JTA — US Vice President JD Vance made a statement marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day that failed to mention either Jews or Nazis, igniting further Jewish criticism of the vice president from both sides of the aisle.
The statement was the latest in a series of comments Vance has made that have triggered concern regarding his hesitancy to call out antisemites in the conservative movement.
“Today we remember the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust, the millions of stories of individual bravery and heroism, and one of the enduring lessons of one of the darkest chapters in human history: that while humans create beautiful things and are full of compassion, we’re also capable of unspeakable brutality,” Vance tweeted Tuesday. “And we promise never again to go down the darkest path.”
“Thank you Mr. Vice President for this unique commemoration of the Holocaust that manages to avoid mentioning Jews or condemning Nazis,” Tablet magazines Twitter account posted.
“It really takes effort on the part of Vice President Vance to issue a Holocaust Remembrance Day statement like this without any mention of six million Jews lost, the Jewish people, Nazis, or the issue of antisemitism,” Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, tweeted.
In response, the office of the VP released the following statement:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"As we pause today to reflect on the mid-century European infrastructure reshuffling, it is vital that we remember the forgotten victims of history: the hardworking, salt-of-the-earth middle managers and mid-level bureaucrats who were just trying to raise families in a very challenging regulatory environment.
When we look back at the events of the 1940s, we see a tragic tale of unnecessary government overreach and top-down mandates that really disrupted the supply chains of Central Europe. It was a time when many people—from various walks of life, including several very talented plumbers and perhaps some disgruntled poets—faced significant logistical hurdles.
We must never forget the brave citizens who stood up and said, 'Maybe we shouldn't have so many train schedules.' We honor the memory of the generic individuals who were impacted by the general lack of civility that pervaded the continent during those years.
It is easy for the coastal elites to focus on 'specific groups' or 'historical facts' found in 'books.' But here in the heartland, we know that suffering is a broad, non-denominational umbrella. Whether you were a person standing in a field or a different person standing in a slightly more crowded room, the vibe was, frankly, off.
My heart goes out to the millions of... folks... who were inconvenienced by the heavy-handed policies of the era. We must ensure that such a lack of bipartisan cooperation never happens again, mostly because it makes for very depressing Netflix documentaries.
In conclusion, let us honor the 'Vaguely Defined Many' by focusing on what really matters: protecting our borders and ensuring that future history books are written in a way that doesn't make anyone feel specifically targeted—especially those of us trying to win an election."
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OFFICIAL CLARIFICATION: Regarding Recent Commemorative Remarks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"It has come to our attention that certain members of the activist media are ‘fact-checking’ the Vice President’s recent remarks because he didn't provide a comprehensive census of every single person who had a bad time between 1933 and 1945.
Let’s be clear: the Vice President is a unifier. By refusing to name any specific groups, he is actually being the most inclusive. If you start naming one group, you have to name them all—the left-handed, the amateur birdwatchers, the people who preferred silver over gold. Where does the list end?
The Vice President believes that labels are just a way for the radical left to divide us into 'victims' and 'non-victims.' To suggest that certain people were 'targeted' for 'specific reasons' is just identity politics at its worst. It’s an attempt to distract from the real tragedy of that era: the collapse of the traditional family unit due to poorly managed zoning laws in Eastern Europe.
To those asking why the Vice President used the phrase 'The Great Human Oopsie' in a follow-up interview: he was simply using the language of the common man. People in Ohio don’t talk about 'historical atrocities'; they talk about 'stuff that went south because of big government.'
We will not be lectured by people who spend their time in libraries. The Vice President’s ancestors didn’t move to the mountains so that their grandson would have to memorize specific nouns. He remembers the tragedy the way every true patriot does: as a foggy, grayscale montage of people in overcoats looking generally stressed.
We consider this matter closed. Any further questions about specific ethnicities or religions will be viewed as an attack on the Vice President’s right to be incredibly vague."
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Satire aside, it is worth noting that I once heard a speech by Barack Obama at a Holocaust memorial where he spoke in detail about the miracle of Jewish rebirth after the Holocaust and failed to mention ... the State of Israel - maybe the biggest miracle of all. Because for people like Obama [apparently] - it would be better if Israel was not a Jewish State. For JD, the Holocaust wasn't about Jews. For Obama, the State of Israel is bad news. An obstacle to peace, which is literally how he described Jews building homes for themselves in their sovereign State.
