U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council to Prager: Your Words Were Intolerant, But You Get To Stay
After avoiding the issue for weeks, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council has issued a response to critics who say that conservative pundit Dennis Prager should be booted off the panel.
Prager has been in hot water since late November, when he published an online column arguing that a Muslim congressman should not take his oath of office on a Quran. In recent weeks, former New York City Mayor Edward Koch, a fellow member of the memorial council, had said he would call for Prager’s ouster at a December 18 meeting of the 55-member panel. Yesterday, Koch told the Forward that he did not even bother to make the trip down to Washington, D.C. on Mondy after being told that the Prager issue was being kept off the agenda.
It looks like Prager’s there to stay. This morning, the council’s executive committee quietly issued this resolution:
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL COUNCIL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE RESOLUTION
On December 20, the Executive Committee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council adopted the following resolution.
Resolution
WHEREAS, the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the governing body of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, is charged with implementing the mission of the Museum as a living memorial to the victims of the Holocaust devoted to teaching the lessons of the Holocaust for the benefit of all mankind; and
WHEREAS, Dennis Prager, a member of the Council, has recently publicly expressed and disseminated certain statements which have been widely interpreted as being intolerant;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Executive Committee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, while recognizing that Dennis Prager has the right to express his personal views freely, disassociates itself from Mr. Prager’s statements as being antithetical to the mission of the Museum as an institution promoting tolerance and respect for all peoples regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity.
#
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
