Jerusalem, Israel, February 11, 2001
… Holocaust deniers are taking their
drumbeat of anti-Semitism to the Middle East, where they plan to embark on a new
campaign to attract the like-minded to their brand of hatred against Israel and
the Jewish people.
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Beirut, Lebanon will be the
site of a major conference of Holocaust deniers scheduled to begin on March 31.
Co-sponsored by the California-based Institute of Historical Review (IHR), the
leading American association of Holocaust deniers, it will be the first major
organized conference on Holocaust denial to be held in an Arabic-speaking
nation.
The conference, titled "Revisionism and Zionism," signals a major
shift in strategy for the Holocaust denial movement, which once primarily
focused its anti-Semitic propaganda on Europe and the United States. In the
past, the IHR has held its annual gatherings closer to home, in places such as
Los Angeles or Orange County, Calif.
"The persistent drumbeat of Holocaust denial is moving to the Middle
East, where the deniers are reaching out to Islamic regimes to find sympathy for
their anti-Semitic and racist views," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National
Director. "The Holocaust deniers have spread their message in the United
States. They have met with like-minded anti-Semites in Europe. Now they are
fomenting anti-Semitism in Muslim states where there is a sinister track record
for the use of Holocaust denial against Israel. For the Holocaust deniers, the
already charged Mideast environment is fertile ground for their views."
Conference organizers are not publicizing the location of the four-day
conference, saying only that it will convene somewhere in Beirut. IHR has stated
that any visitors, including journalists, who arrive in Lebanon with passports
containing an Israeli visa or stamp will not be admitted into the country. IHR
has also indicated that, in a departure from past meetings, they will be
presenting lectures in Arabic, French and English in partnership with another
Holocaust denial group, the Association Vérité et Justice of
Switzerland. Jurgen Graf, the president of this group, fled to Iran in November
2000 after his appeals of a 1998 Swiss conviction for inciting racial hatred
were denied.
Holocaust Denial: A Daily Diet for Arab Media
Anti-Semitism and racial theories still play an important cultural role in
many Middle Eastern countries, where anti-Semitic stereotypes and canards are an
almost daily occurrence in the state-run media. Holocaust denial has become part
of this daily diet in Egypt, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and
Qatar, who use it as a means to foment anti-Semitic hatred among their people.
Holocaust denial, which has become one of the most important vehicles for
contemporary anti-Semitism, is especially attractive to the ideologies of
anti-Israel Arab and Muslim groups. They believe Holocaust denial can undermine
the legitimacy of the Jewish State by claiming that the Holocaust is a
historical fabrication created to win sympathy for Jews and Israel.
Fertile Ground for Hate
After suffering several legal defeats and other setbacks in Europe, where
hate speech is illegal in several countries, Holocaust deniers now see the
Middle East as a fertile ground to spread anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews. The
denial movement may have been emboldened by the recent renewal of
Israeli-Palestinian tensions and the breakdown of the peace process.
Several nations in the region, including Lebanon, have unofficially taken up
the cause, in the media and in speeches by political and religious leaders. Some
of the most notorious figures in the denial movement, including Mark Weber and
Ernst Zundel, have been given significant airtime on Iran’s official radio
station, IRIB. In May 2000, the Iranian embassy in Vienna granted refuge to
another Holocaust denier, Wolfgang Frohlich. French Holocaust denier Roger
Garaudy received major support from Middle Eastern countries during his trial in
1998. He received a hero’s welcome when he toured the region after the trial.
Holocaust denial has also been expressed in the media controlled by the
Palestinian Authority and on Radio Islam, an anti-Israel radio station that
broadcasts from Sweden.
NOTE: For additional information on Holocaust denial and to arrange
interviews with ADL experts, contact the Media Relations Department via email or telephone at (212) 885-7749.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.