The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect (AFC) is a left-of-center 501(c)(3) nonprofit established to utilize the “diary and spirit” of Holocaust victim Anne Frank to educate communities about the dangers of prejudice and discrimination.¹ The Center has become far more politically active since 2016 by providing left-wing commentary on news events.²

As a dues-paying but inactive member of the Association of Holocaust Organizations, the AFC does not identify itself as a Holocaust education organization nor even a pro-Jewish group; instead the organization utilizes Anne Frank and the Holocaust as metaphors for the dangers of conservatism in the United States and Canada.³

Background

Founding

The AFC itself claims that it was founded in 1959 as the Anne Frank Foundation. It also called itself the American Friends of the Anne Frank House, with Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, serving as the group’s president.⁴ In 1977, the organization received 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and renamed itself the Anne Frank Center.

An April 2017 article from The Atlantic, however, disputed AFC’s claim that Otto Frank was the founder, but has since updated its article to account for documents “newly discovered” by the AFC regarding Otto Frank’s ambiguous involvement with the Anne Frank Foundation in 1959.⁵ The primary sources indicate Otto Frank gave permission for the Anne Frank Foundation to use his name to fundraise.⁶

Shift Towards Activism

The AFC originally focused on education about the Holocaust, operating a permanent museum in New York City with traveling exhibits and employing a panel of Holocaust experts as AFC advisors.

In 2016, the organization restructured itself when private-wealth manager Peter Rapaport became the new board chair, closing the museum and disbanding its board of Holocaust experts.⁷ The AFC also changed its name, adding “for Mutual Respect” at the end of the name in order to align with its new mission to “expose and fight hate” in contemporary politics.⁸

The new mission went along with the then-newly appointed left-wing LGBT activist Steven Goldstein as AFC’s executive director.⁹ Throughout 2016 and 2017, the nonprofit became the center of media attention largely due to a series of highly inflammatory press releases and tweets from Goldstein, calling President Trump, his administration, and his policies anti-Semitic.¹⁰

Political Activity

The AFC took a more active political role upon its restructuring in 2016. Instead of limiting the use of Anne Frank’s name to the Holocaust, Nazism, and the events that directly affected her life, AFC altered her memory to serve as a symbol for social justice and a spur to left-of-center policy advocacy.¹¹ While AFC under Goldstein’s leadership frivolously evoked Anne Frank’s name to accuse the Trump administration of anti-Semitism, the AFC since Goldstein’s retirement as executive director continues to participate in left-wing issue advocacy and commentary concerning contemporary issues.¹²

The Goldstein Era

Between 2016 and 2017, LGBT activist Steven Goldstein led AFC in an aggressive campaign against the Trump administration by making accusations of anti-Semitism and prejudice without proper evidence. It did this by exploiting the organization’s name and association with Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl and victim of the Holocaust, as a source of credibility.¹³

Goldstein explained his philosophy about making accusations: “What do we have to lose when we don’t call something or someone the person of situation that it is?”¹⁴ This led the AFC to accuse former Trump administration press secretary Sean Spicer of being a Holocaust denier for stating that the German military did not use chemical weapons in combat in World War II, an accusation that no other organization on the Left made.¹⁵ Goldstein also asserted that Trump is anti-Semitic for not mentioning the Jewish people in a speech about the Holocaust, saying that this was “the worst [it had] ever seen from any administration.”¹⁶ President Trump has Jewish family and has appointed Jewish Americans to important government roles including Treasury Secretary and U.S. Ambassador to Israel.¹⁷

On September 8th, 2018, Goldstein resigned from the Center to enter a reconstructionist rabbinical school.¹⁸

After Goldstein

After Goldstein resigned, he was briefly replaced by Lisa S. Hoffstein, who herself was soon replaced by Sharon R. Douglas.¹⁹ Since then, the organization has moderated its messaging but has remained active in political issues.

Under Douglas’ leadership, the AFC has attempted to pressure social media companies to ban individuals it accuses of being Holocaust-deniers, as well as controversial figures like conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from their platforms.²⁰

People

Steven Goldstein

Steven Goldstein served as the AFC’s executive director from 2016 to 2017, before resigning to become a rabbi.

Before that he was a co-campaign manager for former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) during Corzine’s bid for the U.S. Senate. Goldstein later became the press secretary for former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.).²¹

Sharon Douglas

Sharon R. Douglas serves as AFC’s chief executive officer. She has served on boards for charities such as the National Council of Jewish Women, the American Jewish Congress, and the American Red Cross.²²

Elisa Rapaport

Elisa Rapaport serves as chief operating officer and is the wife of AFC board chairman Peter Rapaport. Together, they manage the Rapaport Family Charitable Trust, which contributed $165,000 towards the AFC in 2016 alone.²³

Funding

After the AFC’s rebranding in 2016, the nonprofit made a positive net revenue after 4 years, a point of pride for Goldstein.²⁴ In 2016, the nonprofit recorded that it made $1.1 million in gross revenue; in 2018 reported just under $186,000 in total net assets.²⁵

Its biggest contributor is the Rapaport Family Charitable Trust, the private foundation of board chairman Peter Rapaport and his wife Elisa, AFC’s chief operating officer.

1. “Anne Frank Center USA, Inc.” The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International – GuideStar Profile. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-2991719.
2. Green, Emma. “How the Anne Frank Center Became an Anti-Trump Attack Group.” The Atlantic. June 29, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/anne-frank-center/524055/.
3. Green, Emma. “How the Anne Frank Center Became an Anti-Trump Attack Group.” The Atlantic. June 29, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/anne-frank-center/524055/.
4. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/7279dd_753d1957d5e64cbab6828b7a81fd772b.pdf.
5. Green, Emma. “How the Anne Frank Center Became an Anti-Trump Attack Group.” The Atlantic. June 29, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/anne-frank-center/524055/.
6. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/7279dd_753d1957d5e64cbab6828b7a81fd772b.pdf.
7. Green, Emma. “How the Anne Frank Center Became an Anti-Trump Attack Group.” The Atlantic. June 29, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/anne-frank-center/524055/.
8. “The Anne Frank Center USA Renames Itself the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect and Names Civil Rights Leader Steven Goldstein as New Executive Director.” PR Newswire: News Distribution, Targeting and Monitoring. June 14, 2016. Accessed August 23, 2018. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-anne-frank-center-usa-renames-itself-the-anne-frank-center-for-mutual-respect-and-names-civil-rights-leader-steven-goldstein-as-new-executive-director-300284367.html.
9. “The Anne Frank Center USA Renames Itself the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect and Names Civil Rights Leader Steven Goldstein as New Executive Director.” PR Newswire: News Distribution, Targeting and Monitoring. June 14, 2016. Accessed August 23, 2018. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-anne-frank-center-usa-renames-itself-the-anne-frank-center-for-mutual-respect-and-names-civil-rights-leader-steven-goldstein-as-new-executive-director-300284367.html.
10. Taylor, Adam. “A Charity Set up by Anne Frank’s Father Has Become a Fierce Critic of Trump’s Plans for Refugees.” Polybius at The Clickto Network. January 26, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20170126171316/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/26/a-charity-set-up-by-anne-franks-father-has-become-a-fierce-critic-of-trumps-plans-for-refugees/.
11. Leibovitz, Liel. “How Anne Frank Was Astro-Turfed.” Tablet Magazine. April 20, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/230662/how-anne-frank-was-astro-turfed.
12. Center, Anne Frank. “Facebook Did the Right Thing in Removing Alex Jones from Their Platform for Spreading Hate, Now They Must Do the Same with Holocaust Denial Pages. Https://t.co/bsfCWbzxXx.” Twitter. August 15, 2018. Accessed August 23, 2018. https://twitter.com/AnneFrankCenter/status/1029794205521141760.
13. Selk, Avi. “Meet the Activist Who Calls Trump an Anti-Semite Using Anne Frank’s Name.” The Washington Post. May 02, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/05/02/meet-the-activist-who-calls-trump-an-anti-semite-using-anne-franks-name/?utm_term=.6cd92d424071.
14. Zax, Talya. “Meet Trump’s Latest Nemesis – Steven Goldstein From The Anne Frank Center.” The Forward. February 23, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://forward.com/culture/qa/363959/meet-steven-goldstein-director-of-the-anne-frank-center-and-nemesis-of-the/.
15. Cribb, Esme. “Anne Frank Center Calls On Trump To ‘Fire Sean Spicer Now’.” Talking Points Memo. April 11, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/anne-frank-center-calls-on-trump-fire-sean-spicer-now.
16. Goldstein, Steven. “Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect.” Dr. Ben Carson’s Accomplishments, Awards, Honors, and Community Involvement. February 21, 2017. Accessed August 23, 2018. https://www.facebook.com/AnneFrankCenterforMutualRespect/posts/10155151871429040.
17. Dolsten, Josefin. “Meet the Jews in Donald Trump’s Inner Circle.” The Times of Israel. November 15, 2016. Accessed September 05, 2018. https://www.timesofisrael.com/meet-the-jews-in-donald-trumps-inner-circle/.
18. Nathan-Kazis, Josh. “Anne Frank Center Chief Abruptly Steps Down – Led Strident Anti-Trump Push.” The Forward. September 14, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://forward.com/news/382693/anne-frank-center-chief-abruptly-steps-down-led-strident-anti-trump-push/.
19. “Meet Our Staff.” Annefrankusa. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.annefrank.com/meet-our-staff-1.
20. Center, Anne Frank. “Facebook Did the Right Thing in Removing Alex Jones from Their Platform for Spreading Hate, Now They Must Do the Same with Holocaust Denial Pages. Https://t.co/bsfCWbzxXx.” Twitter. August 15, 2018. Accessed August 23, 2018. https://twitter.com/AnneFrankCenter/status/1029794205521141760.
21. Diduch, Mary. “Gay Rights Leader from Teaneck to Head Anne Frank Center.” North Jersey. June 10, 2016. Accessed August 23, 2018. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2016/06/10/gay-rights-leader-from-teaneck-to-head-anne-frank-center/94793156/.
22. “Meet Our Staff.” Annefrankusa. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.annefrank.com/meet-our-staff-1.
23. “2016 Form 990.” Accessed August 23, 2018. https://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2016/137/029/2016-137029273-0e3e8c16-F.pdf.
24. Green, Emma. “How the Anne Frank Center Became an Anti-Trump Attack Group.” The Atlantic. June 29, 2017. Accessed August 22, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/anne-frank-center/524055/.
25. Tigas, Mike, Sisi Wei, Ken Schwencke, and Alec Glassford. “Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed August 23, 2018. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/132991719/201713199349309296/IRS990.