News Release
May 29, 2004
A White House official has publicly praised the work of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies.
The remarks were made by Dr. Tevi Troy, a policy adviser to President Bush and former White House liaison to the Jewish community. He was a senior member of the U.S. delegation to the recent Berlin conference on antisemitism.
Speaking at the Kemp Mill Synagogue in Silver Spring, Maryland, on May 22, 2004, Dr. Troy linked the strong U.S. stance in Berlin against antisemitism to America’s awareness of “what the United States did–and, especially, what it did not do, during the Holocaust,” and he specifically cited the work of the Wyman Institute in raising these issues
Dr. Troy also referred to the fact that during the 1930s and 1940s, the State Department repeatedly obstructed efforts to rescue Jews from the Holocaust. He contrasted those past actions by the State Department with Secretary Powell’s strong statements against antisemitism at the Berlin conference.
Wyman Institute director Dr. Rafael Medoff commented: “Because antisemitism is reaching epidemic proportions in Europe and the Middle East, it is more important than ever to understand how the United States and its allies failed to respond to antisemitism in the 1930s and 1940s. The Wyman Institute’s efforts to increase public awareness of America’s near-silence during the Holocaust can help strengthen the resolve of public officials to speak out today. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s recent strong statements against antisemitism, at the Berlin conference and elsewhere, are perfect examples of what the State Department did not do sixty years ago. Teaching the lessons of the past offers hope for the future.”