JOURNALfor the STUDYof ANTISEMITISM

8 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF ANTISEMITISM [ VOL. 3:7
blood for rituals, to accusations that Jews kidnap children to steal their
organs. Conspiracy theories continue to flourish, such as supposed Jewish
control of the U.S. media and the world banking system, or that Jews were
involved in executing the September 11 attacks. The Protocols of the Elders
of Zion continues to be a best-seller in many, many countries, and taught to
religious students as truth. The “old fashioned” antisemitism is alive and
well. On a visit to Chile in 2010, I saw swastikas spray-painted on university
campuses. When I addressed an American Jewish Committee gathering
of Jews from Latin America, Chileans present told me they feel uncomfortable
wearing kippot and other outward symbols of Judiasm. And despite an
Interpol Red Notice since 2007 that Argentina is seeking to arrest the Iranian
Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi for the 1994 bombing of AMIA,
Bolivia ignored Interpol and hosted Vahidi in early June. In April, the staterun
radio in Venezuela urged everyone to buy and read The Protocols of the
Elders of Zion. In May, the official was fired, a positive outcome.
A second phenomenon is Holocaust denial. It is coming from religious
leaders in some places, including some heads of state, such as in Iran; in
academic institutions in some places; and is a standard on hateful Web sites
and other media outlets. As the generation of Holocaust survivors and death
camp liberators reaches their eighties and nineties, the window is closing on
those able to provide live, eyewitness accounts and a heightened urgency to
promote Holocaust education, create museums and memorials, and carry
the memory and lessons of the Holocaust forward.
A third disturbing trend is Holocaust glorification—which can be seen,
for example, in parades honoring soldiers who fought in the Waffen SS—
which glorifies Nazism under the guise of fighting the Soviets and obscures
their roles in the Holocaust. After that March commemoration in Latvia, a
notorious neo-Nazi made blatantly antisemitic statements, including incitements
to violence against Jews, on a television talk show. Holocaust glorification
and the growth of neo-Nazi groups is especially virulent in Middle
East media—including some that are state owned and operated—calling for
a new Holocaust to finish the job. Truly bone-chilling.
A fourth concern is Holocaust relativism, in which some governments,
museums, academic research, and the like are conflating the Holocaust with
other terrible events that entailed great human suffering, like the Dirty War
or the Soviet regime. No one wants to get into dueling atrocities. But to
lump together these horrific chapters of history is not only historically inaccurate,
but also misses opportunities to learn important lessons from each
historic event even as we reflect on universal truths about the need to
defend human rights and combat hatred in all of its forms. History must be
precise: it must instruct, it must warn, and it must inspire us to learn the
particular and universal values as we prepare to mend this fractured world.