A bipartisan effort is underway to remove Sen. Bernie Sanders from the governing board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum after records showed that he has failed to attend a single meeting during his 18 years of service, according to a report by The New York Post.
Sanders (I-Vt.) was appointed in 2007 to the Holocaust Memorial Council, the body that oversees the Washington museum located roughly two miles from the U.S. Capitol. The council convenes twice annually to guide the institution’s operations and educational mission.
Documentation provided to The Post by museum staff indicates that Sanders has been absent from every council meeting since joining the board. During that same period, Sanders rose to national prominence through his 2016 and 2020 campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination, which helped bring democratic socialism into the political mainstream.
“There are two large meetings every year where people fly in from all over the country for it. But Bernie Sanders couldn’t be bothered to walk across the road in DC,” said board member Robert Garson, president of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists.
Another council member, Wall Street executive Jonathan Burkan, also criticized Sanders’ record. “Eighteen is a good number in Judaism, but not in this case,” Burkan said. Both Garson and Burkan emphasized that they were speaking in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the museum.
The Holocaust Memorial Council was created by Congress in 1980 and is made up of 55 presidential appointees serving five-year terms, along with 10 members selected by congressional leadership, split evenly between the House and Senate.
Garson and Burkan, both appointed by President Donald Trump, are among roughly a dozen signatories to a letter urging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to replace Sanders. The letter cites Sanders’ failure to attend meetings as well as his repeated public claims that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
“In the current context, with Jew hatred and Holocaust distortion rising globally, it is imperative that Senate-appointed representatives on the Council are fully engaged and steadfastly supportive of its mission,” the letter states. The signatories also objected to Sanders’ “public statements regarding contemporary genocidal conflicts” and noted that he “has rarely, if ever, attended Council meetings.”
“This is not a partisan issue, just common sense,” said Alex Heckler, a longtime Democratic Party activist and fundraiser who was appointed to the board by President Joe Biden.
“[Sanders’] beliefs and public statements do not reflect the stated mission of the museum. Also, he has never attended a meeting in the years I have been on the Council,” Heckler added. Heckler previously served as deputy national finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee during the 2020 campaign and remained on the board after Trump removed other Biden appointees earlier this year.
Trump-appointed board member Jimmy Resnick also voiced frustration over Sanders’ absence. “Why take someone’s place who will show up? I just don’t understand it,” Resnick said.
“He doesn’t care. It’s like a non-existent position,” Resnick added, noting that his late father, Abe Resnick, had also served on the council.
Resnick said other Democratic appointees had attended meetings, including Biden appointees Susan Rice and former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, both of whom participated as recently as last year before being removed from the board.
The reasons behind Sanders’ longstanding disengagement from the council remain unclear. Historically, socialist and communist groups played significant roles in armed resistance to the Nazis, and socialist Zionist leaders — including Israel’s first president, David Ben-Gurion — were central to the establishment of the Jewish state.
Neither Schumer nor Sanders responded to requests for comment. Senate President pro tempore Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who may also have authority to make a replacement, likewise did not respond.
Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, is one of 10 Jewish senators currently serving in the Senate. His critics argue that there are many other qualified candidates who could take his place on the council.
While the Holocaust museum does not shape government policy, it is widely regarded as one of the most significant Jewish cultural institutions in Washington and plays a major role in Holocaust education nationwide.
Sanders has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli government and earlier this month administered the oath of office to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a fellow socialist who has threatened to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu should he visit New York City.
In a lengthy statement published in September, Sanders accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, writing: “The intent is clear. The conclusion is inescapable.”
“That word emerged from the Holocaust — the murder of six million Jews — one of the darkest chapters in human history,” Sanders wrote. “Make no mistake. If there is no accountability for Netanyahu and his fellow war criminals, other demagogues will do the same. History demands that the world act with one voice to say: enough is enough. No more genocide.”
{
Matzav.com}
