Wiesenthal Center Welcomes Greece’s Adoption of IHRA Working Definitions

November 11, 2019

The Simon Wiesenthal Center today welcomed the announcement by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that his country will adopt the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) Working Definition of Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial and Distortion.

Mark Weitzman, the Wiesenthal Center’s Director of Government Affairs, who as Chair of the IHRA Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial introduced and helped steer both definitions to adoption by IHRA, said “The announcement by Prime Mitsotakis is extremely significant. Not only does Greece join 13 other countries that have adopted the Working Definition of Antisemitism, but it now becomes the first country to also adopt the Working Definition of Holocaust Denial and Distortion.”

Weitzman, who also was the lead author of the Holocaust Denial and Distortion definition added “Coming at a time when some other European countries are distorting and whitewashing the historical record of collaboration by some of their citizens, and even passing laws that censor or distort the historical narrative, Greece’s adoption stands out as a model for other nations to emulate. We commend Prime Minister Mitsotakis on his leadership, and also congratulate Dr. Efstathios Lianos Liantis, Greece’s Special Envoy on Combatting Antisemitism and Preserving the Memory of the Holocaust, and Head of the Greek Delegation to IHRA for his efforts leading to the adoptions.”

For more information, please contact the Center's Communications Department, 310-772-2456, and join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, 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 with over 400,000 member families 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).

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