JANM Condemns Antisemitism and Islamophobia

Editors please note: JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; programs will continue on the JANM campus and at other locations at janm.org/OnTheGo. 

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) condemns the recent antisemitic attack on the Michigan synagogue and the Islamophobic speech from Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville. We cannot allow the normalization of antisemitism, Islamophobia, or acts of violence against people based on their ethnicity, race, or religion to infiltrate our society. Words and actions that denigrate people and homogenize culture are part of the gradual shifts that lead to authoritarianism. When we see patterns of violence, hate, and xenophobia that were rampant during the World War II incarceration of 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry resurface in today’s current events, cultural institutions like ours have the responsibility to stand up against those tides that can easily erode democratic principles. Our Museum was founded to ensure that the incarceration is remembered and that the promise of “never again” is applied to every community. Within the act of remembering lies our own power and civic responsibility to guide our communities and our country to a better future. 

###