New Queens Holocaust Center Siphons Off Taxpayer Money
November 1, 2009 Holocaustism, NYC
Finally, New York has (yet another) Holocaust center. What a wonderful use of taxpayer money during a recession.
Queens Borough president Helen Mashall gave $2 million from her discretionary fund to the new Queensborough Community College Holocaust Resource Center.
Assemblyman Mark Weprin gave $1.5 million from his discretionary fund.
Councilman David Weprin gave $1.5 million.
State Senator Frank Padavan gave $1.5 million.
The opening apparently had over two hours of speeches, with half of them given by politicians. It is election year, and apparently, the vote is on the Holocaust.
What do we learn from this? The obvious. Not only is Holocaustism a poor allocation of Jewish communal funds. It is a waste of taxpayer dollars.
24 comments
How many of them are there now?
Here’s a partial list: http://www.science.co.il/holocaust-museums.asp
It doesn’t include the small one we have in Boston: http://www.nehm.com/
At least it isn’t as egregious a waste of money as the Creation Museum.
Hey Jeff! Be nice.
You pose an interesting question though: From a Jewish perspective, what is of greater use: a Holocaust Center, or Genesis museum?
DK and I were talking about Holocaust. If I understand him correctly, he believes it to be replacing authentic Judaism. If you think about it though, 2nd Temple tragedy looms over the previous 1900 years of the religion is such a large way. Judaism has long incorporated historic tragedy into the religion. So ‘Holocaustism’ as DK puts it (but less severe than he conceives of it), is the evolution of the religion in the same fashion it has been evolving. Very authentic.
David may well be correct. It’s become A.) Big business; B.) A marketing tactic for Jewish organizations; i.e. – big business.
If you are correct – in that it represents a precedent – it’s time for the tradition to change if its adherents wish it to remain viable.
None of this really matters to me. I just see a waste of money that could be put to what I consider to be better use – feeding people, for example. One or two museums/memorials would be enough, three at most – one here, one in Europe and one in Israel. We don’t need one in every city in the world.
If obsessing over a collective tragedy is all Judaism has left, it may be time for it go. Not my decision; in my view, it’s time for them all to go.
However, a Holocaust center is of far greater use – to everyone – than is a Creation “museum”. A sewage treatment plant is of far greater use.
I’ll amend that. If countries that collaborated with or were overtaken by the Nazis want to put up small memorials to their Jewish inhabitants, I wouldn’t tell them no. But to spend millions of dollars apiece on centers and museums? Totally unnecessary.
We certainly didn’t need one up here. I’m quite certain that Boston (apart from, possibly, Joe Kennedy) didn’t collaborate with the Reich, and no Jewish Bostonians were deported. That left them free to try to become Brahmins.
DK do you watch Glee? A couple weeks ago they had a nice little jab at Holocaustism/Jewish-continuity-obsessionism, with the mohawk wearing, cheerleader impregnating, football playing Jewish character (awesome, right?) deciding to date the Jewish chick after drawing inspiration from his family’s “traditional Simchas Torah screening of Schindler’s List” over Chinese food. Brilliant. See the second segment starting around 13:00 (after the first commercial break) at Hulu.
Even better, here’s a link directly to the scene in question (probably not viewable outside the US without a proxy server).
Nice link, themicah.
All of the organizations concerned with Jewish continuity should use it to replace their slogans- “Explore your Jewish heritage; make out with other hot Jews!”
(Of course, the two actors are neither Jews nor teenagers, but still… )
“Explore your Jewish heritage; make out with other hot Jews!”
That’s sexual Zionism in a nutshell. Sexual Zionism, by the way, is one of the best kinds.
It’s not like the Yidden have a monopoly on sexual nationalist tourism for young people, though.
Not too many Brahmins in my Bostonian Jewish family. My Bobeh referred to the real Brahmins as the “fashtunkeneh Yenkelach.”
Oh, that’s right. David told me your family is from Boston.
Very few actually made it to near-Brahmin status, but the Jews here have always been more assimilationist than New York Jews. I’ve often said that the Jews took New York and made it Jewish. Boston took the Jews, and turned them into Bostonians.
Could be. I haven’t lived there in many years. We definitely were very Jewishly connected, socially at least, but with a great and chauvinistic love for Boston. Kinda like New Yorkers. (:
7 million have died in the Congo in the last 15 years or so – http://www.politicalsoundoff.c.....hones.html
How many museums have been built on that fact? None. No newspaper front pages either.
It seems the world is happy to commemorate a genocide 65 years ago, but couldn’t not care less if one is happening now. So much for ‘never again’.
Do Bostonian Jews rather have tea parties than Starbuck’s “coffee”?
No, there’s a freakin’ Starbucks on every corner now. I heard they opened a Starbucks inside another Starbucks!
Green Mountain is a great “New England” coffee.
Yes it is, but I don’t see it for sale very often. I think a few of the supermarkets carry it.
Is that a local speciality brand?
I get most of my coffee in Belgium as I’m only one hour’s drive from the border (Belgians love food, so eating out when travelling there is good, cheap and plentiful).
One of my grandmother’s uncles is the world’s oldest coffee-roaster; at the ripe age of 100+, he only roasts tiny quantities these days but still follows the market and selects his beans etc.
Green Mountain Roasters coffee is easily purchased in Vermont, less easily purchased in other states, I believe. However, it is obtainable online. Lots of flavors, too. Could’nt be as good as that of Sarah/froylein’s elder relative.
Sorry: couldn’t, not could’nt.
Dave’s Mom,
I just tried their rasberry truffle flavor. I’ve been craving it ever since. It is available at several locations in my area of New York.
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