Sen. Robert Menendez. Photo: U.S. Senate.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) said at Rutgers University’s Hillel Student Leadership Gala April 15 that demonization of Israel constitutes “the demonization of democracy and tolerance and runs contrary to our values as a nation.”

A recent column titled “What about the good things Hitler did?” published in The Daily Medium—a satirical student newspaper—stated that “history has given the Third Reich a bad rap,” and that although Hitler was responsible for genocide, he also dabbled in rocket science and was involved in the founding of the Volkswagen auto company. The newspaper attributed the column to Aaron Marcus, a Jewish student with relatives who died in the Holocaust.

Menendez called the column “anti-Semitism rearing its ugly head.”

“Words matter,” the senator said. “They can be hurtful, thoughtless, but even beyond that, even when intended satirically, they can step over the line to anti-Semitism. When taken too far or too seriously, they can be dangerous and lead to anti-Semitic hate crimes and real violence.”