Jan 27, 2023

USCIRF Observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day by remembering the six million Jews targeted by Nazi Germany’s “Final Solution,” and millions of others—including Roma and Sinti, Slavs, persons with disabilities, LGBTQI+ individuals, and Jehovah’s Witnesses—murdered by the Nazi regime.

“The memory of the Holocaust serves as a somber reminder that hatred has the potential to escalate into genocide. Seventy-eight years after the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, antisemitism continues to rise with a renewed vigor. USCIRF remains committed to combating antisemitism and other forms of hate against religious communities,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Abraham Cooper. “We must never forget the victims of the Holocaust.”

Jews worldwide continue to face threats, discrimination, violence, attacks on synagogues, and vandalism of cemeteries and memorial sites. In September, USCIRF condemned Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s remarks denying the Holocaust. In November, USCIRF supported the U.S. Department of State’s continued commitment to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Earlier this week, USCIRF expressed dismay over the promotion of antisemitic material at Egypt’s state sponsored book fair. USCIRF continues to monitor the rise of antisemitism around the world and throughout Europe.

“Amid Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, high-ranking Russian government officials have regularly employed antisemitic tropes, including Holocaust denial and distortion, in a reprehensible attempt to justify Russia’s unlawful invasion,” said USCIRF Commissioner Sharon Kleinbaum. “Through repeated calls for the ‘denazification’ of Ukraine, Russia effectively erases the Jewishness of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and spreads the antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jews somehow propagated the Holocaust and brought genocide upon themselves. USCIRF was especially concerned following now-exiled Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt’s call for remaining Jews to leave Russia in light of rising antisemitism in the country.”

USCIRF hosted an episode on Russia’s calls for the “denazification” of Ukraine and published reports on Religious Propaganda in Iran with a section on antisemitism in the media, Assessing Religious Freedom in Egyptian Curriculum Reform documenting anti-Jewish content in Egypt’s national school curriculum, and Antisemitism in Europe: Implications for U.S. Policy.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].