Estonia's Jewish community condemns KOOS leader's hijacking of the Holocaust

The Estonian Jewish community has condemned the KOOS party and its leader Aivo Peterson for misappropriating the Holocaust for electioneering.
The statement noted that a party activist compared the government revoking voting rights for stateless citizens – also known as grey passport holders – in Estonia to the genocidal acts of the nazi regime in an online post on the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, April 18.
Three days later, KOOS leader Aivo Peterson appeared at a court hearing wearing a yellow Star of David, a badge that the nazis forced Jews and those they judged to be Jews to wear.
The Estonian Jewish Community stressed that trivializing Holocaust symbols is unacceptable. Drawing historical parallels that insult the memory of all Jews and present-day Estonia is intolerable.
Peterson is in custody in Estonia after being charged with treason last year.
The charges state that he and co-defendant Dmitri Rootsi assisted Russia from October 2022 to March 2023, working against Estonia's interests, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
Earlier this month, the Riigikogu voted to strip all third-country citizens of their right to vote in local elections. The action was mainly aimed at Russians and Belarusians.
Stateless people's rights were also revoked. However, they will still be allowed to vote in the 2025 local election, but then not again at future elections.
Politicians argued that people from aggressor nations should not be able to vote in Estonia's elections.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte