Thursday, March 27, 2003
Page 3
Bush Names Lawyer Donald Etra to Holocaust Memorial Council
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Century City lawyer Donald Etra will be appointed by President Bush to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the White House said yesterday.
Etra, whose work includes criminal defense and civil litigation, will serve a term expiring Jan. 15, 2008.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Council was established in 1979 to provide for the annual commemoration and observance of the Days of Remembrance of the Holocaust, which takes place this year from April 27 to May 4. It also operates the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., which was dedicated in 1993.
The council meets twice per year, with one of the meetings taking place during the annual observance, with committees meeting up to nine times annually.
Etra, who is Jewish, said he sought the appointment because of an interest in Jewish history and a belief that “the subject of the Holocaust is important to understanding the nature of evil.”
He and the president have been friends since their undergraduate days at Yale University, where both were members of the secretive Skull and Bones Society. He and his family toured the Holocaust Memorial Museum with the president two years ago.
He and Bush have talked a good deal about Jewish history and the importance of history in understanding present-day issues, Etra told the MetNews.
While most Jewish voters did not support Bush in the election, he commented, “I think the Jewish community currently believes that this president has been the most supportive of Israel that any president has ever been…and I believe that is correct.”
Copyright 2003, Metropolitan News Company