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The United Nations on Thursday adopted a measure to fight Holocaust denial and condemn the Nazi genocide that killed millions of Jews.
The Israeli resolution lists actions countries should take to combat Holocaust denial and distortion — including demanding that social media companies remove posts by deniers, according to The Times of Israel.
The measure — which comes nearly a week after a man took hostages hostage at a Texas synagogue — also outlines an official definition of Holocaust denial including “intentional efforts to excuse or minimize [its] impact” and “attempts to blame the Jews for causing their own genocide.”
Israel and other sponsors called the measure an important step for combating misinformation and ignorance about the disturbing piece of history and events surrounding it.
“Holocaust denial has spread like a cancer. It has spread under our watch. It has spread because people have chosen to be irresponsible and to avoid accountability,” said Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations.
“As the number of Holocaust survivors diminishes, Holocaust denial is growing at a terrifying speed,” he said. “As the number of survivors dwindles, the younger generations are being indoctrinated on social media to doubt reality and trust deception.”
The measure was adopted by the UN’s General Assembly, was co-sponsored by Germany and supported by the United States and Russia.
In total, 114 countries cosponsored the resolution with only Iran voicing opposition.
A representative from the Islamic Republic claimed the resolution was an attempt by Israel “to exploit the suffering of Jewish people in the past as cover for the crimes it has perpetrated over the past seven decades against regional countries.”
The resolution also urges UN countries to “develop educational programs that will inculcate future generations with the lessons of the Holocaust in order to help to prevent future acts of genocide.” And it demands that, “social media companies take active measures to combat antisemitism and Holocaust denial or distortion.”
The measure passed on the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference organized by the Nazis to enact Hitler’s Final Solution plan to eliminate Jewish people.
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