JCRC Statement
December 17, 2025
The following is a statement from Ron Halber, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington.
“It is outrageous that a branch of our nation’s Armed Forces would implement a policy designed to intentionally soft-pedal the meaning and severity of the Nazi swastika symbol and nooses, two of the most universally recognized symbols of terror, violence, and hatred in human history. This policy should have no place in our nation’s military, or any other part of our government. We urge the Coast Guard and Secretary Noem to immediately reverse it.
“Labeling Nazi swastika symbols and nooses as ‘potentially divisive’ suggests there is some context in which their use is appropriate. Nothing could be further from the truth; few symbols have ever conveyed such unambiguous hate.
"Under the swastika, Nazi Germany systematically exterminated six million Jews and killed millions of other innocent people. More than 400,000 American soldiers sacrificed their lives during World War II to help end Nazi rule. Similarly, nooses are the stark emblem of lynching, which has been used to terrorize Black Americans for generations. The Civil War remains the deadliest conflict in our nation’s history.
“This policy degrades the men and women throughout our nation’s history who fought heroically and in many cases gave up their lives to end tyranny, slavery, and injustice. It is especially egregious to institute such a policy when antisemitic and racially-motivated violence in our country is at unacceptably high levels. This sends exactly the wrong message at exactly the wrong time, and reflects a profound error in judgment. It should end now.”