To deny the truth of the Holocaust would not bring justice to the Palestinians whose lives have been destroyed by aggressive policies of Modern Israel. However, it will strengthen the argument that Israel is under threat and therefore entitled to use extreme measures in order to defend itself.
After all "Denial is the first step to repetition."
Blaming solely the Israelis for the predicament the Palestinians now find themselves in is specious and untrue. There were thousands of refugees all over the world after WW2. Which is the ONLY group that still are considered refugees today? Um, lets give you a hint. The group was rejected by Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the other Arab states who refused to take them in. And that's WHO'S fault? It certainly isn't Israel, which wasn't even founded until 1948. And when it was, what was the population of the Palestinians? A couple hundred thousand people, right? And now what is it? Millions and millions of people who remain refugees. They do so because they have declared over and over and over again that Israel should be annilhilated and that all Jews should be banished from the earth. Um, so let's recap... Israel doesn't threaten to kill or banish the Palestinians, Israel didn't overpopulate themselves into desperate situations, Israel didn't ban other Arab nations from taking the refugees in... so WHO is at fault. Look in the freaking mirror.
Last time I checked, neither side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is without blood on its hands. While I do NOT agree with all of Israel's policies (as many are misguided and will do nothing to bring stability and justice for all people in the region), the implication that Israel alone is responsible for all the suffering that goes on amongst Palestinians is will not lead to a solution, either.
Making an argument about the impact of the Holocaust Denial conference based on an assumption that Israel is at fault for everything in the Middle East leads to a flawed conclusion.
Suzanne ( http://www.blogher.com/member/suzanne ), BlogHer Contributing Editor - Feminsim & Gender ( http://www.blogher.com/topic/feminism-gender )
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS)& Other Rants ( http://cussandotherrants.com/ )
Slate has a good article ( http://www.slate.com/id/2155328 ) on why this conference is a bad thing:
"...Questioning the reality of the Holocaust has long been another means of questioning the legitimacy of the state of Israel, which was indeed created by the United Nations in response to the Holocaust, and which has indeed incorporated Holocaust history into its national identity. If the Shiite Iranians are looking for friends, particularly among Sunni Arabs, Holocaust denial isn't a bad way to find them.
"And yet—this week's event has some new elements, too. This is, after all, an international conference, with foreign participants, formal themes ("How did the Zionists collaborate with Hitler?" for example), and a purpose that goes well beyond a mere denunciation of Israel. Because some former Nazi countries have postwar laws prohibiting Holocaust denial, Iran has declared this "an opportunity for thinkers who cannot express their views freely in Europe about the Holocaust." If the West is going to shelter Iranian dissidents, then Iran will shelter David Duke. If the West is going to pretend to support freedom of speech, then so will Iran...."
An alliance between a nuclear Iran and David Duke? That prospect is a horror that beggars the imagination.
Professor Kim ( http://professorkim.blogspot.com )
BlogHer Contributing Editor ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/kim-pearson )
Law and Journalism/Media
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