Posted on 01/21/2006 12:23:09 PM PST by dervish
Amid pledges from Iran to "wipe Israel off the map" and to hold a conference examining whether the Nazi murder of 6 million Jews is a "myth," America's Holocaust Museum is under fire for its silence about Arab assistance to the Nazis during World War II, and about the intensifying hatred of Jews in the Arab Middle East today.
Leading the charge is Holocaust Museum Watch, a national organization formed 18 months ago to spur the museum toward meaningful acknowledgment of Arab anti-Semitism.
'snip'
Rabbi Herzfeld and other critics argued that the museum's silence on Arab anti-Semitism was likely the result of its political burdens. Two-thirds of the museum's operating budget is taxpayer-funded, and its leaders are presidential appointees. This has, in the past, placed museum officials in tricky spots regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, and Rabbi Weiss cited as an example the Clinton administration's insistence that the former head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, be given a guided personal tour of the museum. The then-director of the museum, Walter Reich, refused and promptly was fired.
"They are not talking about the major issues because they upset certain political niceties in Washington," Rabbi Herzfeld said. "That's fine if you're the State Department, but if you're tasked with preserving the memory of the Shoah, and you deal with it in a callous political fashion, that's deeply offensive."
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
"One example of misplaced focus, Ms. Greenwald said, is a video documentary about Christianity's role in the Holocaust, addressing historic episodes such as anti-Semitic violence after medieval passion plays and the writings of Martin Luther. "Given that they don't have any hesitation about having a movie like that," Ms. Greenwald said, "they should have a movie or an exhibit that talks about the role extremist Islam is playing in spreading religious and racial hatred."
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More State Department whitewash of Muslims and Arabs, but no hesitation to implicate Christians.
Perhaps the Arabs could build their own museum.
This: "the intensifying hatred of Jews in the Arab Middle East today" wouldn't at first glance to seem to have awful lot to do with the Holocaust?
I didn't know about this. Good for Mr. Reich. What an insult to shove this terrorist down their throats.
"The congressional legislation that approved the museum in 1980 was based on a 1979 report issued by the President's Commission on the Holocaust, established by President Carter and chaired by Elie Wiesel. Among other responsibilities, the commission tasked the museum with maintaining a Committee on Conscience, charged with monitoring potential genocidal situations and issuing an "'institutional scream' to alert the conscience of the world and spark public outcry" at the earliest signs of genocidal intent."
Indeed! Anybody know anything more about Mr. Reich and what happened to him? That was a good, principled stand (like Rudy Giuliani's response to Arafat).
"Among other responsibilities, the commission tasked the museum with maintaining a Committee on Conscience, charged with monitoring potential genocidal situations and issuing an "'institutional scream' to alert the conscience of the world and spark public outcry" at the earliest signs of genocidal intent." "
Interesting. So, have they fulfilled this mandate at all? Did they have an exhibition on Rwanda, for instance?
Sorry my link won't work. Try this link and type in "Rwanda" into their Search Engine. 25 links come up.
http://www.ushmm.org/
Thanks, dervish. He is a very intelligent and accomplished man as well as a very moral one.
Why do we have a national holocaust museum? I still don't get it. We had almost nothing to do with the holocaust, other than bringing it to an end. Shouldn't it be in Berlin? If we want to examine history of genocide shouldn't our museum be about the American Indians and Black slaves? Isn't it a bit of a dodge to have a museum about, esentially, some eleses horible behaviour in centuries past when you are not even examining your own. I've never understood the reason for it. Jimmy Carter?
"Why do we have a national holocaust museum? I still don't get it. We had almost nothing to do with the holocaust, other than bringing it to an end. Shouldn't it be in Berlin?"
Because the function of a museum is to educate, not merely to commemorate? I visited Berlin recently, there is indeed a holocaust museum there, plus many other reminders. In Poland, you can visit Aushwitz and other camps. I've also visted the holocaust exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London, which is very powerful. It's an important event of recent history, and one from which we can all learn lessons (those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it and so on...).
"If we want to examine history of genocide shouldn't our museum be about the American Indians and Black slaves?"
No reason why you can't do that too...
Thanks.
Clinton!...hmph! go figure.
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