Portman's most insightful comment is also her most incendiary: "'I think a really big question the Jewish community needs to ask itself, is how much at the forefront we put Holocaust education. Which is, of course, an important question to remember and to respect, but not over other things...'" Portman is right that for the sake of Jewish continuity, American Jewry should spend less time talking to our children about the Holocaust as some implicit explanation for why it's important to be Jewish.
The Holocaust was absolutely evil, and there is always the risk a genocide could be attempted again (this time, more likely by the Iranian regime). However, there is also so much more to being Jewish than the suffering inflicted by hateful outsiders. Young Jews should experience the beauty and vibrancy of our religious, cultural, and intellectual heritage; they should embrace Judaism for positive reasons, rather than out of some sense of historical guilt. Portman is right that the Holocaust needs to be taught as part of a full-spectrum Jewish education.