The Republican Jewish Coalition has demanded an apology from President Barack Obama's campaign strategist David Axelrod for his use of “Nazi imagery” in a tweet about the upcoming Illinois GOP primary.

"At a time when there is so much talk about the need for civility in political discourse, it is disturbing to see President Obama's top campaign adviser casually throw Nazi imagery around in reference to a Republican candidate for President," read a statement from the RJC released Monday.

"Holocaust and Nazi imagery are always inappropriate in the political arena," it added. "Axelrod should apologize for his offensive language."

Axelrod’s first tweet Monday noted Romney’s large spending advantage and the resulting negative ad campaigns that have been launched against Rick Santorum in the Illinois primary race.

But it was his second statement that drew the attention of the RJC.

“Mittzkrieg” seems to combine Romney’s name with the blitzkrieg, a military tactic employed by the Nazis during World War II to launch simultaneous ground and air assaults against Allied forces. While Romney and his super PAC have grossly outspent Santorum in an effort to saturate the market, the RJC condemned the subtle comparison of Romney to the Nazis.

Romney campaign spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom circulated the RJC statement via his own Twitter account.

In contrast, the National Jewish Democratic Council called the scandal overblown. President and CEO David Harris told ABC News, “Jewish Republicans’ protest to this supposed reference is too much, methinks.”

He continued, “Their silence has been beyond deafening when actual, direct abusive Holocaust rhetoric has been invoked by key Republicans—such as Rep. Allen West recently saying that infamous Nazi Joseph Goebbels would ‘be very proud of the Democrat Party.’ Their party is thick with it, from the top down. Nice try, but a real start would be addressing the widespread abusive Holocaust rhetoric that permeates the right—disturbingly employed on a regular basis.”

J-Connection: David Axelrod is Jewish.