Amid the horrific rise in Jew-hatred, the US Holocaust Museum must reexamine its role
The murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim in Washington and the attack on Jewish seniors, including Holocaust survivor Barbara Steinmetz, in Boulder, Colo., remind us that the lessons of the Holocaust remain unlearned.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum can help teach those lessons — if it concentrates on antisemitism as opposed to other hatreds, as it should, and goes beyond the Nazi horror.
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Recall that the Holocaust occurred in European countries where ordinary citizens cooperated or stood indifferent to the mass murders of their neighbors.
Today, after decades of proclaiming 'never again,' antisemitism in the US has hit a frightening new peak.
The Holocaust Museum is supposed to educate about the dangers of antisemitism.
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But as a proud member of its council, I know first-hand that it needs to do much more to fulfill that important role.
The museum's weak connection to the Jewish people stems from its design, created when antisemitism seemed a thing of the past.
Since then, it has shifted focus to combatting other forms of hate.
The museum also provides no context of Jewish history before 1930 or after 1945.
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And a planned multimillion-dollar renovation of the main exhibit hall could make the museum even more woke and disconnected.
Frankly, the operation is in danger of becoming a liberal monument to the dangers of immigration enforcement and conservative politics.
What the museum should be doing instead is teaching Americans that antisemitism is the world's oldest hatred, dating back 4,000 years when Nimrod is said to have thrown Abraham into a fiery furnace, and gaining steam with the rise of Christianity.
More important, the museum needs to teach the story of Jewish survival; the founding of Israel in 1948, the wars of 1967 and 1973, and the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
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It should cover pogroms that spurred the Zionist movement, helping make the case for the existence of a Jewish state.
And it should emphasize America's cherished opportunities for Holocaust survivors and their families.
Nineteen months after the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, the museum lacks focus on the ongoing crisis.
It reaches thousands of teachers and visitors but teaches broadly about hate, and not enough about antisemitism in particular.
It fails, for example, to address antisemitism's recent surge, particularly at US universities.
A Harvard-Harris poll in April found 51% of American 18- to 24-year-olds favored Hamas over Israel.
Clearly, the museum needs to do a better job of reaching and teaching young people about Israel, Jewish history and current events.
Indeed, no metric shows the museum contributing to any reduction in antisemitism. Sadly, all signs suggest it is failing in this regard.
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The good news: President Donald Trump has made combatting antisemitism a priority and has begun cleaning house at the museum.
Last month, he removed several Biden appointees, including Ron Klain, Doug Emhoff, Tom Perez, Susan Rice, Jon Finer and Anthony Bernal, none of whom were suited for the council.
Rice had politicized Biden's National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism by excluding anti-Zionism and including Islamophobia.
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Finer called members of the Israeli government 'abhorrent,' slamming it at a meeting with Arab American leaders in Dearborn, Mich., last year.
Emhoff, appointed just three days before Trump took office, resisted his removal, claiming it 'dishonors the memory of 6 million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve.'
That's nonsense: Replacing these partisan figures has nothing to do with the 6 million murdered Jews, the Holocaust survivors or their descendants.
On the other hand, the new council members appointed by President Trump will bring expertise from their careers as well as their skills and their important values.
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Again, the US Holocaust Museum was created to preserve the memory of the Shoah and protect future generations from violent antisemitism.
To accomplish this at a time when Jews face their biggest threats in decades requires greater oversight by the council and a broader, bolder outlook that addresses today's emerging problems.
It's time to rethink the facility's role and what it is supposed to do to combat antisemitism.
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It's time make the US Holocaust Museum great again.
Martin Oliner, a lawyer and the son of Holocaust survivors, was mayor of Lawrence village from 2010 to 2016.
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