April 18 was Holocaust Remembrance Day. The murder of six million Jews during the Second World War constitutes one of the most terrible genocides in history. I had the chance for my part to meet five survivors of the Holocaust and I keep a vivid memory.
As incredible as it may seem, there are people who deny or minimize the Holocaust. It is a form of anti-Semitism.
Holocaust deniers are few in Western countries. We find some of them, however, on the far right.
Maghreb and Middle Eastern Muslims are the most likely to deny the Holocaust, according to a 2014 study by the Anti-Defamation League. In this region, no less than 63% of people deny or minimize the Holocaust.
Encounter with negationism
I myself have been confronted with this phenomenon. During a trip to Jordan, me and my wife visited the ancient Roman city of Jerash with a guide. Well versed in history, the latter asks me a question when he learns that I am a historian:
– “Do you think Hitler really killed six million Jews?”
– “Let’s say he only killed two million. Does that change anything?”
After this answer, the interested party preferred to talk about lighter subjects.
During another Middle Eastern journey, I had the chance to meet Professor Mohammed Dajani. A former senior member of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah, he later became a professor at the University of Jerusalem. In 2014, he brought around 30 Palestinians to Auschwitz on a study trip.
Mein Kampf in Arabic
He explained to me that the Arabic translation of Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, sells very well in Palestine and Arab-Muslim countries. The Holocaust is seen there as a myth to justify the existence of Israel. This belief and other forms of anti-Semitism are encouraged by governments and found in school textbooks.
Professor Dajani has been harshly criticized by his people for his 2014 initiative, and also because he is now critical of Palestinian leaders. His car has already been set on fire. Living in Jerusalem, it is now dangerous for him to set foot in Ramallah, the Palestinian capital.
Canada is not spared by this Holocaust denial originating in the Middle East. In December 2020, the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) invited Tareq Al-Suwaidan to give a talk. A notorious extremist, this Kuwaiti denies the Holocaust, among other things. This speech does not in any way bother the MAC which, at the same time, accuses Quebec of Islamophobia in the Bill 21 file. In 2021, it invited Al-Suwaidan back… before backing down after I denounced the affair.
The worst part of this story is the treatment the feds and Ontarians reserve for this organization. Trudeau paid him two million dollars in 2021-2022, in particular in the name of the fight against racism! Ontario, she has ordered educational videos for its schools, in order to fight against “Islamophobia”. In one of the presentations, a veiled host reports on a Jewish conspiracy fueling the “Islamophobia industry.”
This is Canadian multiculturalism! In the name of openness to others, our money finances anti-Semitism!