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Sarah Hurwitz, former Obama aide, stirs social media firestorm with remarks about Holocaust education 

JL;DR SUMMARY Sarah Hurwitz, a former speechwriter for the Obamas and an author, sparked controversy with her remarks at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish Federations Of North AmericaJewish IdentityPalestiniansHolocaust EducationGaza ConflictHolocaust MemorySarah HurwitzSocial Media Backlash

Places mentioned

Washington, Washington DC, United States
"was one of three panelists Nov. 16 at the opening plenary of the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America in Washington."
Palestinian Territories
"with posts accusing her of saying, as one post put it, that it was a mistake to teach Americans that genocide is bad. Jenin Younes, legal director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, accused Hurwitz of using Holocaust trauma to silence criticism of Israels military operations. Holocaust education is not failing"
Gaza, Palestinian Territories
"firestorm over the Gaza war and the uses and abuses of Jewish memory."
Israel
"Progressive Jews also objected. Shes not disagreeing with the moral lesson that we should stand against the powerful harming the vulnerable, wrote Rabbi Sandra Lawson on Substack. Shes upset that people are applying it universally. The lesson was supposed to stay contained, meant only for certain victims. The point of Holocaust education, wrote journalist Spencer Ackerman, is [n]ot to exceptionalize Jewish suffering, but to activate solidarity. To recognize that there is a continuum of atrocity perpetrated by dominant classes against subjugated ones."
Los Angeles, California, United States
"When Los Angeles Holocaust museum deleted an Instagram post that proclaimed, Never again cant only mean never again for Jews."

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Cairo Item ID 68508
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Retrieved 2025-11-26 18:00:41 UTC
Curated 2025-11-26 19:00:40 UTC