Yes I quite agree with your hypocrisy claim.

I would also add, in a somewhat different vein, based on my life with my late Jewish partner, that Whoopi made a natural mistake, and one I might have made in the same circumstances with no ill intent.

Whoopi quite famously is close to lots of Jewish people. If she’s anything like me, she’s spent long hours in conversation about anti-semitism, Jewish religion and history, etc. Like me, she has probably heard many times that Jews object to being identified as members of a race. I learned quickly from my husband and his Jewish friends that talking about Jewish “race” was kind of even a taboo.

I’ve learned since having discussions about the Whoopi comment that this idea is not universal among Jews, but it’s close.

Obviously, the fact that the Nazis viewed the Jews as a race is important. It’s important historically and it’s important today. We should talk about that and acknowledge it.

But given how strongly some Jews object to being called members of a race, I might in Whoopi’s position have instinctively avoided doing so. Out of what I would have perceived as respect for how Jews identify.

Directing the conversation back to a critical historical framework would have been great. But suspending her for something she likely said out of respect seems quite uncalled for.