The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), Australia’s leading organisation fighting anti-Semitism and hatred in all its forms, has welcomed the decision by The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) to include hate speech against Israel in its definition of anti-Semitism. Comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, along with “accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust” is now listed in the IHRA definition.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC, issued the following statement:
“We have long argued that equating the modern state of Israel with Nazi Germany is anti-Semitic, and this important decision reflects that reality, as well as the definitions earlier enunciated by the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia and the U.S State Department. Indeed, the U.S State Department unequivocally notes that, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” falls under the rubric of anti-Semitism. The ADC has repeatedly said that any incendiary attempt to equate Israel and Nazi Germany is patently false, odious and profoundly insulting to the memory of the millions of Jews who perished in the Holocaust, to the survivors and to the entire Jewish community. This repressible analogy is a charge that is purposefully aimed at Jews in an effort to associate the victims of the Nazi atrocities with the Nazi perpetrators, and serves as an act of blatant hostility toward Jews and Jewish history.”
The Anti-Defamation Commission, founded in 1979, is Australia’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through educational programs that combat bigotry, prejudice and all forms of hatred.
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on (03) 9272 5677