Trump’s Official Statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day Doesn’t Mention Jews
Obama Last Year: ‘We Are All Indeed Jews’
President Donald Trump on Friday released an official “Statement By The President On International Holocaust Remembrance Day.” It does not mention Jews, the Jewish people, anti-Semitism, or the fact that six million Jews were slaughtered by Hitler and the Nazis during the Holocaust.
“It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honor the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror,†Trump’s statement begins. “Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest.‎ As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent.â€
“In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world,†it concludes.
In 2005 the United Nations General Assembly officially designated January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, noting in part that the Holocaust “resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice.”
By contrast, President Barack Obama in 2016 “spoke at the Righteous Among the Nations Award Ceremony at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C.,” according to the Obama White House archives.Â
“Here, tonight, we must confront the reality that, around the world, anti-Semitism is on the rise,†President Obama said. “We cannot deny it. When we see some Jews leaving major European cities because they no longer feel safe; when Jewish centers are targeted from Mumbai to Overland Park, Kansas; when swastikas appear on college campuses; when we see all that and more, we must not be silent.â€
On Twitter, Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) noted President Trump’s concerning statement:
2/2 Puzzling and troubling @WhiteHouse #HolocaustMemorialDay stmt has no mention of Jews. GOP and Dem. presidents have done so in the past. pic.twitter.com/BvZVVoPUSi
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) January 27, 2017
Others on Twitter also noticed Trump’s concerning choice to ignore the Jews who were slaughtered:
3. This feels 100% Bannon to me–fine to say the Holocaust was bad as long as we start gently moving away from the idea it was about Jews.
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) January 27, 2017
In one tweet, Rubio says more about the Holocaust than Trump did in an entire statement: https://t.co/2h1z8gepqu
— (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) January 27, 2017
give Bannon credit for self-restraint; he didn’t insert “so-called” before “Holocaust” https://t.co/AU3n9fTyUx
— Eli Valley (@elivalley) January 27, 2017
Good thing that Trump didn’t run an anti-Semitic presidential campaign and doesn’t have an anti-Semitic chief strategist. https://t.co/lzg0Wr0YZB
— Greg Lipper (@theglipper) January 27, 2017
As others have noted, part of Trump’s far right base includes white nationalists, white supremacists, and others who hold anti-Semitic beliefs.
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