| CENTRE SIMON WIESENTHAL - SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTRE - CENTRO SIMON WIESENTHAL
64, avenue Marceau
75008 Paris, FRANCE
Tel: +33 (0) 1 47 23 76 37
Fax: +33 (0) 1 47 20 84 01
E-mail: csweurope@compuserve.com YWCA's COMPARISON OF ISRAEL TO NAZIS PROTESTED The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Director for International Liaison, Dr Shimon Samuels, met at its Geneva headquarterswith World Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) General Secretary, Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro. Samuel protested the "Witness Report" of a visit to the Palestine Authority by World YWCA Vice-President and USBoard Member, Doris Pagelkopf, which stated: "I strongly felt the correlation to World War II. During that war Hitler tried to exterminate the Jews and now a group of Israelis ...is trying to choke off and rid the land of the Palestinians." Samuels denoted the statement "an offense to the Jewish people and the victims of the Holocaust, actionable underEuropean laws that penalize excusing genocide, and a mockery of decades of interfaith initiatives." General-Secretary Kanyoro expressed sympathy for Jewish outrage, describing Pagelkopf's words "as unfortunate andwhich the YWCA would not endorse." Samuels pointed to the statement as structurally inevitable "due to the one-sided distortions in the program ofYWCA 'Witness Missions' to the Middle East", adding that "such trips violate the YWCA mission statement that it is 'seeking to be mediators and reconcilers in conflictsituations'". He proposed that the tours include meetings with Israeli survivors and families of terror victims, as also IsraeliArab Christians targeted by Jihadist Islam. Kanyoro expressed "a commitment to the human rights of both peoples and, having taken courses at Tel AvivUniversity, an understanding for Israel." She condemned suicide bombing and encouraged current measures to reach peace, but admitted that the YWCA/YMCA youth missions are"organized by the East Jerusalem YWCA host," adding "we would welcome another partner to see the bigger picture." Dr. Kanyoro concluded: "In a future trip, we will turn to you [the Wiesenthal Center] to open the doors." For further information, please contact Shimon Samuels at +33 6 09 77 01 58. |