By Bre McAdam

Public outcry continues over Lawrence Joesph comparing the holocaust to the residential school experience

Apr 22, 2011 | 7:30 AM

There's been public outcry after Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River NDP candidate Lawrence Joseph compared the holocaust to the residential school experience, but a Jewish history professor and a Saskatchewan journalist think it depends on how you define holocaust.

“It means a burnt offering to the Gods,” stated University of Toronto Jewish history professor Dr. Frank Bialystok. He says it all comes down to differentiating THE holocaust as a specific historical genocide, and A holocaust being any type of horrific event.

Eagle Feather News editor John Lagimodiere believes the residential school era is Canada's holocaust, and that it has left lasting effects.

“Parents had no choice but to have their children rounded up and taken. So there are comparisons,” said Lagimodiere, who believes you can break down the definition of holocaust to mean widespread destruction. “You can make a fair argument that that kind of destruction did happen in the community from the policies in the residential schools and the outcomes.”

However, Bialystok doesn't think Joseph used the word appropriately.

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“It's more a case of being accurate as to what the horror is.”

Neither Bialystok nor Lagimodiere believe Joseph was trying to undermine the Jewish community when he made his comparison.

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