Holocaust curriculum was put in check in the Evergreen State when leftist lawmakers hinged its survival on a “Hamas amendment.”
Since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, a dramatic increase in hate crimes has been coupled with widespread demonstrations sympathizing with the terrorist perpetrators. However, advancement of a bipartisan effort in Washington state to address the alarming number of young Americans ill-informed on the genocide of Jews stumbled after a Democrat lawmaker added an amendment slammed as “an exercise in Holocaust whataboutism.”
Introduced by state Rep. Emily Alvarado (D), the amendment to House Bill 2037 sought to add language that stated, “…particularly including diasporic communities with lived experiences of surviving, being made refugee by, or otherwise being directly impacted by genocide, and a public institution of higher education with expertise in advancing knowledge about the Holocaust, genocide, and crimes against humanity that includes curriculum development and teacher training.”
Criticizing the vague language meant to muddy legislation aimed at educating the roughly 20% or greater portion of young Americans who don’t believe the Holocaust occurred, podcaster Brandi Kruse called the amendment “an exercise in Holocaust whataboutism” as she asserted, “Anti-Jewish animus strikes again.”
“This morning just after midnight, the State House was set to vote on a bill that would improve Holocaust education in public schools. The bill had already passed unanimously out of committee, so no big deal. Right? RIGHT?” asked Kruse Saturday. “Except Rep. Emily Alvarado (D) dropped an amendment out of nowhere that R’s weren’t prepared to debate on (very out of line with procedure).”
Except Rep. Emily Alvarado (D) dropped an amendment out of nowhere that R’s weren’t prepared to debate on (very out of line with procedure). The amendment is an exercise in Holocaust whataboutism:https://t.co/pAKeXTtLNk pic.twitter.com/EjzojG2U12
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) February 10, 2024
Adding to the commentary, conservative radio host Jason Rantz shared Alvarado’s own remarks from the House where she claimed, “This amendment is about inclusivity and accountability when it comes to teaching about the Holocaust and genocide, and I ask for your support.”
“Washington Democrats are happy to carry water for Hamas if they think it’ll keep them in office,” wrote Rantz of the amendment that would allow for collaboration with nonprofit organizations “with expertise in teaching lessons on genocide” to influence the curriculum toward anti-Israel ends. “Absolutely shameful.”
State Rep Emily Alvarado (D-Seattle) introduced what critics rightly call the “Hamas amendment” to legislation mandating Holocaust education in public schools.
She argued that essentially providing the Hamas perspective that Israel commits genocide, is more “inclusive.”… pic.twitter.com/2EQDmiwGCq
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) February 12, 2024
Joining his broadcast, state Rep. Travis Couture expressed, “We were very concerned about the ‘diasporic communities with lived experiences of surviving, being made refugee by.’ And what we argued on the floor is that Jewish people were already removed from their homeland when they were in Europe. And then systematically destroyed during the Holocaust. So, they were not ‘made refugees by’ anything. They were already refugees.”
“…if the layperson were to read that amendment, they might not catch it,” the lawmaker told Rantz. “They might not read into that; they might not catch it. But if you’re really paying attention to the bills and the laws and you’re looking out for these red flags, you can see how it could include those Palestinian people.”
House Republicans agreed to advance it to the Senate to avoid being framed as against the Holocaust education bill. The upper chamber GOP had since voiced their intent to fight to remove the amendment with the bill slated for executive session in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on Thursday.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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