Jewish Patriots star Julian Edelman asks DeSean Jackson to tour the Holocaust Museum with him

New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman has proposed that he and Eagles wideout DeSean Jackson spend a day visiting Washington DC’s Holocaust and African American museums after the Philadelphia star shared anti-Semitic quotes mistakenly attributed to Adolph Hitler on social media.

‘DeSean, let’s do a deal,’ said Edelman, whose father is Jewish. ‘How about we go to DC, and I take you to the Holocaust Museum, and then you take me to the Museum of African American History and Culture? Afterwards, we can grab some burgers and have those uncomfortable conversations.’

Edelman, 34, made the offer on Instagram, which is the same platform Jackson was using Monday when he posted highlighted passages from an unidentified book, which claimed to be quoting Hitler.

 

Edelman, 34, made the offer on Instagram, which is the same platform Jackson (pictured) as using Monday when he posted highlighted passages from an unidentified book, which claimed to be quoting Hitler

New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman (left) has proposed that he and Eagles wideout DeSean Jackson (right) spend a day visiting Washington DC’s Holocaust and African American museums after the Philadelphia star shared anti-Semitic quotes mistakenly attributed to Adolph Hitler on social media

Although Edelman said he didn't always identify as Jewish, he has been open about his heritage as a professional, and claims he was once referred to by an ethnic slur during a game

Although Edelman said he didn’t always identify as Jewish, he has been open about his heritage as a professional, and claims he was once referred to by an ethnic slur during a game

‘Hitler said, “because the white Jews knows (sic) that the Negros are the real Children of Israel and to keep Americas secret the Jews will black mail America,”‘ read the passage.

‘”The (sic) will extort America, their pan to world domination won’t work if the Negroes know who they were… The white citizens of America will be terrified to know that all this time they’ve been mistreating and discriminating and lynching Children of Israel.”‘

The Philly Voice traced the quotes back to ‘The Nazis World War II,’ which was published in 1980. However, Snopes.com reported in 2017 that the Hitler quotes are actually a fabrication.

Regardless of the quote’s origin, Jackson was rebuked by fans, the Eagles, the NFL, and many others in the ensuing days. He has since issued multiple apologies, while the team has vowed to continue evaluating ‘the circumstances’ and having ‘meaningful conversations with DeSean.’

Rather than simply condemning Jackson, Edelman urged his followers to give the 33-year-old former Pro Bowl selection a second chance.

‘I know he said some ugly things, but I do see an opportunity to have a conversation,’ said Edelman. ‘I’m proud of my Jewish heritage and, for me, it’s not just about religion. It’s about community and culture as well.

‘This world needs a little more love, compassion, and empathy,’ continued Edelman.

‘I think the Black and Jewish communities have a lot of similarities. One unfortunate similarity is that they are both attacked by the ignorant and hateful.’

Although Edelman said he didn’t always identify as Jewish, he has been open about his heritage as a professional, and claims he was once referred to by an ethnic slur during a game in 2011.

‘There’s no room for anti-Semitism in this world,’ Edelman said.

Jackson has two years and $14.4 million remaining on his deal. As ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Twitter, Jackson has $4.8 million in guarantees for the 2020 season and has already received his $2 million option bonus. The team could try and use Jackson's anti-Semitic social media posts to void those guarantees, according to Schefter

Jackson has two years and $14.4 million remaining on his deal. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Twitter, Jackson has $4.8 million in guarantees for the 2020 season and has already received his $2 million option bonus. The team could try and use Jackson’s anti-Semitic social media posts to void those guarantees, according to Schefter

Jackson’s future with the Eagles could ultimately be determined by whether or not his contract can legally be voided.

Jackson has two years and $14.4 million remaining on his deal. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Twitter, he has $4.8 million in guarantees for the 2020 season and has already received his $2 million option bonus.

The team could try and use Jackson’s anti-Semitic social media posts to void those guarantees, according to Schefter.

Jackson has also voiced support on social media for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has also been accused of anti-Semitism.

Edelman wasn’t the only NFL player to condemn Jackson’s social media posts. Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Zach Banner said he had trouble sleeping after reading the passages Jackson posted on Instagram.

‘There’s a common misbelief among black and brown people — and I know this from growing up [in Lakewood, Washington] and I’ve listened to it — that Jewish people are just any other white race. … You mix them up with the rest of the majority and don’t understand that they’re a minority as well,’ said Banner, an African American.

‘I didn’t know this until I went to USC and I had friends, who are now family members believe it or not, who are part of the Jewish community, current students and alumni.’

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Zach Banner said he's struggled to sleep after reading Jackson's post. Banner urged African Americans to consider Jews as a minority

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Zach Banner said he’s struggled to sleep after reading Jackson’s post. Banner urged African Americans to consider Jews as a minority

Jackson was defended by former NBA player Stephen Jackson (no relation), who reminded his social media followers that the Eagles were in a similar situation in 2013, when white wide receiver Riley Cooper was recorded saying the N-word at a concert.

The Eagles fined Riley, but gave him a contract extension with $8 million in guarantees the following season.

However, Stephen Jackson ran into problems when he said that DeSean Jackson was ‘speaking the truth.’

Stephen Jackson ultimately deleted that video, which was first obtained by the Daily Mail, but later returned to Instagram to discuss the topic further.

When asked if he can acknowledge that Jewish people are not trying to divide the black community, Stephen Jackson responded: ‘You know that for a fact?’

The 42-year-old Stephen Jackson also referenced the Rothchilds, a wealthy Jewish banking family which anti-Semites have fraudulently accused of controlling the world’s economic markets.

‘You know who the Rothschilds are?’ Stephen Jackson asked. ‘They control all the banks. They own all the banks.’

On Wednesday, Stephen Jackson told CNN’s Don Lemon that he ‘used the wrong words’ in his defense of DeSean Jackson.

‘As I first stated when I got on here, I could’ve changed my words,’ Jackson told CNN. ‘But there’s nothing that said that I support any of that. There’s nothing that I said that I hate anybody.’

Edelman wasn’t the only person to extend an educational invitation to Jackson.

Edward Mosberg, the Holocaust survivor, called Jackson’s social media posts ‘heartbreaking and so deeply wrong,’ while asking him to join him at Auschwitz.

‘I would like to invite you to join me at the sites of these German Nazi death camps to understand what evil truly is and why sharing quotes of the man behind this evil is so offensive to us all,’ Mosberg wrote in the open letter.

Former Eagles president Joe Banner warned of a double standard after Jackson’s post.

‘If a white player said anything about [African Americans] as outrageous as what Desean Jackson said about Jews tonight there would at least be a serious conversation about cutting him and a need for a team meeting to [discuss, which] would be totally appropriate,’ Banner wrote on Twitter. ‘Absolutely indefensible.’

DeSean Jackson responded to the criticism on social media Tuesday, writing: ‘Anyone who feels I have hate towards the Jewish community took my post the wrong way I have no hatred in my heart towards no one!! Equality Equality.’

Strangely, DeSean Jackson’s message was posted alongside another picture of the aforementioned quotes, which are mistakenly attributed to Hitler.

He later offered another apology in a video he posted on social media: ‘I want to extend an apology. …I never want to be a race down or any people down. My post was definitely not intended for anybody of any race to feel any type of way, especially the Jewish community.’

‘Hitler has caused terrible pain to Jewish people like the pain African-Americans have suffered. We should be together fighting anti-Semitism and racism. This was a mistake to post this and I truly apologize for posting it and sorry for any hurt I have caused.

‘What I posted, I definitely didn’t mean it to the extent that you guys took it, and I just want to let you guys know I’m very apologetic,’ he continued.

‘I just probably should have never posted anything that Hitler did because Hitler was a bad person and I know that, and I was just trying to uplift African Americans in slavery, and just enlighten my people, so on behalf of myself, I just want you to know I apologize. I didn’t intend any harm or hatred toward any people.

‘I hope that everybody respects my platform and my opinions to try to just enlighten my people, and just let everybody know that there’s no hatred involved.’

While Jackson appeared to be apologizing for the supposed Hitler quotes, he did not address his other recent Instagram posts, which included praise for Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader who has been accused of anti-Semitism in the past.

‘This man powerful I hope everyone got a chance to watch this !!’ Jackson wrote in the caption of a post that pictured Farrakhan. ‘Don’t be blinded. Know what’s going on.’

Jackson also posted a video of Bill and Melina Gates discussing vaccines, titled ‘Farrakhan warns against vaccines.’

In the clip, Melinda Gates said that the most vulnerable populations should get any potential coronavirus vaccine first, adding that America’s black population would fit into that category.

Jackson, who apparently shares Farrakhan’s distrust of vaccines, responded by writing: DISGUSTING ASS PPL !! YOU GET THE VACCINATION FIRST.. DUMB BROAD !!’

Many Eagles fans and Philadelphians reacted with disgust on Monday.

‘This Desean Jackson story is wild,’ Temple professor Marc Lamont Hill wrote on Twitter. ‘Apparently he posted a quote that he believed to be from Hitler. This is disappointing and disturbing. There’s no defending it.’

Phillies blogger Alex Carr wrote that he could not let these comments ‘slide.’

‘As a Jewish man and an Eagles fan, I am unfathomably appalled at what I saw on DeSean Jackson’s Instagram story today,’ he wrote. ‘What pushes a person to read, digest, and POST that, I’ll never know.

‘Despicable.’

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk