Amid the horrific rise in Jew-hatred, the US Holocaust Museum must reexamine its role

The murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim in Washington and the attack on Jewish seniors, including Holocaust survivor Barbara Steinmetz, in Boulder, Colo., remind us that the lessons of the Holocaust remain unlearned.The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum can help teach those lessons — if it concentrates on antisemitism as opposed to other hatreds, as it should, and goes beyond the Nazi horror.Recall that the Holocaust occurred in European countries where ordinary citizens cooperated or stood indifferent to the mass murders of their neighbors.Today, after decades of proclaiming “never again,” antisemitism in the US has hit a frightening new peak.The Holocaust Museum is supposed to educate about the dangers of antisemitism.But as a proud member of its council, I know first-hand that it needs to do much more to fulfill that important role.The museum’s weak connection to the Jewish people stems from its design, created when antisemitism seemed a thing of the past.Since then, it has shifted focus to combatting other forms of hate.The museum also provides no context of Jewish history before 1930 or after 1945.And a planned multimillion-dollar renovation of the main exhibit hall could make the museum even more woke and disconnected.Frankly, the operation is in danger of becoming a liberal monument to the dangers of immigration enforcement and conservative politics.What the museum should be doing instead is teaching Americans that antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred, dating back 4,000 years when Nimrod is said to have thrown Abraham into a fiery furnace, and gaining steam with the rise of Christianity.More important, the museum needs to teach the story of Jewish survival; the founding of Israel in 1948, the wars of 1967 and 1973, and the Oct.7, 2023, massacre.It should cover pogroms that spurred the Zionist movement, helping make the case for the existence of a Jewish state.And it should emphasize America’s cherished opportu...