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The Evils of Holocaust Denial

[Wall Street Journal, 12Jun07] Abdurrahman Wahid and Israel Lau - Holocaust denial is gaining currency among millions of people who are either ignorant of history or are being misled by their media, their governments or their own religious authorities. By lying about the events of the past, the deniers are paving the way toward the crimes of the future. The real purpose of Holocaust denial is to degrade and dehumanize the Jewish people. By denying or trivializing the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis and their allies, the deniers are seeking to advance their notion that the victims of the 20th century's greatest crime are, in fact, that century's greatest victimizers. Holocaust denial is the most visible symptom of an underlying disease - the inability (or unwillingness) to recognize the humanity of others. Wahid is the former president of Indonesia. Lau, a survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is the former Chief Rabbi of Israel. A conference of religious leaders opened on June 12 in Bali, Indonesia, on "Tolerance Between Religions: A Blessing for All Creation," cosponsored by LibForAll Foundation, the Wahid Institute, and the Museum of Tolerance.
2007-06-12 01:00:00
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