Jewish groups are criticizing a leader of the National Rifle Association for likening a new gun safety initiative to the Holocaust.

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop doesn't want the hundreds of thousands of dollars his police force spends on guns and ammunition each year to go to a gunmaker that sells assault rifles for civilian use.

He only wants to do business with manufacturers that conduct background checks, fund research on gun violence, and work to combat illegal gun trafficking.

“All we’d be doing is using the police department's purchasing ability to influence the dialogue,” Fulop said.

But a member of the NRA’s board of directors, Scott Bach, has asked gunmakers to boycott Jersey City over Fulop's initiative.

“His grandparents were Holocaust survivors according to Wikipedia,” Bach said in an interview with NRA News. “So you’ve got to wonder why he is not getting it.”

Fulop says the suggestion is offensive.

“Doesn't get more ignorant than that,” Fulop said. “Had my grandparents had weapons in Eastern Europe whent the Nazis came, they would have been persecuted and killed by the Nazis.”

Jewish organizations have asked the NRA not to link their political arguments to the Holocaust.

Bach did not respond to our request for a comment.