"You had a, you know, someone as despicable as Hitler, who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons."
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The remark left Joshua Kob shaking his head.
"Obviously there was an ignorance of history in their statements today."
Kob is on the board of directors at Temple Beth Israel in Fresno. He is also the grandson of a woman who was a Holocaust refugee.
"To hear those comments today that Hitler did not use chemical weapons, yeah, it hurts, and it's disappointing-- it's sad."
Hitler's gas chambers killed more than one million Jews. History Kob said people-- especially the Trump administration-- should know during this time of the year.
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"And here we are celebrating Passover, which is a celebration of us being freed from slavery out of Egypt, and then to hear these comments on this day-- it's just really disappointing."
Mark Johnson, with the Fresno County Republican party, while admitting Spicer's comment was wrong, he believes it was a flub.
"I believe the guy honestly made a mistake, because the subject had nothing to do with Hitler or World War II, it had to do with current use of chemical weapons in Syria and he made a bad comparison and misspoke."
Spicer has since publicly apologized for his remarks, calling it a mistake and a blunder.