Washington state lawmaker apologizes for wearing Star of David

A Washington state lawmaker on Thursday issued an apology after he donned a yellow Star of David at a conservative event last weekend.

State Rep. Jim Walsh (R) apologized for his actions in a statement after facing backlash for misappropriating the symbol.

“I apologize for using a profound image in a way that was inappropriate and offensive to so many people. It was wrong. It won’t happen ever again,” he wrote in the statement.

At the event last Saturday, Walsh wore the star on his chest and spoke about “vaccine passports and vaccine segregation,” appearing to compare unvaccinated people to Jewish victims of the Holocaust. At the time he said that he was given the symbol by a crowd member and several others in the crowd were also wearing them.

Walsh also posted a video of the event to his Facebook page and stated in a comment underneath it that the yellow Star of David is “an echo from history.”

“In the current context, we’re all Jews,” he continued.

In a separate comment in response to a person who praised Walsh for showing “solidarity,” Walsh offered a story claiming that “during WWII, when the Nazis told the Danes that Danish Jews had to wear yellow stars, the Danes ALL wore yellow stars.”

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. refuted Walsh’s claims, labeling them as “fictional,” according to NBC News.

“They used the badge not only to stigmatize and humiliate Jews but also to segregate them and to watch and control their movements,” the museum states on its website. “The badge also facilitated deportation.”

Despite his Thursday apology, the video is still available on Walsh’s page.