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Dina Jubrak speaking about comparing COVID-19 to the Holocaust (Photo Courtesy Bob Schneider)

COVID and the Holocaust are not comparable, says local Jewish community member

Sep 17, 2021 | 2:53 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A local member of the Jewish community stresses kindness as she’s seen online posts about comparing COVID-19 to the Holocaust.

Dina Jubrak is a practicing member of the Jewish community. She was born into a Jewish family in Israel and now lives in Medicine Hat. She says the pandemic has caused extreme reactions from people on both sides.

While she understands the frustrations of intensifying restrictions and feeling like human rights are being taken away, Jubrak does want to be clear comparing COVID-19 to the Holocaust is wrong.

“I think that the difference here is the regulations are imposed mostly out of a scientific or economical approach,” Jubrak said. “Whereas regulations that were imposed during the Holocaust were fundamentally, and we know this looking back on history, to purify people and choose certain people to survive and certain people not to. Whereas the intention here is actually to help everyone.”

Jubrak urges compassion and says government regulations come and go, but how we treat our neighbours lasts for a while.