A bipartisan group of lawmakers invited colleagues to an after-hours tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s permanent exhibition next week.
Members of Congress were invited to the July 16 tour in a “Dear Colleague” letter signed by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Elaine Luria (D-Va.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Susie Lee (D-Nev.) and Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), according to a copy of the letter sent to The Hill.
“Now, more than ever, it is important to rededicate ourselves to the work of remembering the Holocaust and learning the lessons of the attempt to eliminate European Jewry,” the letter said.{mosads}
Lawmakers will tour the exhibit and then have a discussion with Museum experts.
“The Holocaust Museum serves as a stark reminder that we must never allow this to ever happen again and that we must never relent in the fight against anti-Semitism,” Zeldin told The Hill in a statement Thursday. “This tour is a part of our continued effort to share the stories of those we lost and those who survived so we may never forget what happens when this most extreme and destructive form of hate prevails and when too many people stay silent in the face of unconscionable evil. It is our duty as Members of Congress, and, most importantly, as Americans.”
The Holocaust museum aims to encourage people to “confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity” according to its website.
The museum was in the news last month when it got dragged into discussions about comparisons between Nazi concentration camps and the Trump administration’s migrant detention centers. It rejected such comparisons, though hundreds of historical scholars said they were justified.