November 30, 2020, 11:46 am
Right-wing figures and news outlets are having trouble coping with the opening of a new exhibit inspired by the police killing of George Floyd, launched at a Holocaust museum in Florida. The exhibit, titled Uprooting Prejudice: Faces of Change, was made available to the public three weeks ago, and now that election fervor is winding down, conservatives have finally noticed and gotten offended.
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One particular figure, political activist and founder of Americans Against Antisemitism Dov Hikind, called it “an insult to the memory of the 6 million” in an interview with Newsmax.
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Hikind is also known for arguing against legalizing same-sex marriage because “those who want to live and love incestuously will be five steps closer to achieving their goals as well.”
As it turns out, the exhibit is actually about people’s reactions and thoughts on police brutality in the U.S., which has killed around 1,000 U.S. residents per year since at least 2015 and disproportionately impacted Black Americans. It contains photographs and perspectives gathered by Minneapolis resident John Noltner, who went to the site of Floyd’s killing in late May to simply ask people what they wanted to say.
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“When someone faces an act of antisemitism, racism, or any form of identity based hate, whether it results in death or not, there is an uprising of many emotions,” the museum website explains. “We felt it was important to bring the human experience of the aftermath to our museum.”
Museums dedicated to the memory of the 6 million people killed in the Holocaust have often dabbled in related subjects that involve prejudice and human rights. It’s therefore interesting that conservatives, including the head of right-wing Canadian news outlet “Rebel News,” are having such a strong reaction.
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George Floyd is added to a Holocaust museum? That trivializes and distorts the Holocaust and its six million Jewish victims. And it grotesquely implies that American police are Nazis. pic.twitter.com/zNsG0bqyEe
— Ezra Levant
(@ezralevant) November 22, 2020
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Meanwhile, museum assistant director Lisa Bachman explained that the exhibit was launched as part of its commitment to addressing “all forms of prejudice and bigotry,” which they are also against.
“We are educators and it is our duty to build bridges that move people from the unknown to understanding in an effort to build common humanity,” she told Jewish News. “Our goal is to make connections and create awareness for thoughts and ideas we may not have considered.”
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She also clarified that the exhibit does not actually picture or explicitly mention either George Floyd or the police. So that would mean that the only ones making connections between Nazis and the police are Twitter conservatives baffled by the idea that the Holocaust might be “political.”
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“We encourage visiting the exhibit to see for yourself, to pause and reflect and help us encourage respect,” Bachman added.
*First Published: November 30, 2020, 11:46 am
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