U.S. Jews slam use of Nazi imagery by Obama critics

Jewish Democrats in the United States are furious over the use of Nazi imagery in the contentious debate over President Barack Obama's proposed health care reform.

David Harris, the head of the National Jewish Democratic Council, condemned the "profoundly troubling" comparisons to Nazi Germany that have often been invoked by critics of Obama's policies.

Raucous town hall meetings and right-wing Internet blogs have taken to using swastikas and other assorted Nazi associations in an effort to liken Obama's health plan to that administered to concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust.

Harris slammed popular conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh for posting a graphic on his Web site which shows Obama's health plan metamorphosing into a pictorial laden with swastikas.

"Limbaugh's horrifying use of Hitler references and swastikas is deeply offensive and wildly inappropriate, and it has to stop now," Harris said.

Harris called on Representative Eric Cantor, the lone Jewish Republican in Congress, to repudiate Limbaugh.

"Regardless of the political differences and the substantive differences in the debate over health care, the use of Nazi symbolism is outrageous, offensive and inappropriate," Anti-Defamation League chief Abe Foxman told ABC News.

"Americans should be able to disagree on the issues without coloring it with Nazi imagery and comparisons to Hitler. This is not where the debate should be at all."