UNRWA issued a statement today that forcefully denies the suspect quotes on the Holocaust atttributed to its officials by the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Good to know, but some criticial questions remain unanswered;
-Does UNRWA plan to introduce Holocaust education into its curriculum? The statement below skips, dances and pirouettes around the question
-What did Karen Abu Zayd, UNRWA’s director, say when she was asked at a press conference about Hamas complaints about reports that Holocaust education would be part of the UNRWA schools curriculum? What did John Ging, UNRWA’s Gaza Strip director, say in his meeting with a Hamas education official?
I’ve got a call into UNRWA. Meantime, here’s the statement:
Statement by UNRWA on Holocaust Education
"The quotes attributed by the Simon Wiesenthal Center to UNRWA’s Commissioner General, Karen AbuZayd and UNRWA’s Gaza Director, John Ging are false.
We condemn Holocaust denial in all its forms and we reject the politicization of the Holocaust. UNRWA will remain focused on positive curriculum development in teaching children the human rights values enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
UNRWA is committed to human rights education. UNRWA rejects any denial of the Holocaust as an historical event.
UNRWA implements a human rights, conflict resolution and tolerance programme in its schools in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. In Gaza, UNRWA is strengthening this programme by developing a dedicated human rights curriculum anchored in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
