Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

The resolution was approved in the presence of a group of people whosurvived the Nazi genocide that killed around six million Jews, some two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe, during World War Two.

The vote comes on the same day, 80 years ago, during the Wansee Conference, when top Nazi officials discussed and coordinated the genocide of the Jewish people, establishing the system of Nazi death camps.

Introducing the resolution, Israels ambassador to the United Nations, himself a grandson of Holocaust victims, Gilad Erdan, said the world lives in an era in which fiction is now becoming fact, and the Holocaust is becoming a distant memory.

Holocaust denial has spread like a cancer,it has spread under our watch,hewarned.

According to theresolution, this genocidewill forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice.

In the text,Member Statesexpress concern about the growing prevalence of Holocaust denial or distortion through the use of information and communications technologies.

ItalsourgesallMember Statesto reject without any reservation any denial or distortion of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or any activities to this end.

The resolution commends countries that have actively engaged in preserving those sites that served as Nazi death camps, concentration camps, forced labour camps, killing sites and prisons during the Holocaust, as well as similar places operated by Nazi-allied regimes, their accomplices or auxiliaries.

It alsoasksMember Statesto develop programsto educatefuture generationsandurges social media companies to take active measures to combat antisemitism and Holocaust denial or distortion.

At the United Nations, most educational efforts to combat antisemitism happen through the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The General Assembly today adopted by consensus a resolution condemning, without reservation, any denial of the Holocaust., by Paulina Kubiak

The agencyactivitiesinclude the training of teachers, developing policy guidelines for Ministries of education around the world as well as activitiesto address and prevent contemporary antisemitism, including online.

Last year,the agencyand the World Jewish Congress signed anagreement with Facebookto redirect users searching for terms related to the Holocaust or Holocaust denial toa jointwebsitethat is available in 19 languages.

Following the adoption of the resolution, the agency vowed to continue to teach history and combat all forms of antisemitism, online and offline.

Also on Thursday, theUN High Commissioner on Human Rightsspoke to the Italian Senate's Extraordinary Commission against intolerance, racism, antisemitism and incitement to hatred and violence.

In her speech, Michelle Bacheletrecommendedspecific reforms to build policies and narratives that emphasise our common humanity and rights.

She also said that antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice appear to be growing across Europe, highlighting a survey by the Fundamental Rights Agencys showing that89% of respondents felt that antisemitism had increased in their country.

The former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in southern Poland., by Unsplash/Jean Carlo Emer

According to Ms. Bachelet, political movements that profit from hatred have gathered strength in many countries.

By heightening the emotions of their supporters through campaigns of misinformation and disinformation, they gain media attention, and votes but they also drive deep, violent and profoundly damaging wedges through societies, she warned.

The High Commissioner told Italian senators that the impact of this kind of hate speech is devastating.

It exposes them to humiliation, violence, discrimination and exclusion exacerbating underlying social and economic inequalities, and fuelling deep grievances, she explained.

The Human Rights chief also remembered a quote from Primo Levi, a renowned Italian writer and Jewish Holocaust survivor, who said: "It happened, so it could happen again".

Originally posted here:

UN General Assembly approves resolution condemning ...

Category: Holocaust Denial
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