Luzerne County bar’s ad puts Levine and Wolf on bodies of Mussolini and Hitler

KINGSTON — A local bar posted an ad depicting Gov. Tom Wolf and Dr. Rachel Levine in fascist uniforms this week, with many calling the ad offensive while others have praised it.

Keeley’s Alehouse & Grille, located on Division Street, posted the ad on Facebook on Tuesday evening in response to the Wolf administration’s rules regarding the night before Thanksgiving, which is often described as the busiest night of the year for bars. The bar then re-shared the post on Wednesday morning.

Under the guidelines, bars and restaurants were required stop selling alcohol for the day at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The move was implemented by state officials as a means of stemming community spread of COVID-19 in anticipation of heavy patronage.

At the top of the Keeley’s ad, featuring a “Levine’s Lunch” special along with a “Big Bad Wolf” beer special, there is a vintage photo of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, with the heads of Wolf and Levine, respectively, digitally imposed over the dictators’ faces.

Hitler and Mussolini presided over genocidal policies in which European Jews, among other targeted groups, were persecuted, imprisoned and murdered.

Levine is Jewish.

“Dr. Levine remains laser-focused on protecting the health and safety of all Pennsylvanians,” said a Health Department statement e-mailed to the Times Leader when the agency was asked for comment about the ad.

“Pennsylvanians need to take mitigation measures in the commonwealth seriously in order to help stop the spread of this dangerous virus. Sharing this type of anti-Semitic content is unacceptable. Hate has no place in Pennsylvania,” Wolf spokeswoman Lyndsay Kensinger said in response to the ad.

“Hate speech such as this should be immediately reported to the Human Relations Commission,” Kensinger added.

“We are extremely concerned about the resurgence of COVID-19 cases and while the restaurant industry is suffering through no fault of their own, it is critical that public health and safety is prioritized,” Kensinger continued.

“That’s why we’ve enacted actions that align with federal health guidelines as well as our state guidelines.”

Keeley’s response

The Times Leader called Keeley’s on Wednesday seeking comment and was told by an individual who answered the phone that the owner would not be back until after the holidays. The ad appeared to have been removed from Facebook shortly after the newspaper called.

However, a Facebook poster named Dave Thomas responded with a screenshot and a message to the bar, stating: “We all saw what you did.”

“You don’t take the pandemic or the health and safety of the public seriously. Are the specials tonight COVID and food poisoning?” Thomas added.

That prompted a response to Thomas from the bar’s Facebook account, though it didn’t address the Nazi imagery.

“Dave Thomas, everyone has their own opinion and freedom of speech which is your right and I totally respect,” the bar wrote.

“I’m sure you are supporting your family other than depending on customers. We have abided [by] every rule and regulation since day 1 and still do because if you have ever been to Keeley’s you would know that. We spent thousands of dollars to make things above and beyond for everyone’s safety so when someone has to tell me how to run my business as far as hours and alcohol go of course I get mad of being controlled as do other restaurant/ bar owners,” the bar continued.

“If we are taking the steps with masks, tables 6 ft apart, closing at 11:00, sanitizer all over, wiping everything constantly, what difference does 5:00 mean compared to 11:00 when some of my friends work 2-10 shifts and can’t even stop. I do have a little anger in me and it wasn’t meant to hurt any of my customers but I removed it anyway as so not start any more aggravation for anyone for the holiday,” the bar’s post added.

Health in focus

For those who criticize the cutoff and other regulations, Kensinger pointed out that scientific evidence from the CDC and studies across the country have confirmed virus transmission from bars and restaurants.

Those studies included work by the CDC as well as the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

“The data the Department of Health has collected in Pennsylvania supports these scientific studies,” Kensinger said.

“Those responding to case investigations in roughly half the cases (found) that they had been to a bar or restaurant in the 48 hours before symptom onset, which we consider to be the infectious period. Which means that they are potentially transmitting the virus to others in an environment where they are not wearing masks, eating, drinking, and socializing,” Kensinger added.

“This shows that we are seeing cases of COVID-19 among people who have visited restaurants specifically. Much like other venues, just because restaurants are doing all they can to prevent the spread of the virus, as community spread occurs in Pennsylvania and statewide, there will invariably be people who visit a restaurant or other business while they are contagious,” she said. “This is why we must continue to take steps to enforce the mitigation efforts in place, in order to protect the health of Pennsylvanians.”

Kensinger noted that the Wolf administration is also publishing weekly contact tracing data and CDC studies that outlines where people who have the virus visited including information on restaurants and bars: https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/Cases.aspx.

Local reactions

David Schwager, a prominent member of Wyoming Valley’s Jewish community who is a board member and past president of the local JCC, acknowledged that the COVID-19 epidemic and related restrictions have presented stressful and scary times for business owners and employees — even as state officials are working to protect Pennsylvanians during a pandemic that is like nothing America has experienced in most people’s lifetimes.

And sometimes, Schwager added, those emotions have led humans who fear for their businesses and their jobs to respond in understandably emotional ways — some, he conceded, are legitimate and even funny satirical responses to a frustrating situation.

“Just this morning I saw a post on Facebook depicting Dr. Levine as the Elf on the Shelf,” Schwager said, referencing the fictional character that is said to watch over children on Santa’s behalf to make sure they are behaving before Christmas.

But Schwager, whose maternal grandparents were murdered at the Treblinka extermination camp in occupied Poland, drew a sharp distinction between such humorous responses and Keeley’s ad.

“I would say it cheapens the sacrifices of the millions of Jews, including my grandparents, who were killed by the Nazis,” Schwager said.

Social media users expressed a range of opinions.

Some found the ad amusing, saying that they “love the ad” or that it was “well done.” A large number of users responded to the post with an emoji reaction that indicated they found the post funny. Others, though, said it was a step too far, and that they would no longer be visiting the bar.

“I can say I love the food at Keeleys but I will not patronize there after this ad,” one user wrote. “Why are we poking fun at 2 leaders who are doing their best to keep Pennsylvanians safe? This ad is disgusting!”

“Such a shame to make an ad like this,” said another. “I will not be supporting this establishment after this. I’ll find other, more respectful, local dining to support.”