A $1.8 million Holocaust Memorial will be erected on the Ohio Statehouse grounds and will be the first of its kind on state capitol property in the country. Though the proposal passed 8-1 in a vote by the advisory board tasked with maintaining statehouse grounds in Columbus, the design has sparked controversy locally and nationally.
Richard Finan, the lone “nay” on the advisory board, said the design is “highly inappropriate” because it impinges on principles of the first amendment. He said that controversy and potential lawsuits against the state may “tie up” the project for 3-5 years, via the PD.
Atheist groups are calling the design, by architect Daniel Libeskind — the guy behind the 9/11 Memorial — unconstitutional because it prominently features the Star of David, thereby “endorsing” Judaism.
The Huffington Post reports that, though the Star of David represents more than just a religious symbol in the context of the Holocaust, the ACLU and other freedom from religion groups aren’t ruling out lawsuits.
This article appears in Jul 17-23, 2013.
I don’t see how they’re endorsing Judaism. If 6 million atheists were systematically exterminated in a horrifying genocide and we wanted to build a memorial to them on state grounds, I’m pretty sure the atheist symbol would be prominently displayed.
this is a great idea. if we dont learn from the past we are doomed to repeat it. this memorial will help everyone to never forget the horrors of the past and the lessons humanity learned