President Donald Trump has appointed eight new members to the board, including Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz, the founding editor and publisher of the American version of the Yated Ne’eman newspaper.

Rabbi Lipschutz’s appointment comes just days after Trump abruptly dismissed eight Biden-era appointees, including former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and high-profile Democratic officials such as Susan Rice, Tom Perez, and Ron Klain. The move, while legal, is highly unusual given that council members typically serve five-year terms and are rarely removed en masse.

“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 Thursday evening on his social media platform, Truth Social.

The Holocaust Memorial Council oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., one of the foremost institutions dedicated to Holocaust remembrance and education. The museum welcomed the incoming appointments, noting that visitation and demand for Holocaust education have surged amid rising antisemitism and increasing Holocaust distortion.

Rabbi Lipschutz, who founded Yated Ne’eman in the late 1980s, is a strong voice for traditional Torah values and a fierce advocate for the Orthodox Jewish community. He was also perhaps the most influential voice in the fight to free Rabbi Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin from prison, which he accomplished via a Trump pardon during the president’s first term.

Other new appointees include Sid Rosenberg, a conservative radio host and longtime Trump surrogate; Alex Witkoff, son of Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff; Barbara Feingold, a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition; and Betty Schwartz, daughter of a Holocaust survivor and previous council member. Also joining are Ariel Abergel, a media and former White House aide; Robert Garson, president of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers; and Fred Marcus.

The appointments come at a time of growing importance of Holocaust education, particularly as antisemitism surges globally and pro-Hamas rhetoric grows increasingly brash on American college campuses.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)