“The anti-refugee rhetoric exhibited during the 2016 presidential election was the most despicable part of the presidential contest, and I’m dismayed that the campaign rhetoric is beginning to find itself enshrined in policy proposals by the Trump administration. We have gone down this road before, and it is horrifying to me that we are watching history repeat itself.
“I’m the great-grandson of eastern European Jews who fled to the United States to escape the horrors of anti-Semitism. Their immediate family members who remained in Europe were trapped in the emerging Third Reich and perished. During this time, the United States government had an opportunity — and a moral obligation — to welcome Jewish refugees into the safety of our democracy, but our political leaders capitulated to the same hateful and ignorant rhetoric we hear today.
“This is what fear does. If we let fear reign, the entire world loses. These lessons of the Holocaust cannot be forgotten. When Jews say ‘never again,’ we mean never again for everyone, including those in Syria and other unstable parts of the world who are seeking relief and safety from violently oppressive governments and terrorist organizations. In learning from our past, our political leaders should extend a welcoming hand to Middle Eastern refugees.”