UN General Assembly Passes Israeli Resolution Against Holocaust Denial
The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution put forward by Israel that rejects Holocaust denial and provides actions for how to address it. The resolution that was approved by consensus on Thursday is only the second measure ever brought by Israel to the UN that has passed in the General Assembly. Some 114 countries cosponsored the resolution; the only country objecting to the resolution was Iran, which blamed Israel for using the Holocaust to whitewash its behavior in the region. Iran was not able to call for a formal vote on the resolution, however, since it is in arrears in its UN dues.
The resolution says that the United Nations “rejects and condemns without any reservation any denial of The Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part.” It offers a comprehensive definition of Holocaust denial, based on the working definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. It also notes that Holocaust denial is an expression of antisemitism.
The resolution was passed on the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee conference, which approved the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question,” leading to the death of six million Jews at the hands of Nazi Germany.
