AJC Denounces Syrian Support for Holocaust Denial

American Jewish Committee
Tuesday, 1 February 2000

The American Jewish Committee today called Syria's denial that the Holocaust occurred an "inexcusable outrage."

Referring to an editorial in the official Syrian newspaper Tishreen yesterday authored by the paper's editor-in-chief, AJC Executive Director David A. Harris said: "To print such malicious distortions of historical fact, just days after world leaders gathered in Stockholm to discuss preserving the memory of the Holocaust, illustrates how far from the realm of reality the Syrian regime stands today."

Tishreen asserted that "Zionists created the Holocaust myth to blackmail and terrorize the world's intellectuals and politicians."

The editorial, which also equated Israel with Nazi activity during the Holocaust, "calls into question Syria's' commitment to negotiating a durable peace with the Jewish state," Mr. Harris said.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org