Holocaust deniers and their allies
By Ariel Cohen, Washington Times
Jan. 27 was the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz (1945). It was also U.N.-sponsored International Holocaust Commemoration Day.
Poland, as well as other European countries joined in support of a U.N. resolution, initiated by the United States, which “condemns without reservation any denial of the Holocaust” and urges U.N. member states “unreservedly to reject any denial of the Holocaust as an historical event.”
The U.S. Acting Ambassador to the United Nations Alejandro D. Wolff said “those who would deny the Holocaust — and, sadly, there are some who do — reveal not only their ignorance, but their moral failure as well.”
[Pardon me for being skeptical, but the passing of this resolution is so out of character with the usual anti-Israel resolutions, that I wonder what promises the US had to make in order to get it passed? Ted Belman]
In a recent lecture, the newly elected U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, in a veiled reference to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “Denying historical facts, especially on such an important subject as the Holocaust, is just not acceptable. Nor is it acceptable to call for the elimination of any State or people. … We must apply the lessons of the Holocaust to today’s world.”
Heeding his call, 103 countries co-sponsored the resolution, which passed by consensus and without a vote. The Holocaust was one of the defining events of the last century. It should be one of its most important lessons.
But who is refusing to learn from the mass slaughter? Who voiced objections to the U.N. resolution and who opposed it? Those who do not wish to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Unsurprisingly, Iran made a strong statement against the resolution, focusing instead on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the treatment of the Palestinians. None of the Arab nations, and most Muslim countries refused to co-sponsor.
This is a chilling fact. It says a great deal not just about the Iranian state of mind, but of its intentions. By supporting Holocaust denial Tehran is legitimizing it — and paving the way to a new Holocaust.
The deafening silence of the Arab states, even though some, like Egypt and Jordan, are formally at peace with Israel, as well as the stance of nuclear-armed Pakistan, makes one wonder how deep both denial of history and hatred of the Jews go.
Even Kofi Annan, hardly a friend of Israel, stated at the end of his tenure that “the [Iranian] rhetoric implies a refusal to concede the very legitimacy of Israel’s existence, let alone the validity of its security concerns. … Today Israelis are often confronted with words and action that seem to confirm their fear that the goal of their adversaries is to extinguish their existence as a state and as a people.” CONTINUE
Good question RandyTexas, euobserver.com has been having several articles recently about exactly that. Many flaming anti-Semites who call themselves “historical revisionists” urge their sympathizers not to outright deny the Holocaust, just minimize it and so on by denying certain aspects of it (gas chambers, for ex), softening language, emphasizing the nonJews killed, etc. Then there are the “Christian” and white supremacists who invert truth, such as holywar.org who instead of commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day, celebrated “Holocaust Martyr’s and Heroe’s Remembrance Day…27th of January to remember the Communist Hololcaust perpetrated by the Racist Jewish Mafia responsible of the murder of 300 million non-jews!” (It’s ugly, but I almost prefer their transparency to the subtle guile of the revisionists.) The Buchenwald Memorial just posted an awesome online library of Holocaust photos, btw.
So what does it mean not to deny the Holocaust anyway? There are many who don’t deny it that approve of it.
Do you suppose that the Sunni hate the Shia more than they hate Israel?
It has been looking that way since last summer.
Perhaps Israel offered to put the Sunnis under its nuclear umbrella?
The world is getting strange.
BTW if Felix thinks socialism is still viable I have a country to sell him. It covers 11 time zones and is rich in resources. I can show it to him on maps. We could work it as a leveraged buy out. A small down payment would be required though. BTW I’ll bring the maps. Genuine Rand-McNalley.
That the UN passed this resolution is to be comended. Being cynical about it “good faith”
does not alter anything and you ought instead rejoice that the resolution was
passed. Further, though you condemn Iran, and its government certainly needs condemnation, is fine but you might also note that a substantial body of Iranian intellectuals affirm the reality of the Holocaust and of anti-semitism against Jews:
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19831
see the resolution and signatures at this URL