I find Trump's recent statement about the Holocaust Day possibly to be instructive:
“It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honor the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror.
“Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest. As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent.
“In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world.”
The day has always been associated with the genocide against the Jews (Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Day), or Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laGvura (the Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day) and has been celebrated as such since 1950.** And it was no mistake that Jews were not mentioned in Trump's statement because a State Department statement did mention Jews and they had to take it out.***
Was this Donald (The Bully) Trump bullying Israel? If so there was silence, even from Netanyahu who kept trying to bully President Obama because he knew he could do it and not endanger Obama's support of Israel, but did Trump just out-bully the bully? In fact why has all Jewry been so silent on this except for a few quiet statements? Suppose President Obama had made the same statement. Can you imagine the outcry?
The Republican Jewish Coalition reacted to Trump’s statement, calling it a “painful omission.” The Zionist Organization of America specified “our chagrin and deep pain” for failing to specifically mention Jews or the antisemitism that led to the Holocaust.
I'm sure that Jews realize that Donald (the Bully) Trump has steered this day away from antisemitism and genocide of Jews to the murdering of a huge number and variety of people. So will Holocaust Day evolve like so many other special Days (e.g. Washington's and Lincolns birthday remembrances to Presidents Day; Armistice Day to Veteran's Day, etc.) and lose its original meaning? In view of rising antisemitism today, I think that would be misguided.
* https://www.amazon.com/Looking-Out-Where-Want-Life/dp/1626360405/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RNEVGEK4B4EQZQNA3MK9
https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Through-Intimidation-Robert-Ringer/dp/0449207862
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_Memorial_Days
*** http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/white-house-holocaust-jews-234572
https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Through-Intimidation-Robert-Ringer/dp/0449207862
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_Memorial_Days
*** http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/white-house-holocaust-jews-234572
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