A coalition of Trump-appointed United States Holocaust Memorial Museum board members is demanding Sen. Bernie Sanders' removal from the council, charging that his persistent absence from meetings and public accusations labeling Israel's actions as genocide fundamentally clash with the institution's mission, Jewish Insider reported. Sanders' council membership spans nearly two decades.
The Holocaust Memorial Council's composition primarily features presidential appointees holding five-year terms, complemented by House and Senate members designated by congressional leadership, Jewish Insider noted. Though lawmakers face identical five-year term limits in principle, in practice they may continue serving until successors arrive or officeholders depart Congress.
Jonathan Burkan, receiving dual Trump appointments to the council, reported never witnessing Sanders at any gathering – a stark departure from attendance records of fellow Democratic and Republican congressional members, Jewish Insider reported.
"Everything that's happened after Oct. 7, everything that has been going on with antisemitism, with the Holocaust — I do feel that if someone is a Jewish elected official, they should at least attend one meeting in over a 20-year period of time," Burkan stated. "They should find someone else besides Bernie just to be on the council." Burkan additionally declared that "Bernie Sanders accusing Israel of genocide downplays the Holocaust, which actually hurts the museum which he serves."
Chairman Stuart Eizenstat has disputed genocide characterizations targeting Israel, maintaining that extreme anti-Israel language propels violent antisemitism, Jewish Insider noted. The museum's leadership has equally condemned parallels drawn between Holocaust atrocities and Gaza military operations.
Daniel Huff, joining the board through Trump's first-term appointment, stressed that it's "important that the museum be a bipartisan effort," highlighting the regular, engaged participation of other Democratic lawmakers in meetings, Jewish Insider reported. "That's the type of representation that we want," Huff declared. "My observation, simply, is that Sanders has not shown up to any meeting, as far as I can tell."
"The problem is that he's publicly out there advocating positions that are really at odds with some of the fundamental things that the museum does, and one of them is making sure that the word 'genocide' is carefully safeguarded, and deployed only when necessary, so as not to diminish the memory of those who died in the Holocaust," Huff elaborated.
Given rising antisemitism, the Holocaust Museum carries vital responsibilities, making it "important that everybody who's in a leadership position there is focused on the importance of the moment, the urgency of the moment," Huff argued. "We're living in a dangerous moment and everyone ought to be paying attention," Huff emphasized. "We need people who understand the fierce urgency of the moment we're in, and the need to act wisely and decisively."
While numerous Democrats could excel as candidates and contributors, Sanders falls short of those benchmarks, Huff suggested to Jewish Insider. "It's not a political statement … the ask is just, find someone who's aligned and involved — that's it, very simple," Huff remarked.
Rob Garson, serving as president of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, said his recent first-time board appointment brought the unexpected discovery of Sanders' membership, Jewish Insider reported. "It's not as if they have that many [meetings] in any given year, and it's not as if it's in an inconvenient place for him to come to. He clearly just either doesn't care or doesn't want to care," Garson stated.
Sanders' rhetoric stands "diametrically opposed to the message of the Holocaust Memorial Council," Garson noted. "It should be people that actually are aligned with what the Holocaust Museum stands for, and Sanders just isn't that," Garson declared.
Tila Falic, another recent Trump selection, maintained that appointees should "represent Holocaust education, and it represents combating antisemitism for Jews and for non-Jews in the United States … people that are appointed should take their job seriously by, first of all, showing up." If attendance proves impossible or alignment with museum goals remains absent, "then he should be removed and give that seat to somebody who wants to take an active role and make a difference."
