Republican House Leader Faces Resign Calls After Son's Nazi Salute Photo

Oregon Republican House leader Vikki Breese-Iverson is facing calls to resign after a photo of her teenage son doing a Nazi salute next to a German fighter plane during a high school field trip resulted in backlash across the state.

The photo, taken at the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon, in front of a replica of a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 with a swastika painted on its tail, circulated on social media over the weekend, where it drew immediate criticism.

Breese-Iverson, who represents the district of Prineville and acts as the state's House minority leader, has apologized for her son Alex's photo, writing on Facebook that her son acted "out of extremely poor judgment and without considering the impact this photo would have."

"My husband and I have been in contact with the school administration about enforcing adequate consequences for his actions, both at school and at home," she added. "In no way do my husband or I condone these actions, and we apologize to anyone impacted by this image."

Her son, a student at Crook County High School, also apologized, writing in a handwritten note later shared by Breese-Iverson that "it was a dumb mistake. I really get that now." He added: "Doing something bad in the moment without thinking can cause harm. I apologize to anyone that was offended."

But the apologies issued by mother and son haven't been enough to appease Jewish associations and groups angered by the photo. The Central Oregon Diversity Project, an Oregon-based group founded in 2020 promoting the representation of diverse identities, called for Breese-Iverson to resign and for her son's school to remove him.

"Our organization believes that those who are elected to their position by the public should be held to a higher standard of behaviors and ethics, and that this standard of conduct applies to their immediate family members, especially those who are nearing adulthood and have an obvious understanding of the difference between right and wrong," the group wrote on Facebook.

The group also asks that Breese-Iverson "commit to working with her family and teenaged children to understand the harm that anti-semitism and racism causes" and that the Oregon House of Representatives, the Oregon Senate and Oregon Governor Tina Kotek "hold Breese-Iverson accountable to creating change in her family."

"Vikki Breese-Iverson was elected by the public and has an obligation to not only serve us in an unbiased manner, but to also answer to us when we have a problem with the way she is conducting herself," the group added in another post.

"To be vehemently clear: we have a problem with the way Vikki has and is conducting herself, and feel that if she can't handle the scope of parenting her own child so they don't get caught perpetuating Nazi symbolism, then she is not fit to fill her elected position."

Other groups, like the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, have condemned the photo of Breese-Iverson's son but would not call for her resignation over it.

"Sadly, our organization has been having to address several incidents of antisemitism in our local high schools and even middle schools," Bob Horenstein, director of community relations and public affairs for the federation, told Newsweek.

"I would like to say that what this young man did is exceptional, but we're finding that it's not necessarily the case. We will not be demanding the resignation of the Oregon House minority leader, who we believe responded appropriately (I'm certain that she must have been embarrassed by her son's offensive behavior). In any event, we will be reaching out to her to urge her to tour the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education in Portland with her son and perhaps also meet with a local Holocaust survivor."

"Without knowing the motivation behind posing for this photo, whether it's steeped in a hate-filled, dangerous ideology or incredibly poor judgement, it demonstrates the urgent need for education on the Holocaust and antisemitism," Regina Friedland, Pacific Northwest regional director for American Jewish Committee, told Newsweek.

"It's unacceptable that we are seeing behaviors like this in 2023. I hope he, all students and the community learned from this experience."

Oregon's House Republican caucus condemned Breese-Iverson's gesture, but did not repeat calls asking the House minority leader to give up her post.

"The House Republican caucus is aware of a disappointing photo of the House Republican Leader's son," the House Republicans said in a statement. "He has issued an apology and is being held accountable by his school and his parents. The caucus does not condone this behavior and apologizes to those impacted by this image."

Newsweek has contacted Breese-Iverson and the Central Oregon Diversity Project for comment by email.

Update 6/7/23, 3:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comments from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and the American Jewish Committee.