Updated

Israeli's minister of education recently compared intermarriages between U.S. Jews and non-Jews to "a second Holocaust."

Rafi Peretz made the statement during a cabinet meeting on July 1, according to Axios. The news outlet reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in attendance at the meeting.

Rafi Peretz, Israel's education minister, said the intermarriage of U.S. Jews and non-Jews is similar to "a second Holocaust." (REUTERS)

Discussing trends among the Jewish community throughout the world, Peretz and other ministers reportedly discussed intermarriage — with Peretz allegedly claiming that six million Jews have been lost over the last 70 years because of it.

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In response, Yuval Steinitz, minister of energy, reportedly chimed back: "First we need to stop disregarding and looking down on Jews in America that see themselves as Jews not only religiously but even more culturally and historically."

Netanyahu concluded the meeting by telling the cabinet he is most concerned by U.S. Jews who are straying from Jewish traditions.

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According to a Pew Research Center study released in 2013, intermarriage between U.S. Jews and non-Jews has "risen substantially over the last five decades." Among those who took part in the study, almost 6 in 10 Jews who had gotten married since 2010 married a non-Jew.

Peretz was appointed to his role by Netanyahu last month. He previously served as Israel's chief military rabbi.