Simon Wiesenthal Center Denounces Outrageous Comparison of the Dalai Lama to Nazi perpetrators of the Holocaust: Urges Immediate Apology by China News Agency for Publishing a Double Slander

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish Human Rights NGO denounced China's state-run media for equating Nobel Prize winner, the Dalai Lama to the Nazi perpetrator of the World War II Holocaustduring which 6 million Jews were systematically murdered. According to the New York Times, the commentary was posted on China Tibet Online and carried by theofficial Xinhua News Agency. It accused the Dalai Lama of advocating policies that would result in the expulsion of ethnic Han Chinese from historically Tibetanparts of the country. “The remarks of the Dalai Lama remind us of the cruel Nazis during the Second World War,” it stated, adding, “How similar it is to the Holocaust committed byHitler on the Jews!” the commentary charged.

"The Simon Wiesenthal Center has the greatest regard for the Dalai Lama and his efforts on behalf of his people. Our Center honored him with our Humanitarian Prize in 1996(pictured), and he has always served as a role model for dissent with dignity," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Center, devoted to imparting the lessons of theHolocaust and promoting Tolerance. "It is shocking, outrageous and totally unacceptable that any Chinese official would permit the denigrating of the victims of the Nazi Holocaustas a tactic to slander a spiritual leader who has earned the world’s respect over the span of decades, precisely because he pursues his agenda through peace and dialogue. Indeed,the Dalai Lama stands for the values that the Nazis sought to destroy. We urge China Tibet Online and the Xinhua News Agency to apologize for this doubleslander," Cooper concluded.

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO atinternational agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).