Mike Pence has been accused of 'co-opting' Holocaust victims 'for the political agenda of his evangelical base' after the US Vice President talked of resurrection in a tweet honouring International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the weekend.
Pence tweeted on Saturday a short video of himself at the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Israel, with the message: 'A few days ago, Karen & I paid our respects at Yad Vashem to honor the six million Jewish martyrs of the Holocaust who 3 years after walking beneath the shadow of death, rose up from the ashes to resurrect themselves to reclaim a Jewish future.'
This prompted anger from some Jewish social media users. '"Resurrect themselves"? Pence dishonours the memories of the 6 million by co-opting them for the political agenda of his evangelical base,' tweeted a Harvard Law professor, Lawrence Tribe.
'It's from *Pence's* religious perspective that my murdered family members might be resurrected. But they – and I –forcefully reject that cosmology. We don't believe what he believes. Believe what you want, man, but I'd appreciate it if you could leave 6 million dead Jews out of it,' wrote another user, using the name Ari Kohen, First of His Name.
But according to the respected Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, the wording chosen by Pence reflects Hebrew translations of terminology which are commonly used in Israel.
Haaretz pointed out that the word resurrection is a translation of the Hebrew word 'tekuma,' which also means rebirth or revival and is used to describe the establishment of the state of Israel after the Holocaust.
Also, the word martyr, in the Hebrew kedoshim, a portion of the Torah, is a term used in Israel to describe victims of the Holocaust.
Indeed, the official name for Yom Hashoa, Israel's Holocaust memorial day, is Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day.
Pence returned last week from a visit to Jordan, Egypt and Israel.
The latter part of the Middle Eastern trip was controversial because Pence did not visit Palestinian territory and re-affirmed Donald Trump's commitment to moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the divided city of Jerusalem that is seen as central to any two-state solution.
