World
White Nationalist commends Trump administration ‘de-Judification’ of the Holocaust
February 1, 2017 20:46
The deliberate decision by the Trump administration not to mention Jews in their statement on Holocaust Memorial Day has been applauded by one of America’s most notorious far-Right agitators.
Richard Spencer, one of the founders of the so-called “Alt-Right” movement, accused the Jewish community of “kvetching” because of their anger at the White House’s omission.
“Viewed from the perspective of Jewish activists, Trump’s statement becomes outrageous, as it dethrones Jews from a special position in the universe”, Spencer wrote on his blog, going on to refer to the “de-Judification of the Holocaust.”
Although it was originally assumed that the failure to mention the Jews was an accident, Hope Hicks, the White House director of strategic communications, told CNN on Saturday that the wording was intentional. “Despite what the media reports, we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered,” Ms Hicks said.
The next day, Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, said that he didn’t regret the wording of the statement. By Monday morning, Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, was calling the concern and anger over the omission “ridiculous” and “pathetic.”
Jewish-American groups condemned the White House’s action. Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, described it as “puzzling and troubling”, while the Republican Jewish Coalition called it “an unfortunate omission.”
Even Rabbi Marvin Hier, the head of the Simon Wiesenthal centre, who just a week before had delivered the benediction at the presidential inauguration, criticised the administration’s statement, calling it a “mistake”.
“The Final Solution was not planned against Gypsies. The Final Solution was not planned against homosexuals. It was not planned against any group other than Jews,” Rabbi Hier told CNN.
