2023
Greene subsequently deleted the original post without an apology and reposted the original text without the menorah image.
MeidasTouch, a self-described “pro-democracy” media network, criticized Greene for the “wildly offensive” gaffe.
The group also called her “Ms Jewish Space Lasers” – a reference to her false conspiracy claim that California’s devastating wildfires in 2018 were started for profit by a space laser funded by corporate interests, including the Rothschild banking firm.
State investigations concluded that the 2018 wildfires were “caused by electrical transmission lines owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electricity”, the state’s largest utility.
Ms. Jewish Space Lasers got her Jewish holidays mixed up (that is a Chanukah menorah). Wildly offensive — especially on the holiest day of the year in Judaism. pic.twitter.com/Wa0WcXitKI
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) September 24, 2023
In a separate tweet, MeidasTouch’s co-founder Brett Meiselas added: “Frankly, Jews don’t need an antisemitic maniac who gives speeches at Nazi events sending out holiday messages in the first place.”
Greene had previously downplayed speaking at the America First Political Action Conference, which was founded by the white nationalist Nick Fuentes in 2020.
Even as she deleted the menorah image, Bill Prady – the co-creator of the TV series The Big Bang Theory – knocked Greene for preserving the “bad Hebrew” in the post.
Everyone’s making fun of Marjorie Taylor Greene for putting a menorah on her Yom Kippur message, but in her defense she thought it was an eight-pronged Jewish space laser pic.twitter.com/4VawE2wRFR
— Frank Lesser (@sadmonsters) September 24, 2023
MeidasTouch pointed out on its website that the accepted Yom Kippur greeting is “g’mar chatima tovah”, which translates to “a good final sealing”.
The greeting refers to the belief that one’s fate is written on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah and then sealed on Yom Kippur.
This article was amended on 26 September 2023 to alter a description of MeidasTouch, which originated as a liberal Super Pac in 2020 but is now a pro-democracy media network, per its website.
