Wiesenthal Center Denounces Decision By South African Government To Recall Its Diplomats From Israel And Its Outrageous Accusation That Israel Is Committing A Holocaust Against The Palestinians

Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today denounced the recent decision by the South African government to recall its diplomatsfrom Tel-Aviv and its outrageous accusation that Israel was committing a Holocaust against the Palestinians in Gaza.

In a statement issued here today, by the Center's Israel Director, Holocaust historian, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, it called the closing ofthe South African embassy very ill-advised, and expressed its outrage that the government of Israel was accused in an official Cabinet decision of committing a "holocaust" against thePalestinians, as well as carrying out "genocidal airstrikes," against the residents of Gaza.

"Such accusations are totally false and extremely reprehensible, turning the victims of barbaric Hamas terror into perpetrators ofthose very crimes. The South African government should be ashamed of itself, and learn the accurate history of World War II and the Holocaust and appropriately change their foreign policy."(There are 3 Holocaust museums today in South Africa, in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.)

For additional information please contact the Israel Office of the Wiesenthal Center: Tel: 972-2-563-1274 or Tel: 972-50-721-4156, follow the Center on Facebook,or @simonwiesenthal and @EZuroff for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

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