Under pressure, Los Angeles Holocaust Museum retreats from 'Never Again' statement

ISTANBUL

The Los Angeles Holocaust Museum caved into pressure Saturday by scrubbing a social media post that extended the "Never Again" pledge beyond Jewish suffering, bowing to a backlash over drawing parallels to Israel's actions against Palestinians.

"NEVER AGAIN CAN'T ONLY MEAN NEVER AGAIN FOR JEWS," the museum wrote in a post on Instagram, owned by US company Meta, a statement many interpreted as comparing the World War II Holocaust to Israel's attacks and intentional infliction of famine in Gaza.

Facing fierce criticism, the museum deleted the post and issued a defensive statement claiming it was "part of a pre-planned social media campaign intended to promote inclusivity and community" that was "easily open to misinterpretation"

It said it was not its intent to make political statements about the "ongoing situation in the Middle East,” again avoiding specifying the offender.

Some critics accused the museum of betraying the memory of the Holocaust, with one donor threatening to redirect funding elsewhere.

Yet many have drawn uncomfortable parallels between the inhumane treatment of Jews, culminating in the Holocaust, and the inhumane genocidal actions of the Israeli government against Palestinians.

The pledge “Never again” is meaningless unless it applies to all humanity, not just the Jewish people, they say, an argument also made during 1990s Bosnian genocide.

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians since October 2023, according to Gaza authorities, leaving the enclave facing famine conditions.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.