Marking Holocaust Remembrance—Amidst New Waves of Antisemitism
On January 15th, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Canada’s Governor General, the Right Honourable Julie Payette, has joined state representatives from 45 countries to mark the 75 anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau at the Fifth World Holocaust Forum to be held in Jerusalem, Israel. The event is being held at Yad Vashem, rather than at the usual site, the death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland.
The Governor General and the Canada-Israel interparliamentary delegation will then travel to Poland On January 27th, to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the 20th anniversary of the Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust.
The Rt Hon Justin Trudeau released the following statement:
“Although 75 years have passed since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, our world is not immune to the scourge of antisemitism. Today, far too many Jewish communities still face unacceptable acts of antisemitism and discrimination. Through our words and actions we must always stand up to hatred and racism in every form. The Governor General’s visit will highlight Canada’s commitment to preserve the memories of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, and repeat the vow, ‘Never Again’.”
The theme of “Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism” speaks volumes about the current world travesty—rising antisemitism, few lessons learned, Ever Again not Never Again.
Shockingly, some countries that are or were to be represented at this important occasion are feuding over the chosen site of the World Holocaust Forum, over who has been invited to speak at the Forum, and much more importantly, over the facts of history or the revisionism that their current regimes wish to portray. Russia signed a non- aggression pact with Hitler and divided Poland, but today wishes to present itself favourably and see Poland as initiating the War. The Russian Red Army did liberate Auschwitz for which they must be praised, and their army suffered terribly during WWII. Poland is portraying itself entirely as victim, and truthfully 18% of its population was decimated, but it cannot deny the role of Nazi collaborators. None of the countries represented at the Forum are entirely free of antisemitism today, and if they don’t learn from history and are revising it, then how will they defend against the rise of this age old evil?
More shockingly is that many of these world leaders are also visiting the most antisemitic place in the Middle East—Ramallah-- for meetings with the Palestinian Authority (PA). Prior to the World Holocaust Forum, the PA announced it would be helpful to murder someone attending, in order to shut down the event. The entire agenda of the PA is about destroying Israel. Just what do these so called “leaders” not understand?
Will the International Community See the Impossibility of Two States?
Nobel Laureate for Mathematics, Robert Nauman, developer of conflict and cooperation game-theory analysis, states clearly that an Arab Palestinian state would pose a threat to Israel that cannot be supported; it cannot guarantee demilitarization.
It’s Always About the Occupation
Dr. Asaf Romirowsky, Executive Director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) and a fellow at the Middle East Forum and a Professor (affiliate) at the University of Haifa, points out the Jewish left doesn’t understand there is NO occupation.
Might President Trump be fulfilling the Promise Made at San Remo in 1920?
Eugene Kontorovich, Professor at George Mason University Antonin Scalla Law School and the a Scholar at the Kohelet Policy Forum in Jerusalem, published this article in The Jerusalem Post on January 4th, 2020, in which he presents a clear view of the promise made, the establishment of the Jewish national home in Palestine, and “an explicit right to ‘settle’ throughout the territory, which included Judea and Samaria.” The San Remo Conference of April 25,2020 is an historic moment in the long arduous path to the re-establishment of the Jewish national home in Israel and must not be forgotten. Despite the years of denial, false claims of colonization, racism, illegality and hideous incriminations at the United Nations which have fed the BDS movement, the fact remains: Israel is a legal entity, Jews have legal rights, and the current president of the United States is actualizing the commitments made 100 years ago.