[Opinion] On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Stop Using the Shoah to Attack Israel

Yona Shifmiler 2Click for full article.

[EXCERPTS]

The creation of an International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2005 was not the only monumental event in the fight against antisemitism to take place that year. In 2005, the European Union also formulated a working definition for antisemitism. This document — which also served as the basis for the US State Department’s definition of antisemitism — not only outlined classic examples of Jew-hatred, but also recognized the existence of modern antisemitism directed at Israel as the Jewish nation-state, specifically by “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”

Unfortunately, in the 10 years since, little progress has been made towards eradicating antisemitism. In fact, the EU backtracked from these guidelines, much to the delight of anti-Israel non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activists. To no surprise, the use of Holocaust terminology to delegitimize Israel has risen: Zionism is compared to Nazism, Israelis are labeled Nazis, and the Star of David has been transformed into a Swastika on countless flags.

The international community must confront this warped and offensive phenomenon. Misuse of the Holocaust to demonize Israel must be recognized by the leading international bodies — including the UN and the EU — as a modern form of antisemitism. To allow these offenses to go unchecked is to allow Israel’s enemies to continue to desecrate the memory of the victims of the worst tragedy to befall the Jewish people in modern history.