(JTA) — President Donald Trump declared a week of “Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust” in an official proclamation on Friday, while touting his administration’s ongoing “efforts to combat racist and anti-Semitic discrimination.”
The week of remembrance begins on Sunday, the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, begins on Monday evening.
Trump noted that “among those murdered in the Holocaust were 6 million Jewish men, women, and children who became victims of the Third Reich’s unthinkably evil ‘Final Solution.'”
The proclamation also calls to “remember the millions of lives extinguished in the Holocaust, including those of Jewish, Polish, and Slavic ancestry, Roma and Sinti, individuals with mental and physical disabilities, gays, political dissidents, and dozens of other groups.”
Trump acknowledged that American Jews still face persecution, and pointed to his executive order on anti-Semitism issued in December.
The controversial order directs “robust” enforcement of existing civil rights protections for Jews on college campuses under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — which says attackers target Jews because they perceive them to be a race or having a shared national identity.
Critics of the order argued that the order implied that Judaism is a nationality.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
