IHRA Chair Condemns Antisemitic Christmas Carol on Romanian State Television
IHRA Chair Condemns Antisemitic Christmas Carol on Romanian State Television On behalf of the 31 members of International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the Canadian Chair of IHRA strongly condemns the recent broadcast of an antisemitic Christmas carol on Romanian state television. The lyrics promoting the Holocaust and violence against Jews are appalling and completely unacceptable. The loss of tens of thousands of Romanian Jews and millions of others in the horror of the Holocaust is a painful history, which must be remembered with solemnity and respect. This horrendous...
IHRA Chair’s Statement Regarding the Proposed EU Regulation on Data
On behalf of the delegates of the 31 member countries of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), among them 24 members of the European Union, I would like to express my deep concern with the European Commission’s proposal for a General Data Protection Regulation. Ensuring open access to and the protection of Holocaust-era archival materials are at the heart of IHRA’s mission and are central to the commitments of 46 countries to the Stockholm Declaration on the Holocaust of 2000. Although IHRA supports the European Commission’s efforts to ensure uniform protection of...
IHRA Chair Condemns Antisemitic Imagery at the Aalst Carnival
The Belgian Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance is deeply shocked by the parade of a fake Nazi railcar during the Aalst Carnival. The representation of the float with officers drinking champagne and stereotyping a Jewish victim is a despicable act insulting the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Especially during the year of the Chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, when Belgium has recognized the responsibility of the State in the deportation of the Jewish citizens by the Nazi occupiers and their collaborators, the Holocaust must...
IHRA Chair’s Statement on the EU Incorporating International Holocaust Remembrance Day into its Official Calendar
As Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, I would like to express my appreciation for the European Union's placement of 27 January, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on its official calendar. Remembrance is at the core of IHRA's mandate, and the Stockholm Declaration commits all member countries "commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and to honour those who stood against it." All 31 IHRA member countries, including the 23 that are also EU member states, reflect this commitment by holding annual national commemorations on 27 January. The IHRA's focus on...
IHRA Chair's Statement Regarding the Shootings in Toulouse
As the Chair of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research (ITF) and on behalf of its members, I am deeply shocked by the attack today at the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school in Toulouse, France in which four people were killed, including three children. We strongly condemn this criminal act and would like to express our sincere sympathies to the Jewish community of Toulouse and to the families of those killed as they mourn the loss of these victims.
IHRA Chair's Statement on the Importance of Holocaust Education in UNRWA Schools
The ITF (now IHRA) Chair has become aware that United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) representatives have come under criticism for teaching the Holocaust in UNRWA schools. The 28 member countries of the ITF are committed to the Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust and to encouraging Holocaust education in all schools, universities, institutions, and communities. The General Assembly of the United Nations also adopted a resolution in 2005 affirming the importance of Holocaust remembrance and rejecting any denial of the Holocaust as...
IHRA Chair's Statement Regarding Recent Vandalism in Lithuania
As the Chair of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research (ITF, now IHRA), I join the Lithuanian Prime Minister in strongly condemning the vandalism of the memorial to the victims of Nazism at the Ninth Fort in Kaunas, Lithuania on 11 April. This act is especially shameful due to the fact that Lithuania's Parliament (Seimas) declared 2011 as the Year of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust in Lithuania. Such horrible acts of vandalism try to diminish both the memory of the victims and the meaning of the Holocaust for future...
ITF Chair's statement on the situation of the Roma in Europe
As the Chair of an organization dedicated to the remembrance of the Holocaust and the victims of genocide during the Second World War, I am deeply troubled to see the Roma subjected to racial prejudice, hate crimes, expulsions, and even in some cases murder. I condemn these practices and call on all governments to protect the rights of this vulnerable minority, whose communities still suffer from their persecution and genocide under Nazi rule. In December 2009, ITF (now IHRA) Member Countries unanimously pledged to "prevent discrimination against the Roma and protect the Roma communities...
ITF Chair's statement on Iranian Holocaust denial website
It has come to my attention that a foundation linked to the Iranian regime has recently launched a website in English, Arabic and Farsi, dedicated to disseminating Holocaust denial propaganda and antisemitic imagery to an international audience. The website promotes the idea that the Holocaust is a myth fabricated to advance the interests of the Jews and the State of Israel. Through crude cartoons and pseudo-historical statements it depicts Jews as murderers and money-worshipers. The Iranian government has a history of vocal Holocaust denial and antisemitism. The ITF (now IHRA) issued a...
ITF Chair's Statement regarding recent arson attacks on the Etz Hayyim synagogue, Crete
As the Chair of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research (formerly ITF, now IHRA), I was shocked and outraged to hear of two recent arson attacks against the historic Etz Hayyim synagogue in Hania, Crete. The synagogue was first attacked on 6 January and then again on 16 January. Numerous books and archives were destroyed and substantial damage was incurred to the building. Particularly disturbing was the evidence, retrieved after the first attack, of antisemitic references to the Holocaust. In addition to being the only functioning...