Yossi Schwartz, ISL the section of the RCIT in Israel/Occupied Palestine, 26.01.2021
In January the UN adopted a “draft resolution titled “Holocaust denial” (document A/76/L.30) without a vote, the 193-member organ also urged the Member States and social media companies to take active measures to combat anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial or distortion in cyberspace. “L.30”, tabled jointly by Israel and Germany, was co-sponsored by more than 100 Member States” [i]
The Israeli representative said: Today, “As the number of Holocaust survivors diminishes, Holocaust denial is growing at a terrifying speed,” he said, pointing out that partly due to popular disinformation flowing through social media platforms, only 54 percent of the world’s population has heard of the Holocaust, with one-third of them skeptical of the facts. Despite this, such platforms “do little to combat this sick phenomenon” as they are only service providers” [ii]
There is nothing wrong with a resolution calling for active measures to combat anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. However, we have five questions: Why the Zionist state has presented this draft resolution these days? Why is the role of the Zionists in this tragedy not mentioned? Why is the role of the US, Britain and other imperialist states not mentioned? Why the war crimes of the Zionist state are not mentioned? Why the genocide of other people like the Indians, the African slaves, the Armenians, the Gypsies are not mentioned?
Why the Zionist state has presented this draft resolution these days?
The Zionist state has expanded its diplomatic relationships with many countries due to the fact it sells weapons to regimes that use them to commit crimes against its population especially in countries where the ruling classes repress protest against cruel and anti-democratic regimes. At the same time, the popular classes have political sympathy for the oppressed Palestinians by Israel. This resolution aims to silence this growing awareness that Israel is an apartheid state. Those who understand the class and political nature of the Zionist state and oppose its crimes are designated as Anti-Semites. At the same time, the Zionists have close relations with real Anti-Semites regimes and movements.
For example, “Israel is committing modern slavery against Palestinians through its control of the disputed territories, said Stated Clerk of the US Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II on Monday in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day statement.” The continued occupation in Palestine/Israel is 21st-century slavery and should be abolished immediately,” wrote Nelson. “Given the history of Jewish humble beginnings and persecution, there should be no ambiguity as to the ethical, moral and dehumanizing marginalization and enslavement of other human beings” I would also hope that the Jewish community in the United States would influence the call to join the US government in ending the immoral enslavement,” he said. [iii]
Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II is the highest-ranking position in the Presbyterian Church after the moderator. They are responsible for the office of the General Assembly, which conducts the church’s clerical affairs.
Anti-Defamation League CEO and national director Jonathan Greenblatt immediately attacked this statement and said: “Your call to action went well beyond criticism of Israeli policies in this complex conflict or even calls for justice for Palestinians. Instead, you presented Israel as the epitome of evil: an unethical, immoral, dehumanizing, marginalizing entity that has put other people into ‘enslavement,'” he wrote. “You further put the responsibility for this alleged evil entity onto the shoulders of the Jewish people as a whole, with an implicit condemnation of Jewish ethics and morality, and placed the onus for ameliorating this conflict on American Jews” [iv]
“Instead of stating solidarity, the Presbyterian Church USA chose this weekend to issue a statement,” from Nelson “implying that US Jews are responsible for ‘enslavement’ of Palestinians, a dangerous anti-Semitic trope,” the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said in a statement.” [v]
It is true of course that the Palestinians are not slaves as the black majority of South Africa’s apartheid regimes were not slaves. The Palestinians are an oppressed nation that Israel steals their lands and kills almost daily. However, the statement of Nelson is attacked by the Zionist not because he used the term slaves but because he opposes the repression of the Palestinians by the Zionist state. Furthermore, he did not blame the American Jews but called on them to use their influence to fight the repression. The Zionists are aware that they are losing their propaganda and thus they felt the need to use the holocaust as a weapon to silence the voice of opposition to the Zionist state crimes.
Why is the role of the Zionists in this tragedy not mentioned? The real Jewish heroes of WWII were the fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto and other ghettos yet the Zionist settlers in Palestine did not send them even one bullet to fight the Nazis. At the same time, they were busy with the commercial deal they had with the third Reich known as the transfer. For this deal, they sabotaged the boycott of Nazi Germany. Not only this but Ben Gurion and his followers refused to apply pressure on Western imperialists to open the gates for Jewish refugees.
Why is the role of the US, Britain and other imperialist states not mentioned?
The US, Britain, Canada, and other imperialist countries refused to open the gates to the Jews. In Canada, the government said “one Jew is too many”.
“As the M.S. St. Louis cruised off the coast of Miami in June 1939, its passengers could see the lights of the city glimmering. But the United States hadn’t been on the ship’s original itinerary, and its passengers didn’t have permission to disembark in Florida. As the more than 900 Jewish passengers looked longingly at the twinkling lights, they hoped against hope that they could land. Those hopes would soon be dashed by immigration authorities, sending the ship back to Europe. And then, nearly a third of the passengers on St. Louis was murdered.” [vi]
While the USA and Britain bombed working-class neighborhoods in Germany in retaliation for Germany’s attacks on British cities, they refused to bomb the railways leading to the death camps. After the war, the western imperialists organized the escape of many Nazis to Latin America and other countries including Canada.
Why the war crimes of the Zionist state are not mentioned?
The Nakba – the ethnic cleansing of 700,000-900,000 Palestinians in 1947-8 using 30-40 massacres was only one of the crimes of the Zionist state against the Palestinians. Since 1948 the Zionist state committed many other crimes. Since 1967 In the First Intifada Israel has killed more than 1000 people. In the second Intifada at least 3,500 people. In the Gaza war of 2008–9 around 1000 people. In 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict was around 1000 at least. In the 2021 war on Gaza the United Nations reported that during the May fighting, attacks by the Israeli military killed 260 Palestinians, including at least 129 civilians, of whom 66 were children. The Gaza Health Ministry said Israeli forces injured 1,948 Palestinians, including 610 children. Since 1967 the Zionist state settled at least 600.000 Jews on the occupied West Bank. Since 1967 one million Palestinians have been arrested for resistance to the occupation. “Around 17,000 women and girls and 50,000 children were among those detained,” the Commission on Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said in a statement. The NGO said more than 54,000 administrative detention orders were recorded since 1967.” [vii]
Why the genocide of other people like the Indians, the African slaves, the Armenians, the Gypsies are not mentioned?
They are not mentioned because their genocide cannot be used for the simple reason that their genocide is not useful for the Zionists and their imperialists’ allies for propaganda and Israel is in the front line of the imperialists in the region.
Yes the genocide of the Jews in WWII was a horrible crime but so is all the other genocide of the imperialists who are endangering the existence of humanity in a possible WWIII. As Lenin said, for humanity to live imperialism must die.
Down with all the imperialist states!
Remember all the genocide of all the people!
Down with the Zionist Apartheid from the river to the Sea!
For a red free Palestine from the river to the sea!
Endnotes:
[i] https://www.un.org/press/en/2021/ga12400.doc.htm
[ii] Ibid
[iii] https://www.jpost.com/christian-news/article-694190
[iv] Ibid
[v] Ibid
[vi] https://www.history.com/news/wwii-jewish-refugee-ship-st-louis-1939
[vii] https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/one-million-palestinians-arrested-by-israel-since-1967-ngo/2264682