Holocaust Scholar Quits Museum Post

An internationally known Holocaust scholar has resigned as director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s new studies center after a furor within the Jewish community over articles he wrote that were critical of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

John Roth said Monday that he would remain at Claremont McKenna College in California rather than assume the directorship of the new Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies in August as planned.

In one article, Roth, who is not Jewish, had compared Israeli treatment of Palestinians to Nazi treatment of Jews during the Holocaust, angering some Jewish leaders. He had also compared actions of the Israeli military to those of Palestinian terrorists.

At Claremont, Roth heads the philosophy and religious studies departments.