Trump ban

Excluding those pulling a Patrick Star, most people are aware of President Trump’s recent ban blocking entry of citizens from seven majority-Muslim nations.  If the action wasn’t controversial enough, Trump signed it on a day many Jewish groups found particularly troubling: Holocaust Remembrance Day.

On MSNBC with host Ari Melber on Sunday, January 29, 2017, President and CEO of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Mark Hetfield calls the executive action, “repulsive” and goes on to say, “I mean, the timing is incredibly offensive.”

“It was during the Holocaust that the world shamefully refused to give asylum to Jews and to others who were being murdered or about to be murdered in Nazi Germany,” Hetfield continued on the show in reference to the United States decision to turn away refugees from countries under Hitler’s reign of terror.  

Trump’s order, which eliminates all opportunity for citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, and Libya to seek refuge in the United States is slated to last for 90 days. Furthermore, new refugee admissions are suspended for 120 days and Syrian refugees are banned indefinitely. Additionally, the act imposes travel restrictions on some foreign nationals. This adds up to a total of 134 million people.

According to a White House official, it gives priority status to refugees “provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual’s country of nationality.”

A number of Jewish groups found the implications for Muslim refugees especially concerning. Some Jewish groups were particularly alarmed by the implications for Muslim refugees.

“The fact that President Trump’s order appears designed to specifically limit the entry of Muslims evokes horrible memories of Jews turned away during World War II,” said  J Street, President of the progressive Jewish organization, announced in a public statement. “Most ultimately perished in the Holocaust. That episode remains a blot on the conscience of the United States. It is a terrible irony that today, the same day on which this order is to be signed, is also International Holocaust Remembrance Day.”

In response Trump said, “It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honor the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust, it is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror.”

I agree with J Street and find the not-so-coincidence coincidence quite disturbing. It greatly saddens me that the focus of remembering the victims of such a tragedy has been overshadowed by this Trump episode.  

On the other hand, I feel that people may be looking into this too much. In fact, this ordeal serves as a form of distraction from other outrageous occurrences happening within the government at this time. Whether the distraction effect was intentional or not, the American public should be sure to use their own eyes and hold true to the values which America was founded on: freedom for all.

Much to the relief of thousands of American citizens and the disappointment of others, Trump’s ban has been blocked on the grounds of being unconstitutional. However, Trump does not lose quietly, and the story will likely further develop.