HAIFA,
Israel, June 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Alongside
Holocaust denial and expressions of antisemitism, which have both
been increasing around the world, the prestigious Weiss-Livnat
International Program for Holocaust Studies at the University of Haifa is currently experiencing a
global cyber-attack, in response to the registration campaign for
the academic year 2024-25. The responses include hateful
statements, Holocaust denial, claims that the Holocaust is "Zionist
propaganda", and even attempts to establish a narrative whereby
"what is happening in Gaza is much
worse than the annihilation of 6 million Jews in Europe in the middle of the previous century".
If this was not enough, the Program's graduates, who reside in many
countries around the world and engage in Holocaust research, are
experiencing antisemitism and are afraid to practice their field of
research.
The Program, which grants its graduates a Master's degree,
applies a multidisciplinary approach to Holocaust studies, and
provides an opportunity for employment in institutions around the
world, opened in 2012, and has hundreds of graduates from about 35
countries.
Leka Rezniki, a news presenter on the Kohavision channel in
Kosovo, is a graduate of the
Program and the great-grandson of Arselan Mustafa Rezniki, at the
time a merchant who transported fruits and vegetables from
Macedonia. In 1943, after the
Germans invaded Albania, Rezniki
used his truck to smuggle 400 Jews to safety in Duchan, and was
recognized as the first Righteous Amongst the Nations from
Kosovo in 2008. Leka Rezniki
registered for the Program after he discovered his
great-grandfather's family secret: "Like the Pew survey conducted
last December showing that one in five Americans believe that the
Holocaust is a myth," things are similar in Kosovo too, where "people compare what is
happening in Gaza to the
Holocaust. Education about this issue is at its lowest and the
situation could deteriorate".
Dr. David Silberlkang, a historian and lecturer in the
Program and a senior researcher at Yad Vashem, himself a son of
Holocaust survivors: "The war has indeed brought to the surface
the hidden antisemitism. Immediately after the attack, some people
celebrated on the campuses. We have seen responses labeling the
events of 7 October "the Warsaw Ghetto uprising of the Palestinians
in Gaza", and sometimes they
explicitly call the Israelis Nazis in light of what is happening in
Gaza".
A current student in the Program is Sebastian Delinger, 33, an Austrian who works at
the Museum of Austrian History. Delinger's personal and
national story is intertwined with the memory of the Holocaust:
four of his family members served in the Wehrmacht, and as a child
he lived near Hartheim Castle, a place infamous as one of the
extermination centers in the euthanasia program that murdered about
sixty thousand people. His life story led him to study history at
the Vienna Museum and the Program in Haifa: "We are seeing antisemitism and racism
all the time, and this is why we must continue studying and
educating about this subject, talking about the horrors that
occurred during the Holocaust."
Saha Sumaiditia, from Calcutta,
India, was exposed to the subject of the Holocaust only when
he watched the movie Schindler's List at age 18, and his
curiosity about European history was awakened. He registered for
the Program and went on to study for his doctorate at Toronto University. The events of 7 October led
to attacks on him, just because he had studied about the Holocaust
in Israel. "People think I'm a
Zionist and that I was brainwashed", he says. "I'm afraid to
express my opinions publicly, and I even avoid going to the campus.
Some people there applaud Hamas".
Yoav Yaron, a graduate of the
Program and currently Managing Editor of The Journal of Holocaust
Research at the Weiss-Livnat Center: "This is not an
exceptional case. The events of 7 October have led many of the
international Program's graduates to avoid engaging with the
subject for fear of attack. Some of them receive replies: 'We've
heard enough about your Holocaust, look at the "Holocaust"
happening in Gaza".
Lisa Schultz-Yatsiv from
Germany, the Manager of
Specializations and Partnerships in the Program, is the
granddaughter of members of Hitler Youth. She joined the Program in
Haifa to study how the German
nation was willing to participate in crimes against humanity and
against the Jewish people: "Graduates of the Program
around the world are suffering from antisemitism. People say to
them: How can you teach the Holocaust when your university is part
of the crime?".
Uriel Peizier, an American-Argentinian Jew, a graduate of the
Program and a grandson of Holocaust survivors, who works at the
Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum: "I see swastikas all over
Buenos Aires. The atmosphere on
the campuses here is very tense, with many Palestinian flags. We
hear comments like: 'You know what the Holocaust is, so why are you
doing this?' We must continue studying and teaching the Holocaust,
otherwise history might repeat itself".
For additional details and to arrange interviews,
contact Ifat Shomrony, 972-52-8743030
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SOURCE Weiss-Livnat International Program for Holocaust
Studies