Sid Rosenberg speaks at a campaign rally for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden, New York, Oct. 27, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
(JTA) — Days after firing eight Joe Biden-era appointees from the board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, including former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, President Donald Trump tapped eight new members.
Among them are shock jock Sid Rosenberg, who was a Trump surrogate during last year’s campaign, and Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz, the founding editor and publisher of Yated Ne’eman, a leading haredi Orthodox publication. Alex Witkoff, son of Trump’s diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff, was also on the list.
They will replace Emhoff and a number of Biden administration officials, including Susan Rice, Tom Perez and Ron Klain, all of whom Trump abruptly dismissed from the board this week.
“This Council has the important task of preserving the memories and stories of the loved ones whose lives were robbed in one of the darkest moments in History. NEVER FORGET!” Trump wrote in the announcement late Thursday on his social media platform Truth Social.
The eight new names will join 41 other members currently sitting on the council, including a number of other Biden appointees, the Washington Post reported. The board oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Board members have often been political appointments and serve five year terms. It is highly unusual to dismiss groups of members midway through their terms.
Rosenberg, a longtime personality on conservative AM radio, is a fierce Trump defender who spoke at an October campaign rally for the president held at Madison Square Garden. During that profanity-laced speech, Rosenberg cracked a joke about parallels to an infamous 1939 pro-Nazi rally held at the same venue.
Rosenberg has also advocated heavily for Israel in recent months, making several visits to the country. He interviewed Trump live from Israel on the one-year anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023, and was touring Israel when the president appointed him to the board this week — a juxtaposition he remarked was “surreal.”
In comments to Israeli media, he added that the appointment “isn’t just a personal milestone — it’s a chance to make a real impact in the fight for memory, education, and justice. Especially now, when Jew-hatred is rising and history is being distorted, I’m ready to step up in an even bigger way.”
The list of appointees also included Barbara Feingold, a board member for the Republican Jewish Coalition; Betty Schwartz, who previously served on the board and is the daughter of a survivor who was one of the Holocaust museum’s founders; Ariel Abergel, who has worked for Fox News as well as in the first Trump White House; Robert Garson, president of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers; and Fred Marcus.
“At this time of high antisemitism and Holocaust distortion and denial, the Museum is gratified that our visitation is robust and demand for Holocaust education is increasing,” the museum told the Post in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to advance our vitally important mission as we work with the Trump Administration.”
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