'Utterly disgusting': Canadian Army sergeant fined for 'anti-Jewish' comments
WARNING: This story contains offensive comments about a minority group.
A 38-year-old sergeant in the Canadian Army was fined $3,000 and issued a severe reprimand after he made what a military judge described as "utterly disgusting" anti-Jewish comments while conducting an infantry training course in 2021.
Sgt. K.E. Bluemke pleaded guilty last October to one charge of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline for jokes and comments he made about Jewish people and the Holocaust while he was an instructor for an infantry command course at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa in Ontario.
The comments came to light at the end of the course when a dozen participants reported that Bluemke made frequent inappropriate jokes and comments about Jewish people and the Holocaust, prompting an investigation and ultimately a court martial proceeding.
Military judge Cmdr. Martin Pelletier heard that Bluemke began the course by asking, "Is anyone here Jewish?" according to the judge's sentencing decision, published Friday.
Later on in the course, during the cleanup of a firing range, Bluemke urged his course participants to "move with the sense of urgency as a certain group did leaving Germany in 1939," Pelletier wrote.
"Why do Jews have big noses? Because the air is free," Bluemke joked.
"Germans are really good at packing things in tight," the sergeant said when trying to find additional space inside course vehicles.
One course participant testified the latter comment embarrassed and angered him, telling the court the comment "made him think of the ordeal Jewish people have gone through while packed in train cars and in gas chambers, and because the casual way in which it was said," the judge wrote.
'EXTREMELY TROUBLING, IN SEVERAL WAYS'
In making the comments, Bluemke, who was born in Germany in 1984 and immigrated to Canada in 1995, eroded trainees' confidence in his leadership and in the Canadian Armed Forces at large, participants testified.
One participant, who is Jewish, said in a victim impact statement the comments were extremely disturbing and left him so angered that he could not retain the information he was being taught.
Following the revelations of his conduct during the course, Bluemke's commanding officer put him on probation and he underwent counselling, followed by an extended monitoring period.
Judge Pelletier wrote that denunciation and deterrence were the focus of his sentencing decision.
"The conduct which Sgt. Bluemke engaged in is extremely troubling, in several ways," Pelletier wrote.
"I am having difficulties finding the right word to qualify the use of stereotypes and the reference to the unspeakable horrors suffered by the Jewish community before and during the Second World War to make adverse comments intended as jokes. The word 'distasteful' does not suffice. It is in my opinion utterly disgusting."
Hearing any Canadian Armed Forces member make such comments "should make a reasonable member cringe and worry about belonging to the same organization as the perpetrator," Pelletier wrote, noting that Bluemke's role as a course instructor at the time made the comments "particularly problematic."
Bluemke, who admitted to making the comments as part of his guilty plea, was promoted to sergeant in 2017. He has served twice overseas, including seven months in Afghanistan in 2010 and four months in Ukraine from 2017 to 2018.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi still missing after helicopter accident in mountains
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday.
What do we know so far about the mysterious crash of the helicopter carrying Iran's president?
The apparent crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's president and foreign minister on Sunday sent shock waves around the region.
'A horrible way to start the summer': 3 killed in serious boat crash on lake north of Kingston, Ont.
Three people were killed and five others were injured Saturday night following a boat crash on the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont., the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.
Walmart, Costco refusing to sign grocery code of conduct 'untenable': industry minister
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says it's 'untenable' for 'smaller players' like Walmart and Costco to delay signing on to the government- and industry-led grocery code of conduct, now that industry giant Loblaw has agreed to do so.
Ottawa driver who appeared to be racing another vehicle on Highway 416 facing charges
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says an Ottawa driver is facing charges after being caught going 187 km/h on Highway 416.
Ex-partner charged with first-degree murder after 55-year-old woman killed in Montreal
Less than 24 hours after Montreal's 12th homicide investigation began, Montreal police confirmed that a 55-year-old woman's death in St. Michel is the island's 13th homicide. The woman's ex-spouse has been charged with first-degree murder.
VIDEO Born without front legs, this dog has been inspiring the world for 3 years: Dresden farm owner
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
Canadian immigration asks medical worker fleeing Gaza if he treated Hamas fighters
Lawyers are questioning Canada’s approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas.
Diddy admits beating ex-girlfriend Cassie, says he's sorry, calls his actions 'inexcusable'
Sean 'Diddy' Combs admitted Sunday that he beat his ex-girlfriend in a hotel hallway in 2016 after CNN released video of the attack, saying in a video apology he was 'truly sorry' and his actions were 'inexcusable.'