#Patriots’ Julian Edelman wants ‘uncomfortable’ talk with DeSean Jackson

In the wake of DeSean Jackson’s anti-Semitic social media posts, Patriots star receiver Julian Edelman has offered up his thoughts on the matter.

Edelman, who is Jewish, took to Twitter Thursday to say he wants to have “uncomfortable conversations” with Jackson about the anti-Semitic quote falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler he shared earlier this week. He even extended an invitation to the Eagles wide receiver to take a trip to Washington to visit both the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“I’ve been getting hit up by everyone asking me about this DeSean Jackson post, and I wanted to take some time before I responded because it’s a complicated issue, and I wanted to be thoughtful,” Edelman said in a video.

After expressing his respect for the 33-year-old Jackson as a football player and acknowledging that the two have previously interacted on social media, Edelman, 34, said that Jackson “said some ugly things, but I do see an opportunity to have conversation.”

“I think the black and Jewish communities have a lot of similarities,” he said. “One unfortunate similarity is that they are both attacked by the ignorant and the hateful.

“We need to listen, we need to learn, we need to act. We need to have those uncomfortable conversations, if we’re gonna have real change. So to that end, DeSean, let’s do a deal. How ’bout we go to D.C. and I take you to the Holocaust Museum, and then you take me to the Museum of African-American History and Culture. Afterward, we grab some burgers, and we have those uncomfortable conversations.”

The three-time Super Bowl champion also reflected on his own experiences as a Jewish man, mentioning how he had an anti-Semitic slur directed at him on the football field in 2011.

After posting a passage to his Instagram story with a fake Hitler quote about a Jewish plan to “extort America” and achieve “world domination,” Jackson addressed the backlash in a video posted Tuesday.

“I just want to first off extend an apology on behalf of me and what I stand for, because you know, I’m one that’s fair and I never want to put any race down or any people down,” Jackson said.

The Eagles addressed the incident as well, saying the organization had spoken to Jackson about his posts.

“Regardless of his intentions, the messages shared were offensive, harmful and absolutely appalling,” the Eagles’ statement said. “They have no place in our society, and are not condoned or supported in any way by the organization.

“We are disappointed and we reiterated to DeSean the importance of not only apologizing, but also using his platform to take action to promote unity, equality, and respect.”

Jackson has also said he’s been meeting with Jewish leaders to try and educate himself about anti-Semitism.