On March 17, 2019, we shared a plea for compassion in addressing immigration concerns, with a link to an article that proved to be widely perceived as anti-immigrant among our followers. For the resulting disappointment, misunderstanding, and insensitivity we apologize. It was a mistake to post the article.
We believe the article raises key points about immigration that need to be discussed – regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with those points. After all, open discussion is a core tenet of education. We thought it was understood that retweet does not imply endorsement. We do, however, recognize that context, including authorship, matters. As history has demonstrated, words can be co-opted and ideas might not be as straightforward as they prima facie appear. As such, the authorship of this article makes its call for discussion and debate of an important topic less an important opportunity for education and more an invitation for advocacy of beliefs which we find offensive. For that reason, we should not have posted the link and apologize for doing so.
We recognize that this apology may not be satisfactory to all of our Twitter followers and that some may be offended by what is written in the article even without regard for who wrote it. In that case, as an educational organization, we invite debate of what they find offensive – and ask that they not object with general statements, but rather that they point to the specific statements in the article which, consistent with the context in which those statements appear in the article, they find to be objectionable. As a not-for-profit organization managed by real, live, fallible human beings, we welcome efforts to ourselves learn and apologize if and when confronted with arguments that we have not yet considered or that show us where we have erred.
The Anne Frank Center stands behind the universal values of compassion, kindness, humanity, and hope. We advocate for humanitarian asylum and policies that embrace immigration, diversity, and human dignity. We also recognize the need for realistic discourse in problem-solving. The reality here is that our post offended many of those who ought to be our most passionate allies; we apologize for the insensitivity and error in judgment.
