WASHINGTON—The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is urging politicians and private citizens to avoid condemning Syrian refugees as a group.
The museum says in a statement issued Thursday that Americans “should not turn our backs on the thousands of legitimate refugees.” The statement compared their plight to that of Jews who were unable to flee Nazism.
Several Republican presidential contenders have called on the United States to stop accepting refugees after last week’s attacks in Paris by Islamic State militants. The House passed legislation Thursday that would essentially ban Syrian and Iraqi refugees from the U.S. President Barack Obama opposes the bill.
Given its mandate, I can understand why the museum would feel compelled to make all the right noises vis-à-vis this current tide of refugees. That does not change the fact, however, that in ethos and mindset, especially when it comes to how they view Israel and Jewry, Syrians as a group are a lot closer to the Nazis than they are to Americans.The statement from the museum notes that many refugees are fleeing the Islamic State and says “security concerns must be fully addressed” before they enter the U.S. ...
Or have the museum's powers-that-be forgotten that it was not that long ago that the Jews of Syria had to be rescued because the antipathy of Syrians as a group made it impossible for Jews to continue living there?
Update: Why Syria Is Not the Holocaust
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