‘Fake News,’ Donald Trump ‘MAGA’ Sign Placed Outside Texas Holocaust Memorial Museum
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A sign posted in front of the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio bearing two phrases often used by President Donald Trump was removed after it was taken as a statement of denial of the genocide.
The yard sign, which the San Antonio Express-News reported featured the phrases, “Fake News” and “#MAGA,” had an arrow pointing to the marquee of the museum. “MAGA” stands for “Make America Great Again,” which Trump used as his presidential campaign slogan.
Groundskeepers discovered the sign around 7 a.m. CST on Tuesday, although the fog partially obscured vision of it. It was promptly addressed and removed on Tuesday morning.
Museum Director Ellen Ollervideze told Newsweek that while people who have studied the history of the Holocaust saw the sign as a clear denial of what happened, not everyone saw the connection.
“The officer that was exploring and investigating really didn’t see a connection between the ‘Fake News’ sign and the intention behind such a sign,” Ollervideze said. “That makes me even more determined to teach this history and explain how many people out there deny this history.”
She educated the officer on the significance of the phrase and explained that there’s a lack of knowledge about the undercurrents of anti-Semitism and dog whistles of Holocaust denial. It makes her want to “passionately pursue” education in schools and the general public.
While the sign was one of hatred, Ollervideze said it was brought to light because of the Muslim Children Education and Civic Center’s quick condemnation of it, proving the Jewish community also has incredible support and friends. The center was the first to put out a press release, and it rejected the sign’s placement as an “insulting, demeaning and dehumanizing incident.”
A man in the Muslim community was first to post a picture of the sign on social media, calling it out for being anti-Semitic. Ollervideze, who teaches young kids, told Newsweek his actions embody what she tries to impart on kids: "When you see something that's wrong, do something about it."
The Jewish Federation in San Antonio board chair Harry Levy told the Star-Telegram that it was an act of vandalism targeting the Jewish community. He added that the “cowardly act” is “doubly harmful” because it “laughs at the memory of all the millions of Jews who died in the Holocaust.” Newsweek reached out to the Jewish Federation in San Antonio but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Along with the sign being harmful to the memories of the 6 million Jews who were lost, Levy explained that it hurts the “precious few” who survived after witnessing the horrors of the Holocaust first hand. On behalf of the Jewish Federation of San Antonio, he condemned all acts of vandalism against the Jewish community and urged people to counter the ignorance with education.
“The ignorance expressed by the perpetrators can only be countered by shining the light of truth upon our shared history,” Levy said.
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Yet people claim trump and his base are pro Israel?
How utterly depressing.
People just don't care any more.
The cop investigating didn't understand the connection between the sign and what it meant...WTF
I found it encouraging who were the first to come to support the Jewish community in SA.
That is encouraging.
And there's no accounting for the intelligence in the police community. Some people were never very good at playing connect the dots when they were kids
Would one be correct to assume that 'those who placed the signs' didn't have the guts to spray paint the swastika?
So now we have pretty much the whole panoply of fascism: racism, authoritarianism, and antisemitism...