Eighty years after the Wannsee Conference, the United Nations approved an unprecedented resolution condemning Holocaust denial. It is a vital step that will help expand the fight against antisemitism to social media, where Jew-hatred metastasizes without limit and supervision.
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Alongside Holocaust denial, another danger is lurking on social media: Holocaust distortion. The distorters do not claim that the Holocaust never happened, but offer a wide range of interpretations of its scope and the victims' identities.
Some Holocaust distorters create other "truths" and narratives that downplay the suffering of the Jewish people and glorify those who were involved in the persecution and the genocide of the Jews.
One such example is the popularity of Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera in Ukraine. The politician participated in the murder of the Jews in Lviv and Ternopil, but his monuments are erected across the country and he was even posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine.
Another example is Kazys Skirpa, a Lithuanian diplomat who cooperated with the Nazis and contributed to the death of thousands of Jews, after whom streets are named in Lithuania and memorials installed.
Holocaust distortion is even more dangerous than Holocaust denial because it gives the impression of credibility and can influence the public and officials in ways that denial never could.
Soon, those who survived the atrocities will no longer be able to provide first-hand accounts. Unless we are vigilant, this vacuum will be filled with distorted narratives.
I would like to use this opportunity to invite my fellow officials who are involved in the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust in Israel and worldwide to take preventative steps through policy. The UN resolution is a catalyst for the mobilization of many countries – Israel in particular – against the effects of Holocaust denial and distortion.
Such a policy must be backed by the state with resources. Unless we address Holocaust distortion, the damage could be irreversible, and our very lives depend on it.
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