Holocaust Memorial Day

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January 27 is Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year, the White House didn’t mention Jewish people. On Holocaust Remembrance Day. Jewish people. Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Over eleven million people were killed in the Nazi genocide, including Romani, people who were disabled (mentally or physically), people we now call LGBTQ, and many others. But more than six million of those eleven million people were Jewish and not mentioning them as the primary targets or the anti-Semitism that gave rise to the genocide isn’t just insulting, it’s reprehensible. The White House said they wanted to be “inclusive,” (one report has them mentioning Jewish people before taking it out for some reason) but they aren’t being inclusive. They’re erasing everyone.

The fact of the matter is, the chief adviser to the “president” has been accused of antisemitism. Under him, the website Breitbart became a haven for the alt-right (Nazis; they’re Nazis and people have to stop acting like they’re not and that we should listen to them) and they reported that a Jewish family was responsible for a Christmas play being canceled.

And there are other troubling signs. A Deputy Assistant wore a medal associated with the Hungarian ruler who said quite emphatically that he wanted to “replace” the Jews, who had “everything in their hands”. He said he wore it in memory of his family after his father was imprisoned by Communists to remind him of how they suffered under the Nazis. That seems an odd symbol to do it with.

For a White House who claims that they won’t tolerate anti-Semitism, they sure aren’t doing anything about the increasing instances of it all over the country. It took months—months—of threats to Jewish community centers to get a response from the government (more on that Wednesday).

Erasure, turning a blind eye, people with clearly anti-Semitic ties…

There is something very frightening about this administration.