As the events of the Holocaust recede in time, it can be easy to lose perspective of the extent to which the Shoah was a world-changing phenomenon. And yet, the need to remember this monumental tragedy and understand its lessons only grows in importance, for they are timeless and apply as much as ever today.
As it has done for the past five years, the UN marks this solemn occasion with a series of commemorations at its headquarters in New York and around the world. These memorials emphasize the critical need for the community of nations to internalize the lessons of the Holocaust, and to take decisive action in the face of genocide, hatred and intolerance.
Yet the UN’s work in this arena is far from complete. There is a great deal more the international body can and must do to counter hate speech, hate crimes, genocide and other unacceptable acts of targeted intolerance and bigotry. This essential goal has largely eluded the UN to date.
Last year, the world again played witness as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad abused the UN platform afforded him by unleashing a diatribe of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial before the General Assembly. Mixing in his now-common rhetoric attacking Israel and America, Ahmadinejad also accused the United States of orchestrating the September 11 attacks.
Though Ahmadinejad’s propagandizing clearly falls far outside the bounds of appropriate discourse for the world body, few officials publicly condemned his remarks nor highlighted their fallacious nature. Moreover, Ahmadinejad continues to be a welcome guest at a variety of UN forums and functions.
If one lesson of the Holocaust stands above all, it is that words are powerful and can lead to terrible consequences if left unchecked. Hitler launched his campaign against the Jews not with guns or barbed wire, but with words. The rhetoric and belligerence of Iran’s leader is just one example of the type of dangerous behavior that must be condemned and countered at every turn.
Accordingly, the United Nations must embed the message of International Holocaust Remembrance Day into its daily activities by taking a stronger stance against all forms of bigotry, including contemporary manifestations of anti-Semitism. The hate speech which continues to be spewed in the UN’s halls must be publicly and frequently condemned. The ongoing institutional bias against Israel must be set aside, and extreme anti-Israel and anti-Zionist rhetoric and actions must be distinguished from legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies.
One of the most important legacies of the Holocaust is the concept of “Never Again.” The world must never again be silent in the face of bigotry, prejudice or racism; good people must never again stay silent when someone is singled out for who they are, what they are, or what they believe. Hatred must never again be permitted to reach the level it did where such a tragedy can occur.
These are the enduring lessons of the Shoah. The Holocaust was not just a Jewish tragedy, but a universal tragedy. All countries must condemn hatred and intolerance whenever and wherever they rear their ugly head. Most importantly, we all have a responsibility to educate and take action to ensure that the Holocaust never again becomes a reality.
Abraham H. Foxman is National Director of the Anti-Defamation League. His books include “The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control” and “Jews and Money: The Story of a Stereotype” (Palgrave Macmillan).