Wiesenthal Centre - “J’Accuse” to the European Union
Paris
Read related Jerusalem Post story:
'UNESCO funds Palestinian magazine glorifying Hitler'
December 21, 2011
Ten-year old describes dream in article that she meets Hitler who tells her that he killed the Jews “…so you would all know that they are a nation who spreads destruction….”
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is calling on UNESCO to cut all funding for a Palestinianyouth magazine for publishing material exalting Hitler. Zayzafuna, a magazine which supposedly promotes democracy and tolerance, published an article by a ten-year-old Palestinian girl whosaid that in her dreams, Hitler told her, “Yes. I killed them [the Jews] so you would all know that they are a nation who spreads destruction all over the world.” The article was brought tothe public's attention by Palestinian Media Watch.
Responding to the Wiesenthal Center’s protest, the office of the Director General of UNESCO wrote the Center’s Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, and said in part,“Allow me to underscore that UNESCO takes this matter extremely seriously and it cannot but strongly deplore and condemn the statements… We will bring this matter to the attention of theconcerned Palestinian authorities.”
“This response is inadequate,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Wiesenthal Center, who added that it was not the first time that this type of hatematerial has been presented in Palestinian schools. “Can you imagine the audacity of a magazine that supposedly promotes tolerance and democracy using Adolph Hitler as a model?We call on UNESCO to immediately end funding to the Zayzafuna magazine,” he added.
“Let us remember that the US is the largest funder of UNESCO and it is largely the American taxpayer who made the UNESCO grant to this magazine possible. It is exactly thiskind of behavior by the Palestinians in the educational and cultural domain that makes such a mockery of UNESCO's recent admission of Palestine as a full member,” Rabbi Hierconcluded.
Read earlier exchange of email between SWC and UNESCOhere...
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