WIESENTHAL CENTER: GAZA--AUSCHWITZ TO SCALE CARTOON AN ODIOUS ACT OF HATE THAT EMPOWERS INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

June 3, 2010

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading International Human Rights NGO devoted to memory of the victims of the Nazi Holocaust and combating contemporary hate and terrorism is denouncing India’s Mail Today for publishing a cartoon that depicts Israel’s actions in Gaza to dwarf the systematic gassing of over 1 million Jews at the Auschwitz Death Camp during by Nazi Germany. “The cartoon itself is an odious act of hate,” charged rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Center. “While it is perfectly legitimate to criticize the death of nine activists on the Turkish ship, the editorial decision to publish it reflects either a total lack of knowledge about the Nazi Genocide during which Six Million Jews—including one and a half million children--were mass murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The cartoon should be removed with an apology placed in its stead," he added.

“Israel’s embargo is against Hamas’s rearming from Iran, not the people of Gaza. Thousands of tons of food and medicine transit through from Israel to Gaza every week. No one is starving in Gaza and no one should be surprised that Hamas now refuses to accept the goods from the so-called “humanitarian flotilla”. Israel has only taken action after waves of suicide bombings and 7,000 unanswered rocket attacks against civilian centers. The day that Hamas’s war against the Jewish people is ended, will be the day the embargo will be removed."

We are especially shocked by this cartoon appearing in an Indian publication, for only serves to further embolden terrorists and their enablers around the globe who have brought untold suffering to hundreds of thousands of innocent families around the world, including India. As the Jewish people express their solidarity with India after 26/11, I believe the overwhelming majority of Indians understand Israel’s just struggle against the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah”.

Rabbi Cooper has been a frequent visitor to India. He coordinated a multi-faith solidarity event in Mumbai last November, in solidarity with the victims of 26/11.

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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