Seen

the seen Former ambassador Richard Grenell named to Holocaust museum post

Among the last-minute rush of presidential appointments ahead of Donald Trump’s departure from o ce is Richard Grenell, a former ambassador to Germany and outspoken Israel advocate, to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum council.

Grenell, who also has been outspoken in his e orts to isolate Iran, was among three people Trump named Dec. 21 to the council. The other two are Martin Oliner, the vice president of the American Zionist movement who has penned a number of pro-Trump op-eds, and Susan Levine of Arizona, who has been a major donor to the museum.

Grenell had been close to the pro-Israel community since his George W. Bush stint as spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations.

As ambassador to Germany, a stint he assumed in 2018, one of Grenell’s fi rst acts was to aggressively press Germany and Europe to enhance sanctions on Iran and its proxies. He also played a role in deporting to Germany an alleged Nazi war criminal.

Grenell drew criticism, however, from the German establishment — and from fi gures in the country’s Jewish community — for lauding the rise of the “anti-establishment” right in Germany and Europe. “Anti-establishment” was seen as a euphemism for hypernationalist right-wing parties that have engaged in apologetics about Europe’s anti-Jewish past.

Grenell subsequently served as Trump’s acting director of national intelligence. He also praised Trump for his decision last summer to use force to disperse peaceful crowds demonstrating outside the White House ahead of a photo op, and has joined those claiming without evidence that there was widespread fraud in the presidential election.

Last week, Trump named to the Holocaust Memorial Council three White House sta ers, including Andrew Giuliani, Trump’s golfi ng buddy and the son of Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer. — Ron Kampeas

Richard Gr enell

Miss France runner-up gets anti-Semitic hate online after saying her father is Israeli

The runner-up in the Miss France beauty pageant received a torrent of anti-Semitic tweets and other online messages after telling a judge in the contest that her father is Israeli.

“I have an array of origins: my mother is Serbo-Croat, my father Israeli-Italian. This gave me a passion for geography and the discerning of other cultures,” April Benayoum told the contest’s audience, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The tweets, including one in which the author wrote “Hitler forgot about you,” provoked condemnations from some of France’s top politicians, including Marlene Schaippa, the minister delegate in charge of citizenship.

“MissFrance2021 is not a contest in antisemitism,” Schaippa wrote. “Full support to April Benayoum, who has been the target of unprecedented anti-Semitic hate speech after revealing her origins.”

LICRA, the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism, announced that it is taking legal action against multiple individuals who sent the messages. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said he was “deeply shocked” by the incident and added that law enforcement is already on the case.

Benayoum, 21, holds the title of Miss Provence, a region in southern France.

“It is sad to witness such behaviour in 2020,” she told BBC. “I obviously condemn these comments, but it does not a ect me at all.”

Amandine Petit, who won the overall title of Miss France, told La Depeche that the tweets on Benayoum were “very disappointing” and said she “fully supports” Benayoum. — Cnaan Liphshiz

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