Israel Matzav

Holocaust Denial on Trial to be translated to Farsi and Arabic

Just two days ago, I ran an article from the Los Angeles Times by Somalian-born former Dutch legislator Ayan Hirsi Ali, in which she said the following:

Western leaders today who say they are shocked by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's conference this week denying the Holocaust need to wake up to that reality. For the majority of Muslims in the world, the Holocaust is not a major historical event that they deny. We simply do not know it ever happened because we were never informed of it.

At least someone is apparently waking up. Emory University yesterday announced that it is "actively engaged in building a $2 million endowment to support the Holocaust Denial on Trial Web site and Deborah Lipstadt's efforts to refute Holocaust denial and educate others." Lipstadt is a professor at the university and the 'trial' referred to was her trial for allegedly libeling Holocaust-denier David Irving in the United Kingdom. Lipstadt was eventually adjudicated not to have libelled Irving. As part of this effort, Emory is translating Lipstadt's web site into Farsi (the main language of Iran), Arabic and other languages. In this way, says Emory historian Deborah Lipstadt, "people in countries where Holocaust denial is widespread can have access to the historical facts."

"I'm convinced that there are people in predominantly Muslim countries, especially in the Middle East, who are being inundated with Holocaust deniers' claims and don't know that the deniers are fabricating and distorting. The problem is that there is no place where they can find sources in their languages to refute these lies," says Lipstadt. Referring to last week's Holocaust denial conference in Tehran hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Lipstadt said that "for those in countries were Holocaust denial is frequently in the press and who don't speak English, there is no way to access the truth."

Like the young Ayan Hirsi Ali growing up in Somalia.

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:38 PM