SWC Participates in IHRA Plenary Held in London

December 6, 2024

The Simon Wiesenthal Center just concluded its participation in the Second Plenary of the UK Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in London. SWC was represented by its Director for Latin America, Dr. Ariel Gelblung, who was part of the Argentine Delegation.

The London conference began with a meeting on “Artificial Intelligence in Holocaust Education, Research and Remembrance.” Technical experts and specialists delved into the dangers and possibilities represented by the phenomenon that is here to stay.

Other working groups explored the difficulties of confronting Antisemitism on University Campuses. Dr. Gelblung announced that the Latin American office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center is working on an application that will make it possible to determine if a news item is Antisemitic, according to the IHRA Definition.  Additional working groups focused on Holocaust denial.  

Dr. Gelblung also shared strategies for confronting the inversion of history through the growing accusation that Israel is worse than the Nazis. Dr. Gelblung highlighted SWC’s successful actions against these false accusations perpetrated by President Lula of Brazil, including securing the use of the IHRA definition of antisemitism by more than a dozen Brazilian States in addition to a Sao Paulo Court ruling against a journalist for the same in a case that utilized a report prepared by the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Latin American office.

The plenary approved a program of recommendations to safeguard Holocaust sites and memorials and the teaching program on the Roma genocide.  it was unanimously agreed that in 2026 Argentina will preside over IHRA, bringing the organization to Latin America for the first time since inception.

For further information, please email Ariel Gelblung, SWC’s Director of Latin America, at agelblung@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).