SWC: Under the Guise of Free Speech, the Mass Murder of Jews and Rape of Israeli Women Legitimized at Meeting in Berlin

January 17, 2024

The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) expresses its outrage over the recently held Rosa Luxemburg Conference in Berlin reported by TAGESSPIEGEL. This event, shockingly, served as a platform for legitimizing violence against Jews and Israeli women, and for expressing support for Hamas under the guise of free speech. Attendees and speakers, including Wieland Hoban of Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East and Jeremy Corbyn via video. Not only did it fail to unequivocally condemn Hamas’ acts of terrorism, but it also legitimized the terrorist group as essential for 'socialist class consciousness.' 

Rabbi Abraham Cooper,  SWC Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action, stated: "It is abhorrent and deeply alarming that this vile conference was convened in Berlin, where Jews were boycotted, violently attacked, disenfranchised, and dehumanized by Adolf Hitler in the 1930s and deported to death camps and annihilation in the 1940s. Now, in the wake of Oct 7^th, when the largest number of Jews were mass murdered since the defeat of Nazism, that any group, under any banner could again gather in Berlin to justify the murder, rape, and kidnapping of Jews, this time legitimizing genocide-seeking, Jew hating terrorists." 

“This anti-Semitic hate-fest propagated false narratives, including the denial of sexual violence by Hamas and baseless allegations against the IDF. Such rhetoric contributes to the spread of anti-Semitic sentiments in the mainstream of society, particularly in academia," Cooper added.

"The SWC urges responsible parties and the international community to stand firmly against these harmful and distorted narratives. We call for immediate action to address this alarming trend of normalizing hatred and violence under the guise of academic and political discourse. Berlin must reaffirm its commitment to combating anti-Semitism in all its forms,” said Daniel Schuster, Senior Representative Europe of the SWC. 

For further information contact the Center’s Communications department at pressinquiries@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).