SWC: Israel Must Demand that German Foundation Cancel Kristallnacht Event

November 7, 2022

Human Rights NGO Urges Goethe Institute to Cancel Hosting the Event and Urges Israeli PM Lapid to Demand it be Canceled

 

LOS ANGELES – The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), a leading Jewish Human Rights NGO, is denouncing an upcoming event taking place on Wednesday, November 9, in Tel Aviv, Israel entitled: Understanding the Other Side’s Pain: The Shoah, the Nakba, and the German Remembrance Culture. Sponsored by the Rosa Luxembourg Foundation, the event will take place at the Goethe Institute on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. 

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associated dean and director of global social action at SWC, issued the following statement:

“It is despicable that any German would utter Shoah and Nakba in the same breath. There is nothing wrong with exploring the feelings of Palestinians, but to link the Palestinian-Israel conflict in any way to Nazi Germany’s ‘Final Solution’ that murdered 6 million innocent Jews, among them 1.5 million Jewish children, is a monstrous insult to the victims of the Shoah, to the Jewish State of Israel, to survivors of the Shoah and to historic truth.

Convening such a discussion in Israel -- on the anniversary of Kristallnacht -- by the foundation of a left wing German political party, at the respected Goethe Institute, is an odious provocation. The SWC calls on the Goethe Institute to cancel its hosting of the event and urges Israel Prime Minster Lapid to demand that this event be canceled. Both Germany and Israel have worked for decades to forge a new relationship out of the ashes of the Nazi Holocaust and have developed strong ties. But no German, whatever their political affiliation has the right to be involved in belittling the Shoah or to further facilitate the big lie that Israel treats Palestinians the same way the Nazis treated Jews”

 

For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Shawn Rodgers at srodgers@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed. Media may also contact James Lambert, Vice President of Rubenstein Public Relations, at jlambert@rubensteinpr.com.  

About the Simon Wiesenthal Center  

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is a Jewish global human rights organization researching the Holocaust and hate in a historic and contemporary context. The Center confronts anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, promotes human rights and dignity, stands with Israel, defends the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations. With a constituency of over 400,000 households in the United States, it is accredited as an NGO at international organizations including the United Nations, UNESCO, OSCE, Organization of American States (OAS), the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO) and the Council of Europe. 

Headquartered in Los Angeles, the Simon Wiesenthal Center maintains offices in New York, Toronto, Miami, Chicago, Paris, Buenos Aires, and Jerusalem.  

 

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