(National Post-Canada) Editorial - A recent UNESCO resolution identifies Judaism's holiest site, the Temple Mount - site of the twice-destroyed Temple - only by its Arabic name, Haram al-Sharif, the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque and the golden Dome of the Rock. The resolution also refers to Bethlehem's Tomb of Rachel and Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs - burial site of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - as "two Palestinian sites." The language of the resolution was drafted by the Palestinians who, since joining UNESCO in 2010, have put great energy into demonizing and delegitimizing Israel. As we know from the phenomenon of Holocaust denial, it has become possible for ideologues to seize on a strategy of emotive "narratives" that favor feelings - or, in this case, mass delusion - over objective truths. The film "Denial," which recreates American historian Deborah Lipstadt's ordeal in a British court facing notorious Holocaust denier David Irving, reminds us that even the most well-documented genocide in human history is not an impenetrable archival fortress; determined anti-Semites neither slumber nor sleep in their obsession to justify their hatred. Constant vigilance is called for - and, as the film also shows, appeasement of haters is never the right option.
2016-10-31 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive