HOUSTON, TX (December 7, 2016) -- In a powerful statement issued by an array of Holocaust institutions, scholars and educators from around the world, an alarm is being sounded on the rise of groups that promote intolerance and hate speech. Holocaust Museum Houston is one of more than 91 institutions and 71 individuals calling on lawmakers to condemn white nationalist groups and ask citizens to be vigilant.

The statement is as follows:

Recent months have seen a surge in unabashed racism and hate speech – including blatant antisemitism and attacks on Hispanics, Muslims, African-Americans, women, the LGBTQ community, as well as other targeted groups.  Journalists have been threatened.  Places of worship, schools and playgrounds have been defaced with Nazi symbols intended to intimidate and arouse fear.  White supremacist groups have become self-congratulatory and emboldened. 

As Holocaust scholars, educators and institutions, we are alarmed by these trends.  History teaches us that intolerance, unchecked, leads to persecution and violence.  We denounce racism and the politics of fear that fuels it.  We stand in solidarity with all vulnerable groups.  We take Elie Wiesel’s words to heart: “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation." 

Therefore, we call upon all elected officials as well as all civic and religious leaders to forcefully and explicitly condemn the rise in hate speech and any attacks on our democratic principles.  We call upon all media and social media platforms to refuse to provide a stage for hate groups and thus normalize their agenda.  And we call upon all people of good conscience to be vigilant, to not be afraid, and to speak out.


This statement is co-authored by members of the Association of Holocaust Organizations, a network dedicated to the advancement of Holocaust education, remembrance and research, and is affirmed by the following institutions and individuals:


Organizational Signatories

Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect
Steven Goldstein, Executive Director
New York, NY

Birmingham Holocaust Education Center
Rebecca C. Dobrinski, Executive Director
Birmingham, AL

CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center
Kiel Majewski, Executive Director
Terre Haute, IN

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education
College of Saint Elizabeth 
Dr. Amy Weiss, Director 
Morristown, NJ

The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education
Sarah Weiss, Executive Director
Cincinnati, OH

Center for Holocaust Awareness & Information (CHAI)
Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester
Bonnie Abrams, Director
Rochester, NY

Center for Holocaust, Genocide, & Human Rights Studies
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Prof. John Cox, Director
Charlotte, NC

Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education (CHHANGE)
Brookdale Community College
Dale Daniels, Executive Director
Lincroft, NJ

Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies
Appalachian State University
Prof. Thomas Pegelow Kaplan, Director
Boone, NC

The Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism
Museum of Jewish Heritage -- A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
Abraham H. Foxman, Director
New York, NY

Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide
Sonoma State University 
Prof. Myrna Goodman, Director
Rohnert Park, CA

Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Keene State College
Prof. Henry Knight, Director
Keene, NH

The Colorado Holocaust Educators
Todd Hennessy, Director
Denver, CO

Columbia Holocaust Education Commission
Lilly S. Filler, M.D., Co-Chair
Lyssa Harvey, Co-Chair
Columbia, SC

The Council of Holocaust Educators
Colleen Tambuscio, President
Trenton, NJ

Darfur and Beyond 
Cory Williams, Co-Founder
Phoenix, AZ

Dayton Holocaust Resource Center
Dr. Renate Frydman, Director
Dayton, OH

El Paso Holocaust Museum & Study Center
Lori Shepherd, Executive Director
El Paso, TX

Esther Raab Holocaust Museum & Goodwin Education Center
Helen Kirschbaum, Director
Cherry Hill, NJ

Evidence of Holocaust
Yakov Zakon, Director
Chicago, IL

Eyes from the Ashes Educational Foundation
Ann Weiss, Director
Bryn Mawr, PA

Facing History and Ourselves
Roger Brooks, President and CEO
Julie Leff, Chair, Board of Directors
Brookline, MA

Finnish Holocaust Remembrance Association
Oula Silvennoinen, Chairman
Helsinki, Finland

Fundación Memoria Viva
Karen Codner, CEO
Santiago, Chile

Galicia Jewish Museum
Jakub Nowakowski, Director
Krakow, Poland

Generations of the Shoah International (GSI)
Esther Finder, Member of the Coordinating Council

Gulf Coast Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education
Dr. Donald Berry, Co-Director 
Mobile, AL

Haiti Jewish Refugee Legacy Project
Harriet and Bill Mohr, Founders
Menlo Park, CA

The Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center
Queensborough Community College, CUNY
Dr. Dan Leshem, Director
Bayside, NY

Herbert and Leonard Littman Families Holocaust Resource Center
Rutgers University
Karen Small, Associate Director
New Brunswick, NJ

Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center
Millie Jasper, Executive Director
White Plains, NY

Holocaust Center for Humanity
Dee Simon, Executive Director
Seattle, WA

Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh
Dr. Lauren Bairnsfather, Director
Pittsburgh, PA

The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater
Elena Barr Baum, Director 
Virginia Beach, VA

The Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest
Barbara Wind, Director
Whippany, NJ

Holocaust Education and Programming Center
Wagner College
Prof. Lori R. Weintrob, Director
Staten Island, NY

Holocaust Education Resource Council
Barbara Goldstein, Executive Director
Tallahassee, FL

Holocaust Educational Foundation
Northwestern University
Sarah Cushman, Director
Evanston, IL

Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project
Monroe Community College
Prof. Regina Fabbro, Endowed Chair
Rochester, NY

Holocaust Learning and Education Fund, Inc.
Craig R. Weiner, President
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County
Steven Markowitz, Chair, Board of Directors
Glen Cove, NY

Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach
Sharon Horowitz, Executive Director
Miami Beach, FL

Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio
Ellen Ollervidez, Director
San Antonio, TX

Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida
Pam Kancher, Executive Director
Maitland, FL

Holocaust Museum and Learning Center
Jean Cavender, Executive Director
St. Louis, MO

Holocaust Museum Houston
Dr. Kelly J. Zúñiga, CEO
Houston, TX

Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo
Mara Koven-Gelman, Executive Director
Buffalo, NY

Holocaust Survivors & Friends Education Center 
Shelly Z. Shapiro, Director
Albany, NY

Holocaust Theater International Initiative
National Jewish Theater Foundation
Arnold Mittelman, President
Coral Gables, FL

Human Security Initiative
Dr. Gregory Weeks, Director
Vienna, Austria

Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
Susan L. Abrams, CEO
Skokie, IL

Institute for Holocaust & Genocide Studies
Raritan Valley Community College 
Peppy Margolis, Director
Branchburg, NJ

Institute for Holocaust Education
Liz Feldstern, Executive Director
Omaha, NE

Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston 
Jeremy Burton , Executive Director
Boston, MA

Jewish Federation of Greater Austin 
Beth McDaniel, Director of Genocide Prevention 
Austin, TX

Jewish Labor Committee 
Arieh Lebowitz, Associate Director
New York, NY

Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation
Elliott Felson, President
San Francisco, CA

The Julius and Dorothy Koppelman Holocaust/Genocide Resource Center
Rider University
Prof. Harvey R. Kornberg, Director 
Lawrenceville, NJ

The Kindertransport Association
Melissa Hacker, President
New York, NY

Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
Beth Kean, Interim Director
Los Angeles, CA

The Memorial Library and Art Collection of the Second World War
David A. Field, Vice-President
New York, NY

The Memory Project Productions
Laurie Weisman, Executive Director
New York, NY

Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
Michael S. Glickman, President & CEO
New York, NY

Music of Remembrance 
Mina Miller, President & Artistic Director
Seattle, WA

National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education
Seton Hill University
Prof. Tim Crain, Director
Greensburg, PA

New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education
Lawrence M. Glaser, Executive Director
Trenton, NJ

Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education
Judith Margles, Director
Portland, OR

Philadelphia Center on the Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights
Dr. Marcia Sachs Littell, President
Philadelphia, PA

The Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity
Western Washington University 
Prof. Sandra Alfers, Founding Director
Bellingham, WA

Remember the Women Institute
Dr. Rochelle G. Saidel, Founder and Director
New York, NY

Remember Us
Samara Hutman, Director
Santa Monica, CA

Ruth Fajerman Markowicz Holocaust Resource Center of Greater Toledo Ohio
Hindea Markowicz, Director
Sylvania, OH

The Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center
May-Ronny Zeidman, Executive Director 
Providence, RI

Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center
Stockton University
Gail Rosenthal, Director
Galloway, NJ

The Selden K. Smith Foundation for Holocaust Education
Minda Miller, Chair
Columbia, SC

Sousa Mendes Foundation
Olivia Mattis, Ph.D., President
Huntington, NY

The South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation
Richard Freedman, Director
Cape Town, South Africa

South Carolina Council on the Holocaust
Eileen Chepenik, Chair
Columbia, SC

The Sparks Fly Upward Foundation
Cathy Lesser Mansfield, Executive Director
Des Moines, IA

Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center
Susan Dubin, Librarian
Las Vegas, NV

Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice
Queens University of Charlotte
Talli Dippold, Assistant Director
Charlotte, NC

The Strochlitz Foundation
Romana Strochlitz Primus, President
New London, CT

Suffolk Center on the Holocaust, Diversity and Human Understanding
Steven Schrier, Executive Director
Selden, NY

Terezín Music Foundation
Mark D. Ludwig, Executive Director
Boston, MA

Tolerance Minnesota
Susie Greenberg, Associate
Minneapolis, MN

Virginia Holocaust Museum
Charles Coulomb, Interim Executive Director
Richmond, VA

Voices of the Generations
Julie Kohner, CEO
Los Angeles, CA

Weinberg Center for Holocaust Education
The Breman Museum
Liliane Kshensky Baxter, Ph.D., Director
Atlanta, GA

The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust & Genocide
Ben Barkow, Director
London, United Kingdom

World Without Genocide
Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., Executive Director
St. Paul, MN

Individual Signatories

Prof. Mehnaz Afridi, Director
Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center
Manhattan College
Riverdale, NY

Prof. Taner Akçam, Chair 
Armenian Genocide Studies
Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies 
Clark University
Worcester, MA

Ethan Bensinger, Documentary Filmmaker
Bensinger Global Media
Deerfield, IL

Prof. Michael Berenbaum, Director
Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust
American Jewish University
Los Angeles, CA

Solvej Berlau, Project Manager
Danish Institute for International Studies
Copenhagen, Denmark

Prof. Emerita Mira Binford
Department of Communications  
Quinnipiac University
Hamden, CT

Mitchell Bloomer, Resource Teacher
Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida
Maitland, FL

Prof. Emeritus Randolph Braham
Department of Political Science
The Graduate Center, CUNY
New York, NY

Dr. Linda Burghardt, Scholar-in-Residence
Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County
Glen Cove, NY

Nancy Civin, Holocaust Educator
Baltimore, MD

Prof. Richard Clark
Department of Sociology and Criminology
John Carroll University
University Heights, OH

Melissa Cohen, Program Coordinator
Martin-Springer Institute
Flagstaff, AZ

Beth Dotan, Founding Director  
Institute for Holocaust Education
Omaha, NE

Susan H. Dubin, Library Consultant
Off the Shelf Library Services
Henderson, NE

Prof. Debórah Dwork, Founding Director
Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Clark University
Worcester, MA

Matthew Faulkner, Program Coordinator
Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio
San Antonio, TX

Dr. Tamara Reps Freeman, President
Holocaust Music LLC
Saddle River, NJ

Prof. Jonathan Friedman
Department of History
West Chester University
West Chester, PA

Prof. Alan Goldberg
School of Education
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

Dr. Henry Greenspan, Faculty Scholar
Mellon Institute on Arts-Academic Integration
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

Larry Grimes, Holocaust Educator
Tampa, FL

Bonnie Gurewitsch, C.A., Former Archivist/Curator
Museum of Jewish Heritage -- A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
New York, NY

Marco Gutewort, Historian
Castle and Memorial Site Lichtenburg
Bad Schmiedeberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Marilyn Harran, Ph.D., Director
Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education
Chapman University
Orange, CA

Joyce Hess, Board President 
Midwest Center for Holocaust Education
Overland Park, KS

Kent Hirschfelder, Past Chair 
Holocaust Museum & Learning Center
St. Louis, MO

Amanda J. Hornberger, Coordinator
Lakin Holocaust Library & Resource Center
Reading, PA

Prof. Sara R. Horowitz
Department of Humanities
York University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Prof. Paul B. Jaskot, Chair
Faculty Academic Council
Holocaust Education Foundation
DePaul University
Chicago, IL

Marcia Reines Josephy
Josephy Exhibitions
Los Angeles, CA

Prof. Emeritus Marty J. Kalb
Department of Fine Arts
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH

Prof. Joshua Kavaloski, Director
Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study
Drew University 
Madison, NJ

Rositta E. Kenigsberg, 2nd Generation
Golden Isles, FL

Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff, Holocaust Author and Educator 
Miami Beach, FL

Prof. David S. Koffman
Department of History 
York University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Prof. Patricia A. Kress
Department of Psychology
Monroe Community College
Rochester, NY

Prof. Bjorn Krondorfer, Director 
Martin-Springer Institute
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ

Ilana Krygier Lapides, Director 
Holocaust & Human Rights Education
Calgary Jewish Federation
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Sonia Marie Leikam, Holocaust Educator and Anti-Genocide Activist
Portland, OR

Prof. Laura Levitt
Department of Religion
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA

Prof. Emeritus Kevin Lewis
Department of Religious Studies
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC

Margaret Lincoln, Ph.D., Librarian
Lakeview School District
Battle Creek, MI

Holly Mandelkern, Holocaust Educator and Author
Winter Park, FL

Mel Mann, Executive Director
Friends of the March of the Living
Miami, FL

Prof. David A. Meola
Department of History
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL

Jeffrey Allen Miller, Immediate Past President
Holocaust Memorial Resources and Education Center of Florida
Orlando, FL

Stephen Naron, Director 
Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
Yale University
New Haven, CT

Jud Newborn, Ph.D., Holocaust Historian, Author, Lecturer
The White Rose Resistance Project for the Advancement of Civil Courage
New York, NY

Nancy Powell, Benefactor
The Powell Heller Holocaust Education Conference
Gig Harbor, WA

Prof. Dan J. Puckett
Department of History
Troy University
Montgomery, AL

Mary Jane Rein, Ph.D., Executive Director
Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Clark University
Worcester, MA

Dr. Michael A. Riff, Director
The Gross Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Mahwah, NJ

Prof. Ann L. Saltzman, Director Emerita
Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study
Drew University
Madison, NJ

Dr. Carl R. Schulkin, Holocaust Educator
Laguna Niguel, CA

Prof. Emerita Harriet Sepinwall, Former Co-Director
Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education
College of Saint Elizabeth
Morristown, NJ

Aley Sheer, Manager 
Leo Martin March of the Living
Miami, FL

Prof. Emeritus Arthur Shostak
Department of Sociology 
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA

Dr. William L. Shulman, President
Association of Holocaust Organizations
New York, NY

Prof. Angelique Stevens
Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project 
Monroe Community College 
Rochester, NY

Marsha Tishler, Holocaust Educator and Survivor 
Rockville, MD

Prof. Emeritus Samuel Totten
School of Education
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Fayetteville, AR

Prof. Steven Wasserstrom
Department of Judaic Studies
Reed College
Portland, OR

Dr. Ronald Weisberger, Director 
Holocaust Center
Bristol Community College 
Fall River, MA

Dr. Leon Weissberg, Holocaust Educator
LTW Educational Consultants
Hollywood, FL

Prof. Lenore J. Weitzman
Vice-President, Jewish Book Council
Visiting Scholar, NYU Department of History
New York, NY

Mark Weitzman, Director of Governmental Affairs
Simon Wiesenthal Center
New York, NY

Prof. Daniel Wildeson, Director
Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud, MN

Jamie L. Wraight, Ph.D., Director 
The Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive
University of Michigan-Dearborn
Dearborn, MI

Dr. Bill Younglove, Ed.D., Holocaust Educator
Lakewood, CA

Jean Zeldin, Executive Director
Midwest Center for Holocaust Education
Overland Park, KS

Gail G. Ziegler, LISW-S, Senior Manager 
Jewish Family Service Center for Holocaust Survivors
Cincinnati, OH