Yom Hashoah, when Jews around the world remember the Holocaust, is an important date on the calendar each year for Jewish people around the world.
This year, it was celebrated beginning on the evening of May 4, ending at sunset on May 5. Then-DNC chairwoman U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz sent an email on the morning of May 5 asking why the Democratic Party had not yet released a statement commemorating the day.
The reaction to her email was disturbing.
“We aren’t going to do statements for every Jewish holiday unless she wants to do them for every religious holiday and trust me, this Catholic can give you a list of them,” director of the DNC chair’s office Kate Houghton wrote. “Also when she does an official statement it makes very little sense to have two statements out there in her voice.”
Wasserman Schultz’ campaign spokesman, Ryan Banfill, wrote in response, “This is about remembering the Holocaust. Never forget.”
“Yup… or Darfur or Armenia or Rwanda or Bosnia (which PS is where my husband served),” Houghton replied. “Does she want us to do one for each other those remembrance days as well?”
Ultimately, a statement was drafted, but was immediately panned by Wasserman Schultz’ congressional general counsel, Sarah Farhadian. The original draft stated:
Today we honor and remember the stories of the six million Jews and millions of others who died in the Holocaust. We also celebrate the lives of those who survived, and the heroes who courageously fought the forces of ignorance, hatred, bigotry and brutality to end the Nazi regime and forge a brighter future for mankind.
Although the final days of the Holocaust are in our past, we must forever carry its lessons in our hearts and remain ever-vigilant not to repeat the same mistakes. Just last week, in my home state, the FBI thwarted a plot by a man who was trying to bomb the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center. So our work is never finished, and we must work together to confront this kind of hatred and call out those who would incite others to violence wherever and whenever they do.
The lessons of the Holocaust are especially important to remember this election season when the rhetoric of national politics will no doubt get heated, and our differences will be tested by those who wish to turn those differences into hard divisions. But the Democratic Party stands for inclusion and diversity. And we will not stand for fear-mongering or the denigration of any group of people because of their faith, race or gender. We will continue to work to stop bigotry and hatred, and our nation will be stronger for it.
Farhadian said the DNC needed to be careful not to imply “Trump is a Nazi,” or “if you remember the Holocaust, you will vote for Democrats.” She offered some suggested changes to the language.
The entire situation, in light of “Taco Bowl Engagement,” “no homo,” and making fun of an African-American’s name, begs the question: Is there a demographic within the Democratic Party’s “big tent” that staffers behind the scenes haven’t insulted?
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