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Friend,
Today, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember one
of the most painful periods in our recent past and its lessons for our
present.
We remember the six million Jews murdered by the Nazi regime. We
remember the five million others who were murdered — Roma and Sinti
people, people with disabilities, queer and trans people, political
prisoners, socialists, and communists. We remember the millions more
who survived dehumanization and torture.
As we mark this day against the backdrop of ICE’s invasion
of Minneapolis, every Jewish institution must look at itself and ask
what we are doing to end fascism here, in the United States, in
2026.
It’s why we are shocked that the ADL's CEO Jonathan Greenblatt
posted a statement calling for "an immediate de-escalation on all
sides."1
Imagine telling Jews to de-escalate during the Holocaust, or
African Americans to de-escalate during Jim Crow.
In addition, the U.S. Holocaust Museum — which has said nothing
about ICE in Minneapolis — chose this moment to attack Minnesota
Governor Tim Walz for mentioning Anne Frank in a press conference
following the public execution of ICU nurse Alex
Pretti.2
(Governor Walz said: "We have got children in Minnesota hiding
in their houses, afraid to go outside. Many of us grew up reading that
story of Anne Frank. Somebody's going to write that children's story
about Minnesota.”)
Here are the lessons we’re taking from the Holocaust
today:
We remember that the Holocaust did not begin with
death camps and gas chambers but with othering and scapegoating. Then
laws. We remember that chattel slavery and Jim Crow gave the Nazis a
blueprint for the persecution of Jews and other peoples.
We remember that the perpetrators of the Holocaust
used fear to consolidate their power, creating conditions where to
oppose them or support those in the crosshairs meant death.
We remember that despite the risk, many still rose
up to defend their neighbors. To hide them, to help them, to save
them. To fight back, because a threat to any of us is a threat to all
of us.
We remember that today, the fight continues. And
as memories of the Holocaust stir in our country — through the
administration’s warm embrace of Nazi membership, its scapegoating and
targeting of our neighbors, and its deliberate use of fear as a weapon
to consolidate power — we remember that showing up for our
neighbors is the only way to create change. We remember our
responsibility to each other.
To ensure that Never Again is more than a slogan. It’s a
promise.
In solidarity,
The Bend the Arc
team
Sources:
1. Jonathan Greenblatt, X/Twitter
2.
The U.S. Holocaust Museum, X/Twitter
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