November 05, 2015
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For over twenty-two years, millions of people, including schoolkids carted in by the busload every day of the week, have toured places like the Museum of Tolerance in L.A. and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C., taxpayer-supported institutions that inextricably link the Holocaust to (among other tangential issues) immigrants” rights and the worldwide plight of Muslims. It’s been a very successful campaign.
As Bibi’s bad week proved, the world is no longer interested in hearing a Jewish leader misuse a Jewish tragedy to further Jewish interests. Holocaust misuse is all about social justice now. My former allies in the GOP base will not be happy with the outcome, but I have zero sympathy for them. The millions of Europeans and North Americans who believe that immigration restrictions and large-scale deportations are violations of the sacred tenet of “Never Again” will be just as intractable, just as impervious to common sense, as my former allies were when my pleas of “But I”m not a denier” fell on deaf ears.
In his September 1979 report to President Carter, Elie Wiesel, chairman of the commission Carter had established to create the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, explained the “universality” (his word) of the Holocaust, and the commission’s desire to give all “people or peoples” an equal stake in keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive and relevant. Nearly forty years later, mission accomplished, Elie.
Bibi, take note. The Holocaust: It’s not just for Jews anymore.
