NFL star DeSean Jackson, who last week apologized for posting anti-Semitic quotes attributed to Adolf Hitler and Louis Farrakhan, has accepted a Holocaust survivor’s invitation to visit Auschwitz together.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson prior to an NFL game against the Chicago Bears in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Jackson, a wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, accepted the invitation yesterday during a Zoom conversation with Edward Mosberg, 94, from New Jersey.
Mosberg, who chairs From the Depths, a Holocaust commemoration group, proposed the call following an outcry over Jackson’s posts on social media. Jackson deleted the posts and apologized for them.
“I grew up in LA, and never really spent time with anyone from the Jewish community and didn’t know much about their history,” Jackson says on the call with Mosberg. “This has been such a powerful experience for me to learn and educate myself.”
Edward Mosberg, holding a Torah scroll, during March of the Living in 2017 at the former death camp Auschwitz in Poland. (Courtesy of From the Depths via JTA)
On the possibility of visiting the former Nazi death camp in Poland, Jackson tells Mosberg: “I would be honored to come to Auschwitz and learn from you,” says From the Depths founder Jonny Daniels, who was on the call.
“Dialogue is the key to making this crazy world we live in a better place, with everything so divided is so powerful to bring us all together,” Daniels says. “We are working with DeSean and his team to set dates for this trip to go ahead and are happy that DeSean agreed.”
The visit has not yet been scheduled. While Auschwitz is open to visitors, Americans cannot currently travel to Europe because of the coronavirus pandemic.
— JTA
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