Holocaust denial is on the rise in America

I admit to a certain naivete about the Holocaust. Specifically, I knew there was a time when people denied it ever happened, but I was unaware that this particular conspiracy theory was still around. I thought that the weight of evidence for the Holocaust was so overwhelming that no decent person could possibly doubt it had occurred. Clearly, my mistake was in not realizing that there is a great deal of indecency in the world today regarding the Jewish people.

I’ve seen the headlines about the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and how they equivocated in Congressional hearings on whether students should be disciplined for calling for the genocide of Jews. While it’s dismaying that such officials are unwilling to go on the record condemning pro-Palestinian activists who want to push all the Jews in Israel into the sea and out of their own country, it’s heartening to read that there was such a backlash against their testimony that all three are facing calls to step down.

It’s good to see pictures of truck billboards calling for the resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay. I appreciate the comments of White House spokesperson Andrew Bates, who said, “It’s unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country. Any statements that advocate for the systematic murder of Jews are dangerous and revolting – and we should all stand firmly against them, on the side of human dignity and the most basic values that unite us as Americans.”

Image: Internet meme; creator unknown.

I hope that the loss of donors, including a promised donation of one hundred million dollars to the University of Pennsylvania that was withdrawn after the hearings, will send a clear message that antisemitism needs to stop immediately and that any college student calling for harm to Jewish people needs to face strong disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion.

However, there is a more insidious problem in our society today. A recent survey released by Friday’s YouGov found that ten percent of Democrats believe the Holocaust never happened. In urban areas, the percentage was even higher, with fourteen percent of Democrats denying the reality of the Holocaust. Voters between the ages of 18 and 29 scored the highest in this deplorable category, with twenty percent claiming the Holocaust is a myth. In New York, twenty percent of those surveyed claimed that Jews caused the Holocaust.

While it is encouraging to see Ivy League college presidents being held accountable for antisemitic views, I find it extremely troubling that Holocaust denial is on the rise. Jews are increasingly under attack all over the world. Hamas has launched a war against Israel. We need more than ever to remember the Holocaust and honor the Jewish people who survived it to bear witness.

It has been said that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, but Holocaust denial goes beyond forgetting history. The lie of such a denial is nothing more than a cynical ploy by the left to blame the Jewish people for the greatest crime that was ever perpetrated against them.

Pandra Selivanov is the author of The Pardon, a story of forgiveness based on the thief on the cross in the Bible.