President Donald Trump has picked an ex-cast member of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” to take a spot on a federal council after clearing it of members appointed by former President Joe Biden.
Sigalit “Siggy” Flicker was among 12 nominees to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council named by Trump after he fired other council members, including former second gentleman Doug Emhoff just months after his appointment.
The council oversees the U.S. Holocaust Museum.
It includes 55 members appointed by the president, who traditionally serve a five-year term.
“Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicized,” Emhoff, also a native of New Jersey, said in a statement to the New York Times about his removal after having just been appointed in January.
"To turn one of the worst atrocities in history into a wedge issue is dangerous — and it dishonors the memory of six million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve," he said. Emhoff was the first Jewish spouse of a vice president.
“They are all strong supporters of Israel, and will ensure we NEVER FORGET. Congratulations to all!” Trump said of his new appointees, which include two more New Jersey residents.
Rabbi Pinchos Lipshutz, of Lakewood, and Betty Pantirer Schwartz, a Livingston resident and child of two Holocaust survivors, also joined the council, which meets twice a year.
Flicker, a 57-year-old former matchmaker, joined the Bravo series “Real Housewives of New Jersey" for Season 7 in 2016 and also appeared in Season 8, before parting ways with the show.
She has been a loud supporter of Trump since his first campaign and subsequent first term in the White House.
Flicker grew up in Cherry Hill and lived in a sprawling Tenafly mansion while on the show.
She has been vocal about her Jewish faith and her father’s journey as a Holocaust survivor.
“My name is Siggy Flicker. My pronouns are Proud Zionist!!! If Jew haters want to make ZIONIST a dirty word then go ahead ….talk dirty to me,” Flicker said in a March post to Facebook.
On Tuesday, Flicker posted about her nomination to X, writing, “President Trump… Thank you for the privilege & honor to represent and NEVER FORGET.”
Among Flicker’s most recent controversies, her stepson Tyler Campanella was arrested in April 2024 and charged with misdemeanors in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
His case was dismissed under Trump’s sweeping order to pardon Jan. 6 defendants.
Read More: Former NJ rioter among Jan. 6 convicts with commuted sentences
In a Season 7 reunion clip, Flicker talks about attending Monmouth University and waiting tables at a TGI Fridays and saving up to buy her first car, a yellow Honda Prelude.
Two other new council nominees are from New York and two are from Florida, which is where Flicker has also been living at least part-time.
She and her husband appeared to have moved to Florida, selling their six-bedroom Tenafly home for $2.8 million in 2021, according to real estate records.
It was not immediately clear where in New Jersey that Flicker and her family continued to reside.
Here is where all “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” live
For Seasons 14 and 13 of the show, the Real Housewives of New Jersey hometowns are largely in North Jersey — with a Central Jersey resident and some Shore houses, for good measure.
Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt
