The Holocaust Museum says that the post was misinterpreted as a “political declaration” and promises to “do better”.
A Holocaust museum in Los Angeles faces a backlash after deleting an Instagram publication which suggested that the expression “never again” should apply to everyone – not just the Jews.
The message, shared with the 24,200 Instagram followers of the Holocaust Museum la, read: “Never again means that Jews again.” The slogan “never again”, long associated with the memory of the holocaust, is also invoked more broadly as a commitment to prevent future genocides.
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The Instagram message was initially praised online and interpreted by some as recognition of Palestinian suffering in the midst of the War of Israel against Gaza, which many experts, academics and defenders of the United Nations described as a genocide.
It was then deleted and replaced by a statement on Saturday saying that the post had been misinterpreted.
“We recently published an element on social networks which was part of a pre-Planified campaign intended to promote inclusiveness and the community which was easily opened to a misinterpretation by some to be a political declaration reflecting the continuous situation in the Middle East. It was not our intention,” he said.
The Holocaust Museum also promised to “do better” and “make sure that messages in the future are more carefully designed and carefully verified”.
The museum, which is currently closed for construction until June 2026, was quickly criticized online after journalist Ryan Grim de Drop site News republished a screenshot of the deleted message, writing: “speechless. No words for that. “
Yasmine Taeb, a lawyer for human rights and progressive strategist, described the museum’s decision of “absolutely disgusting”, claiming that the museum “curls up under pressure” of pro-Israeli voice.
“Countless researchers in genocide and human rights organizations have confirmed what Israel does in Gaza is the definition of genocide,” Taeb told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“It is appalling that an established museum in order to educate the public on the genocide and the holocaust not only refuses to recognize the reality of Israel’s actions in Gaza, but (is) by removing an article on social networks which simply declared that” never “is not designed for the Jews, so that it is not interpreted as an answer to the genocde in Gaza”.
The original position now deleted did not mention Gaza, but he faced a dam of pro-Israeli comments expressing disapproval, including some who called the donors to stop funding the institution.
By removing the position and by publishing the following declaration, the museum sparked charges back on a universal anti-genocide principle.
“We live in a world where the Holocaust museum must apologize and retract for having simply seemed to sympathize with the Palestinians,” American militant and actor Amer Zahr told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“If that does not illustrate the historical dehumanization with which the American Arabs had to live, I do not know what does.”
Assal Rad, a researcher from the Arab center Washington DC, described the “incredible” controversy.
“The Palestinians are so dehumanized that they are excluded from” Never Again “, apparently, their genocide is the exception,” wrote Rad on X.
Political commentator Hasan Piker has also criticized the museum decision. “A real damage that even a lukewarm anti-general declaration has encountered an unimaginable resistance from the supporters of Israel,” he wrote in an article on social networks.
The Holocaust Museum did not immediately respond to the request for comments from Tel Aviv Tribune.