The teaching of the Holocaust is also expanding to countries that previously did not teach about it - mainly Africa and Arab countries, according to a report by the Center for the Study of European Jewry in our time at Tel Aviv University
In preparation for International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2023, I publish The Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry At Tel Aviv University, the annual report "For a noble cause", which focuses on governmental and civil initiatives around the world to preserve Jewish heritage, to teach the lessons of the Holocaust and to fight against anti-Semitism and racism in general. The purpose of the report is to honor inspiring initiatives, encourage their expansion, and suggest ways to improve them.
The findings of the report show that the recognition of the Holocaust and the teaching of its lessons have recently expanded even in countries where they did not have a significant place in the past, including in Africa and the Arab world. Alongside this positive trend, in the past year in Western Europe, America and Australia, many educational, social and legal initiatives were promoted to combat Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism, which express cross-political recognition of the seriousness of the problem.
The head of the center, Prof. Uriah Shavit: "We have to admit with regret that despite the global mobilization to fight anti-Semitism, in recent years it is less safe to be Jewish almost everywhere in the world. But the solution is not to abandon the struggle, but to study in a comparative and systematic way what has been done, and what can be improved."
Prof. Shavit added that "precisely against the background of the prominence of positive initiatives all over the world for the fight against antisemitism, we found it appropriate to state at the beginning of the report that this fight must not become the sole identity-definer of Jewish intellectuals and organizations, that the moral compass of Jews should be directed to this issue only, and that the study of history The Jewish will focus exclusively on the history of the Holocaust. Israel cannot withdraw from parties with fascist roots in Europe and expect a different attitude in Europe towards Israeli parties with fascist roots."
Eight experts from different fields participated in the compilation of the report, including: the center's project manager and senior researcher, Dr. Carl Junker (the global arena: government initiatives, legal developments, the example of Cyprus); The founder of the center, Prof. Dina Porat (Holocaust Remembrance in Africa), Dr. Ofir Winter (Arab World), Adv. in Germany).
Highlights of the report:
The teaching of the history of the Holocaust and its lessons is expanding beyond Western Europe and America to countries in Africa and the Arab world
The findings of the report show that the recognition of the Holocaust and the teaching of its lessons have also expanded to countries where they had no significant place in the past. The report discusses Cyprus in detail, and presents it as an exemplary country: although no anti-Semitic incidents have been recorded there in recent years, its government devotes significant efforts to teaching the history of the Holocaust and instilling the lessons of the Holocaust in the education system, law enforcement authorities and sports clubs - this from a proactive point of view, an overall commitment to the fight against racism and xenophobia, and an understanding that studying the history of the Holocaust is essential for a society that seeks to strengthen democratic and liberal values.
The report analyzes the growing sense of identification in some African countries with Jewish history and the lessons of the Holocaust, partly from the comparison made between the tragedies of the Jewish people and crimes committed on the continent. This feeling is expressed, among other things, in the National Museum in Rwanda, which deals with the commemoration of the genocide of the Tutsi minority that took place in the country four decades after the Holocaust, in the shadow of the world's silence.
According to the report, in one of the countries of the Arab world, in the last year there has been an encouraging trend of recognizing the history of anti-Semitism and the crimes of the Nazis. For example, in January 2022, Egypt participated in the UN General Assembly meeting that adopted a resolution condemning Holocaust denial. The Egyptian ambassador to the UN said that there is an Arab consensus regarding the decision.
This positive trend, which represents a significant turn in the Arab discourse on Jewish history, was accompanied by a long series of new enterprises, including literary ones, for the recognition and preservation of Jewish heritage in Arab countries, among others in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco. These factories are reviewed in detail in the report.
Significant positive developments were also recorded in former communist countries. In December 2021, the Elie Wiesel National Holocaust Research Institute in Romania launched the project "Stories from the Holocaust - Local History". The purpose of the project: to deepen the knowledge of Romanian citizens about the history of their communities from the point of view of Jews and Gypsies who were persecuted in Romania during the Holocaust. As part of the project, street exhibitions were organized in 2022 describing the life stories of Jews and Gypsies and their sufferings during that dark period.
In November 2022, the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized an international conference to combat anti-Semitism and preserve Jewish heritage.
Significant progress in the commemoration of the Holocaust and the fight against anti-Semitism was also recorded in Ukraine. In February 2022, about a week before the Russian fascist invasion, the Ukrainian parliament approved severe punishment for anti-Semitic hate crimes: 8-5 years in prison for anti-Semitic violence, and a high financial fine for incitement against Jews.
A wave of educational and legal initiatives in Europe, America and Australia
The report notes a long series of initiatives taken in the past year in the Western world to preserve Jewish heritage, to teach the lessons of the Holocaust and to fight anti-Semitism. The initiatives indicate a growing awareness in the West of the dangers posed by anti-Semitic propaganda on the Internet, and a growing recognition of the importance of teaching about the Holocaust and its lessons among young people. Among the prominent initiatives:
In October 2022, the European Council marked a year for the launch of the comprehensive action plan "European Union Strategy for Combating Anti-Semitism and Fostering Jewish Life 2030-2021". During the year, the following actions were taken as part of the program: fight against anti-Semitism on the Internet; 11 of the EU countries and several international organizations signed the "Vienna Declaration" in which they pledged to develop a common methodology for documenting anti-Semitic events; and launching a project to protect Jewish cemeteries in several countries: Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
Following the discussions held this year on the subject, the European Parliament and the European Council are expected to approve the Digital Services Law that will oblige Internet platforms to remove hate speech, provide information on how algorithms are used, and establish clear rules for handling complaints on the subject.
In January 2022, an annual report was presented to the Austrian Parliament for the first time detailing actions taken to promote the national strategy to prevent and combat all types of anti-Semitism. Among the actions: preserving Jewish life and securing the future of the Jewish community, the adoption of the IHRA definition by the top soccer league (Bundesliga), conducting dedicated seminars for police officers, and an initiative for a declaration against anti-Semitism in the UN Human Rights Council.
In March 2022, the US Senate appointed for the first time a special ambassador to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, the historian Prof. Deborah Lipstadt. In the summer, the ambassador visited Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Also, in March, President Biden signed a federal funding package for 2022 in the amount of two million dollars to implement the "Never Again" law. The allowance will be used, among other things, for teacher training on behalf of the USA Holocaust Memorial Museum, and for a special activity to monitor and combat anti-Semitism in the world.
New York State Governor Kathy Hokul signed a package of three laws aimed at ensuring that schools in the state will instill significant knowledge about the Holocaust, museums will recognize works of art stolen from Jews by the Nazi regime, and Holocaust survivors will receive the full compensation they deserve from Germany. Several of the states of the alliance, including New York, Iowa, New Mexico and Arizona, have adopted the IHRA's definition of anti-Semitism.
In April, a federal law was enacted in Canada that stipulates punishment for those convicted of denying, justifying or minimizing the Holocaust, and allocates 70 million dollars to finance initiatives of Jewish communities. The city of Toronto launched a dedicated campaign to raise awareness of anti-Semitism. The campaign calls on the city's residents to learn about the Jewish community and anti-Semitism, to create inclusive complexes, and if they encounter incidents of hate and racism - to raise their voices, support the victims, and report to the appropriate authorities. The provinces of British Columbia and Alberta have adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.
In July, the Organization of American States (in collaboration with the American Jewish Committee, AJC) published the "Guide for practical use of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism" in the Spanish language. Guatemala and Colombia have adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, thus joining the USA, Canada and Argentina in committing to act against hatred of Jews in the Western Hemisphere.
Some positive initiatives were also registered in Australia. New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia have adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. In Victoria and New South Wales, laws have been enacted that prohibit the display of Nazi symbols in public, including swastikas, and impose a penalty of up to a year in prison and/or a large fine on those who do so. Queensland and Tasmania have also enacted laws against the display of Nazi symbols.
The luxury club Borussia Dortmund takes the field
The report discusses in detail the test case of the transformation that the German football team Borussia Dortmund went through - as an example and model of commitment to the struggle, which sports clubs and other organizations across the continent can adopt. In the past, the club was a breeding ground for the activities of neo-Nazi pseudo-fans. In recent years, the group's management has become an active and determined fighter against manifestations of anti-Semitism. Among other things, it holds educational tours for young fans in extermination camps and cooperates with Yad Vashem.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
