Protest outside Holocaust museum is 'antisemitic', CAM statement

"The protestors showed their true colors. This is antisemitism, plain and simple," Combat Antisemitism Movement CEO Sacha Roytman stated.

 Pro-Palestine demonstrators cross New Jersey Avenue near the U.S. Capitol, during a protest in Washington, U.S, December 17, 2023. (photo credit:  REUTERS/TOM BRENNER)
Pro-Palestine demonstrators cross New Jersey Avenue near the U.S. Capitol, during a protest in Washington, U.S, December 17, 2023.
(photo credit: REUTERS/TOM BRENNER)

A protest against the war against Hamas took place in front of The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum located in Washington DC on Thursday.

Demonstrators blocking the street in front of the memorial museum claimed to be protesting Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and the US strikes against the Houthi attacks in Yemen.

However, following the incident, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), a global organization dedicated to fighting antisemitism,  released a statement claiming that the protest was undeniably an antisemitic incident.

A protest that targetted Jews

According to CAM CEO Sacha Roytman, the protest's location choice was an irrefutable indicator that the protest was not about the war but rather was targeted at Jews. 

"These demonstrators, in choosing to stage their protest in front of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, an area of the city with no ties to the US military, Israel, Yemen, or the Palestinian people, chose to make their protest about Jews," stated Roytman. 

 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

According to Roytman, there was no need to protest outside of the Holocaust Memorial Museum, as it had no connection to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

"The museum tells the story of the six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis, it has nothing to do with Israel or the US military," Roytman added. 

Roytman offered a handful of alternative locations in the Washington area that could have been the location of choice for the protest, such as outside of the White House, Pentagon, or the Israeli Embassy. 

"The protestors showed their true colors. This is antisemitism, plain and simple," Roytman concluded.