JCRC Statement on Removal of Appointees to US Holocaust Memorial Board of Trustees

The following is a statement from Ron Halber, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, regarding the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM):

“We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s decision to remove former Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and other former Biden Administration officials from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council (Board of Trustees).

JCRC considers Holocaust remembrance to be our most sacred responsibility, and we believe strongly that Holocaust commemoration and education must never be subjected to politics. The sudden dismissal of trustees well before their terms expired — without any apparent cause and just days after Jewish people around the world commemorated Yom Hashoah — is an unwarranted intrusion into the museum’s operations, which by design and in practice are strictly nonpartisan.  

Since it opened its doors more than 30 years ago, the USHMM has welcomed thousands of students and families across the DMV and tens of millions of people from around the world, while receiving widespread support from leaders across the political spectrum. We urge the Trump Administration to protect the museum’s work and support its independence.”