Disruptions during the presentation. Photo: Adrian Scott-Kemp
An 86-year-old Holocaust survivor was heckled by pro-Israelis while giving a controversial talk on Wednesday night at Goldsmiths University in Lewisham.
Dr. Hajo Meyer delivered his talk, ‘The Misuse of the Holocaust for Political Purposes’, on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day .His criticisms of the Israeli government were met with aggression by two audience members, who shouted interruptions during talks by both Dr. Meyer and fellow speaker, Palestinian Journalist, Haidar Eid. They also held up signs with the word ‘lies’ written on them.
In 1944 Dr. Meyer spent 10 months in Auschwitz; the largest of the World War II concentration camps. He is now a published essayist based in the Netherlands, and is involved in campaigning for ending, what he views as, the occupation of Palestine. He is delivering a series of talks as part of a tour organised by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.
The Network’s Founder, Sarah Kershnar, claimed they had not been allowed to list any of the talks on the official Holocaust Memorial Trust website due to their position on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Ms.Kershnar said: “We tried three times and it wouldn’t go through.”
She has launched a petition in response to the banning, but when EastLondonLines approached The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, they denied having received the submission from IJAN.
James Haywood, the Goldsmiths College student who organized the hosting of the talk for IJAN, said he believed it contributed an important perspective to the Memorial Day; “The talk we’re holding tonight is not conventional but its important to remember that racism in all its forms is bad.”
Other East London line boroughs, Croydon and Hackney, hosted more traditional ‘Candle Lighting Events’ yesterday to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.
Quite rightly so.
Arguments like those made by Mr Meyer have been condemned by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights and the US State Department as untenable and offensive.
It is shameful that these kinds of events should be hosted at Goldsmiths. They represent a cynical, opportunistic and insulting attempt to hijack what should be a solemn time of remembrance.
I disagree with A, above. I was at this talk. Mr Meyer had some very serious points to make, drawing on his own experience of life in Nazi Germany and the holocaust. It’s ridiculous to accuse a holocaust survivor of ‘hijacking’ it when all he is doing is giving his personal conclusions on its meaning and lessons.
He made the point that for atrocities to be carried out against a people, they have to have been dehumanised in the eyes of those committing the persecution. This was done in Nazi Germany and Mr Meyer showed there were parallels in the treatment of the Palestinians. It is not reported much outside of Israel, but the language used about Palestinians in mainstream Zionist discourse and Israeli political circles shows that that process of dehumanising the victims is well advanced.
If anyone is ‘hijacking’ the tragedy and outrage of the holocaust, it is those Zionists who use it for political ends to promote their goal of expelling the Palestinians from their land and securing the whole of historic Palestine.
One thing I would say is that it was dumb of the organisers at this talk to call security to speak to the hecklers, though I can understand that the organisers are no doubt very weary of one of them, who seems to spend much of his spare time travelling from Palestine meeting to Palestine meeting as a semi-professional heckler.
I find it amazing that because you dont like what is being said you feel the need to make noise and hold up cards with ‘lies’ written on them. It’s such childish behaviour and further demonstrates the fallacy in your position regarding Pal-Isr.. If you are in the right surely you’d be happier to debate it in the open like adults and face a war crimes tribunal because as you say, your in the right…. Or am I wrong?
Also in response to “A” are you really so naive to think that the EU agency and the US State dept are free from bias?
@ G:
The parallels Mr Meyer is drawing do not stand up to reasoned reflection. There was far more to the holocaust than mere dehumanisation. The actions of Nazi Germany represented the systematic extermination of a people. It is simply wrong to attempt to compare the careful combative actions of a democratic nation answerable to international laws as being in any way comparable to genocide. Not only that, but given the position of Israel as a nation founded around the victims of that terrible historical event, it is indeed offensive to compare people of the modern Jewish state to the vicious individuals who murdered their parents and grandparents. You do not have to agree with the actions of Israel to understand this.
@ James
I believe that the EU agency and the US State Department are far more reliable sources of judgement on this issue that the politically-motivated anti-Zionist groups who organised this meeting.
I was at this meeting, and i got to say those hecklers/zionists were just very childish, the way he got up at the Q&A session to come and hijack the space to say all the crap he can was just horrible! Israel etc have all the media on the side, they have huge powerful lobbys, so i salute goldsmiths and i’m proud to be part of the decision to hold the meeting here, to give a space to hear an alternative viewpoint. A personal viewpoint from a Holocaust survivor who is just saying it how it really is and ain’t scared to!
A, you’re missing the point. Of course you can point to differences between any two historical episodes; that doesn’t make it invalid to look at some of the parallels and draw lessons and warnings from them. You have to be careful about how this is done, but it is a valid exercise. The parallels include that dehumanisation exercise, which is clearly present in Israel, as well as a project of ‘cleansing’ a land in order to achieve some ideal of a ‘pure’ nation. Both are present in Israel’s case; both are valid parallels to examine and learn from.
Well, it is not the only survivor of the concentration camps to see the parallele i have spoken with 2 of them who say the same .
More and more jewish are upset with the zionist attitude and want to dissociated with them.
They are not all capable to speak in public, they are simple people but they feel betrayed that the zionist use there suffering to justify inhuman action against palestinians!
For a detailed and eloquent discussion of what exactly is wrong with the rhetoric used by this speaker, and his sympathisers commenting here, I would direct you to read this excellent paper on the subject written by a Goldsmiths academic:
http://www.yale.edu/yiisa/workingpaper/hirsh/David%20Hirsh%20YIISA%20Working%20Paper1.pdf