Ted Nugent Blasted by Jewish Groups (and Gun Owners) Over Facebook Post on Jews and Gun Control

Rock musician Ted Nugent was criticized by Jewish groups Monday after posting a graphic on Facebook that branded prominent Jewish-American politicians who support gun control as holding loyalty to Israel and scheming as “globalist political” agents.

Alongside a grid of photos of the Jewish politicians and public figures -- decorated with an Israeli flag and derisive text -- Nugent wrote, “Know these punks. They hate freedom, they hate good over evil, they would deny us the basic human right to self defense & to KEEP & BEAR ARMS while many of them have tax paid hired ARMED security! Know them well. Tell every1 you know how evil they are. Let us raise maximum hell to shut them down!”

Over a photo of the late New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg read the text, “Gave Russian Jew immigrants your tax money.”

Michael Bloomberg was described as, “Jew York City mayor Mikey Bloomberg.”

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein was marked as a “Globalist political agent.”

Criticism came from the Anti-Defamation League and the more conservative-leaning Simon Wiesenthal Center which pointed to pro-gun rights voices in the Jewish community.

“Ted Nugent has every right to advocate against gun control laws. However he won’t be getting a free pass for his anti-Semitic bigotry,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement posted on the group’s website.

“There are Jews on both sides of the gun control controversy and Nugent knows it. He owes our community an apology. He can start by removing the offensive graphic and if he won’t, we urge Facebook to do it for him,” Cooper added.

The head of the ADL Jonathan Greenblatt called on Nugent to take down the offending post.

“Ted Nugent has a long history of being an equal opportunity offender. But his latest share on Facebook, making the outrageous suggestion that Jews are behind gun control, is nothing short of conspiratorial anti-Semitism,” Greenblatt said.

Nugent issued a follow-up post late Monday defending his argument after the New York Daily News criticized him for the Facebook graphic and described him as a “wacko.”

In his second post, Nugent called pro-gun control Jews “Nazis in disguise.”

“Just when you hope that mankind couldnt possibly get any dumber or more dishonest, superFreaks rise to the occasion. What sort of racist prejudiced POS could possibly not know that Jews for guncontrol are nazis in disguise?” Nugent wrote.

“’NEVER AGAIN!’ Anyone? Anyone?? RUFKM! The founder of Jews For the Preservation of Firearms Ownership called me his 2nd Amendment/Freedom hero. The NEVER AGAIN battlecry was universally embraced by all good people who will make sure another Holocaust never happens again,” he wrote in part, adding, “Meanwhile I adjust my yamika at my barmitzva playing my kosher guitar. My dad killed nazis & saved Jews in WWII. Eat me.”

Nugent followed that post up with a graphic showing Jews during World War II being rounded up by the Nazis to which he attached the text, "Soulless sheep to slaughter. Not me," repeating an argument used by some gun rights advocates that had European Jews been armed, the Holocaust might have been prevented.

Those describing themselves as pro-gun rights Jews criticized Nugent for his post.

David Levy posted on Facebook, “I am jewish,conservative gun owner, this is just f***ing hate. I've always supported you but f*** you Ted, lets run for generalizations, Many more christian lib gun haters, you sank low here, what's next swaztikas?”

Rich Murray wrote, “Ted, any Jew who knows their own history believes in firearms freedom. Israel is one of the most armed nations on earth. This is a valid 2nd Amendment enemies list, but their jewishness has nothing to do with it.”

The ADL said that the graphic had previously circulated on anti-Semitic websites.

Featured image: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

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