Holocaust denial in Western countries or in Israel is a criminal offense potentially punishable by extended prison sentences, but in Arab countries, this is entirely not the case. In these countries, not only is the Holocaust not taught in schools, its existence is actively denied in an effort to jab Israel and the Jewish people. Around three weeks ago, on October 14, Jordanian journalists and researchers attended a conference in their country under the name: "The Holocaust – The Biggest Lie in Modern History."
A video posted by the Middle East Media Research Institute exposed several of the panelists' racist utterances. Among the comments, it was claimed that the number of victims to perish in concentration camps was between 600,000 and 800,000; and that only half of them were Jews. In other words, 400,000 Jews, at the most, were murdered in the Holocaust. In another anti-Semitic trope, one panelist evoked the "destructive influence" of Jews in German society. It was suggested in the conclusion that no evidence has been found to support the existence of the Holocaust, such as bodies, ashes, gas chambers and the like, despite the abundance of such proof which is documented and readily accessible to everyone.
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Toward the end of the conference, one of the panelists quoted Nazi Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels to depict the Jews as liars: "Lie and lie again until the people believe you. The Jews say: Lie and lie again until you believe yourself."
This despicable conference could not have taken place without approval from the Jordanian government, whose officials publicly and blatantly deny the Holocaust. This is simply a falsification of history and science and a rejection of facts and decades-long academic research. Not only does this event encourage Holocaust denial in the Arab world, but also anti-Semitism, which is on the rise regardless throughout the Arab world and across the globe. Above all else, however, it is overwhelmingly clear that the main purpose of the conference was to demonize Jews and delegitimize Israel, by minimizing both the importance and scope of the Holocaust.
In a misguided effort to prioritize other matters, Israel has faltered, and essentially failed to expose the growing phenomenon of Holocaust denial in the Arab world and fight it. Some three years ago, I translated Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' book, based on his doctorate, which mainly focused on denying the Holocaust. To my regret, no organization, including universities and institutes such as Yad Vashem, agreed to publish the book, perhaps fearing it would harm the peace process or the prospects of renewing it.
The time has come to stop repressing the phenomenon and caring about a fight with those who espouse it. Dialogue and rapprochement cannot start anyway from a position of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.
