The ADC, Australia’s leading organisation fighting anti-Semitism and hatred in all its forms, has expressed its surprise at the statement by Pope Francis during a visit to Rome basilica that the places in which migrants and refugees are being held are “concentration camps.”
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC, issued the following statement:
“It goes without saying that Pope Francis is entitled to bring attention to this distressing issue which deserves to be discussed in the international arena. And while the conditions in these places are indeed very difficult, refugee centres can in no way be compared to concentration camps. The Nazi concentration camps were industrialized factories of death, where the enslavement, dehumanization and liquidation of millions of people took place during WWII. The scale of the tragedy and the unprecedented horrors and crimes perpetrated there cannot be equated to the contemporary circumstances of the detention centres in Europe. The ADC has time again urged public figures to refrain from employing inaccurate historical references to the Holocaust, and we hope that in future such a revered and influential figure as Pope Francis chooses his words more accurately.”
The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, founded in 1979, is Australia’s leading organization fighting racism through educational programs that combat bigotry, prejudice and all forms of hatred.
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on 9272 5677.