Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a member of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum board, has not attended a meeting since 2007, the New York Post reported on Monday.
According to records the New York Post claims to have been supplied, Sanders has not attended a single one of the biannual meetings since he was appointed to the position 18 years ago. Although other senator members of the board have poor track records in terms of their meeting attendance, Sanders' absence is the longest of any currently serving members.
As such, there has recently been a push to oust Sanders from the board.
“This is not a partisan issue, just common sense,” Alex Heckler, a longtime Democratic Party activist and fundraiser appointed to the board by former President Joe Biden, told the NY Post.
The attempt to strip Sanders of his membership comes in the form of a letter addressed to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, signed by twelve board members. The letter requests that Schumer begin the process to remove or replace Sanders as one of the Senate's five appointees to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
Sen. Sanders labels Israel 'genocidal'
Another issue raised in the letter is Sanders' public statements criticizing Israel, including deeming its actions in Gaza genocidal.
"In the current context, with Jew hatred and Holocaust distortion rising globally, it is imperative that Senate-appointed representatives on the Council are fully engaged and steadfastly supportive of its mission," the letter states. "This request reflects not personal animus but a principled concern about the ability of the Council to execute its mission when a Senate representative is not regularly participating or is publicly positioned in ways that many of his colleagues believe detract from the Museum’s core educational and commemorative purposes."
The United States Holocaust Memorial Council consists of 55 members appointed by the president, who serve for a five-year term, as well as five members each from the Senate and the House of Representatives, and three members from the Departments of Education, Interior, and State. Currently, only four members of the Senate serve on the board, including Sanders.