Lack of reference to Judaism or antisemitism in Trump administration’s statement ‘puzzling and troubling’, head of Anti-Defamation League said

The White House raised eyebrows on Friday when it issued a statement to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, that did not mention Jews, Judaism or antisemitism.

The statement read:

It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honor the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror. Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest.‎ As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent. In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world.

The Holocaust was the systematic genocide of European Jewry by Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. More than six million Jews were murdered, along with Gypsies, gay people, political dissidents and others that the Nazi regime found undesirable.

On Twitter, Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the Anti-Defamation League wrote that the statement “misses that it was six million Jews who perished, not just ‘innocent people’” and described it as “puzzling and troubling” that there was no explicit mention of Jews.

In past statements and speeches commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Barack Obama explicitly referred to the “unique” nature of the Holocaust and “the scourge of antisemitism” and to the murder of six million Jews.

The oversight by the White House comes as the Trump administration is still adjusting to the transition of power. The night before the statement on the Holocaust was issued, the White House issued a daily schedule that repeatedly misspelled the name of the British prime minister, Theresa May.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. However, Fred Brown, a spokesman for the Republican Jewish Coalition, said in a statement “it’s outrageous that people are using Holocaust Remembrance Day for partisan reasons or to try and settle scores. The horrors of the Holocaust are not to be taken lightly. Today is about remembering the millions of Jews who suffered at the hands of hate, and the heroes who died fighting it.”