The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling for the removal of a Trump-appointed member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council who described Gazans as “fundamentally evil” and unworthy of mercy.
Established by Congress in 1980, the US Holocaust Memorial Council is the governing body that leads the nation’s annual observation of Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 and oversees the official Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. It consists of a combination of voting and non-voting members, including 55 individuals appointed by the president who serve five-year terms.
In a February 1 editorial titled “Let Donald Trump Make Gaza Great Again” published in the Jerusalem Post, Martin Oliner characterized Palestinians in Gaza as “collectively guilty” for Hamas’s attacks on October 7, 2023.
“[T]hey must pay the price of their actions,” Oliner wrote, further attacking physicians, journalists, and United Nations staff and encouraging the forced displacement of Gazans to other countries.
“The power of this president is enormous,” Oliner continued, describing Trump as a “bulldozer” and encouraging other countries to support the president’s plans “at making Gaza great again.”
Israel’s attacks, which organizations including the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have characterized as a genocide, have killed over 60,000 people in Gaza, according to the latest reported numbers.
Since taking office, Trump has notably ordered freezes on all foreign aid with the exception of military financing for Egypt and Israel.
Oliner, who currently serves as a chairman of the Religious Zionists of America and president of the pro-Israel Culture for Peace Institute, was appointed to the Council in December 2020 by Trump during his first presidential term. A son of Holocaust survivors, he served as the mayor of Lawrence in New York from 2010 to 2016.
CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the US, called on Trump to “immediately remove” Oliner from his board seat.
“We strongly condemn pro-Israel activist and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council board member Martin Oliner for reportedly declaring every single man, woman and child in Gaza ‘fundamentally evil’ and ‘collectively guilty’ people who are not ‘worthy of any mercy,” CAIR wrote in a statement.
“It is unacceptable for anyone who believes that all children and everyone else in a population are ‘fundamentally evil’ and unworthy of mercy to hold a position with any organization, whether a private or public entity,” CAIR’s statement continued, decrying the “racist, hate-filled views that lead to crimes against humanity, including the genocide in Gaza.
Oliner, the United States Holocaust Memorial, and the Jerusalem Post have not yet responded to Hyperallergic’s requests for comment.
