EU Statement Commemorating the Holocaust Omits Mentioning the Jews

An official statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorating the victims of the Holocaust issued by EU High Representative Lady Catherine Ashton, does not identify who those victims were. The brief statement reads,

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued the following statement today:

Today the international community remembers the victims of the Holocaust. We honour every one of those brutally murdered in the darkest period of European history. We also want to pay a special tribute to all those who acted with courage and sacrifice to protect their fellow citizens against persecution.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we must keep alive the memory of this tragedy. It is an occasion to remind us all of the need to continue fighting prejudice and racism in our own time. We must remain vigilant against the dangers of hate speech and redouble our commitment to prevent any form of intolerance. The respect of human rights and diversity lies at the heart of what the European Union stands for.

Could it have been a simple oversight, or is there something more sinister going on?

Intolerance, racism and prejudice are found in all societies. And mass murder has occurred before and since the Holocaust. But the Holocaust specifically refers to the use of modern technology and killing factories to erase the Jewish people. On the day specifically named Holocaust Remembrance Day it might be appropriate to specify who the victims were.

Lady Ashton’s strangely vague statement might not have raised questions had it not been for her reputation as being less than sympathetic toward Israel. Also, recent years have witnessed attempts to twist remembrance of the Holocaust into a weapon to defame Israel by turning the Palestinians into the victims of a Zionist “genocide.” The film Defamation is one example of this trend.

Elder of Ziyon points out some other disturbing examples of the transformation of Holocaust Remembrance Day. In England, a Muslim educator with links to an Islamic network that includes extremists gave an invocation at London’s City Hall. In France, a “Day of Anger” march featured demonstrators chanting “Jews go Home” and “Jews, France is not your country”. The chants are ironically reminiscent of the chants heard many years ago in Germany, “Juden raus.”