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By Generations of the Shoah International December 2, 2016

Dear President-elect Trump:

In your election night speech, you said, “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division. It is time for us to come together as one united people.” Instead, those divisions are escalating. When members of the alt-right meet in Washington, DC and question if Jews are really people, it is time for moral leadership to put a stop to hate speech, to anti-Semitism, to racism.

We ask you, Mr. Trump, to stand up and speak out forcefully, using all the channels available to you, against the bigotry that divides us. We and millions of other Americans look to you to help heal the divisions in our country.

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Sadly, your appointment of Stephen Bannon as White House Chief Strategist sends a mixed message. As executive chairman, he proclaimed that Breitbart was “the platform for the alt-right,” a movement that strongly rejects diversity in any form and promotes white nationalism, racism, misogyny, and anti-Semitism. Bannon’s appointment telegraphs the message that hate groups’ activities will not only be tolerated but will be endorsed and promoted by your Administration.

Millions of Americans have expressed fear and concern about how they will be treated under your leadership. Advisors you appoint will either validate those fears or help unite the country.

As Holocaust survivors, children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, and as members of the Coordinating Council of Generations of the Shoah International (GSI), the world’s largest Holocaust family organization, we know what our parents and grandparents lived through. It was a time when virulent anti-Semitism was accepted. That bigotry was allowed to spread, unchecked, and systematic genocide ensued.

We are vigilantly watching and ready to support actions that promote justice and respect for all Americans.

We strongly urge you to build a White House staff committed to core American values of inclusiveness and respect for diversity.

May your family, including your Jewish grandchildren who are descendants of Holocaust survivors, be able to look back at your presidential legacy with pride.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned Members of the Coordinating Council of Generations of the Shoah International (GSI):

Esther Toporek Finder

President, Generations of the Shoah – Nevada

President, Holocaust Survivors Group of Southern Nevada

Past President, The Generation After, Washington, DC

Member of the US Delegation to the Holocaust Era Assets Conference, Prague, June 2009

Ken Engel

Chair, CHAIM (Children of Holocaust Survivors Association in Minnesota), Minneapolis, MN

Janice Friebaum Immediate Past Chair, Generations After – Descendants of Holocaust Survivors in Greater Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ

Board Member, Phoenix Holocaust Survivors’ Association, Phoenix, AZ

Charles Silow

President, C.H.A.I.M. – Children of Holocaust-Survivors Association In Michigan (Detroit, MI)

Dina Cohen Coordinator, Generations of the Shoah-New Jersey

Member, New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education

Board Member, Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest, New Jersey

Anat Bar-Cohen

Co-President, The Generation After, Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia

Daniel Brooks

Coordinator, 3GNY (Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors in New York)

Doris Schwarz-Lisenbee

Chair, Second and Third Generation Programs of SiliconValley Holocaust Survivors Associations, San Jose, California

Raymonde (Ray) Fiol

Past President and Board Member, Holocaust Survivors Group of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, NV

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