With Jewish communities feeling so unsafe and threatened on the rise, anti-semitism is still thriving in today’s world.
On her remarks on Anti-Semitism and Human Rights for LGBT People for the Cream City Foundation, Special Envoy Hannah Rosenthal said the world not learned the lessons of the Holocaust nor has it absorbed the message of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“In our lifetimes, we have seen genocides wreak havoc in Cambodia, Darfur, Rwanda, and Srebrenica, and we have allowed hatred to find sanctuary in every corner of the globe, including our own.” -Ms. Rosenthal
She says anti-Semitism is increasing all over the world.
She cites that there are countries where government-sponsored anti-Semitism abounds and there are corners of the globe where the old Tsarist forgery “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” is still being taught in schools as fact.
“Anti-Semitism did not die with Adolf Hitler. Sadly, and may I say terrifyingly, it is news every day.” -Ms. Rosenthal
The world can not eliminate anti-Semitism alone without addressing intolerance in all its forms, she noted.
She is saddened to say that anti-Semitism, homophobia, and transphobia are thriving in today’s world side-by-side.
She explains that the root causes of anti-Semitism, homophobia, and transphobia are really quite similar where they are rooted in fear of “the other.”
In the case of anti-Semitism, it is the fear that Jews are different and therefore inherently evil and threatening, she indicated.
Over the centuries, hysterics have preached accusations of blood libel, warning children to stay away from Jews based on accusations by the Church that Jews killed Christian children to use their blood for rituals, she cited.
She adds that conspiracy theories continue to flourish, such as supposed Jewish control of the U.S. media and the world banking system, or that Jews were involved in executing the September 11 attacks.
“And demonization of Jews continues, perhaps most shockingly today in cartoons where Jews are portrayed as Satan or pigs.” -Ms. Rosenthal
She stresses that combating anti-Semitism is a part of US foreign policy agenda from the top down.
The U.S. Government attaches great importance to identifying these problems and brainstorming about how to solve them, Ms. Rosenthal noted.
“And with no less vigor, combating homophobia and transphobia is also part of our foreign policy agenda.” -Ms. Rosenthal
She adds that President Obama and Secretary Clinton made history when they explained on the international stage that protecting LGBT rights is part and parcel of US international human rights agenda.
The State Department will continue to engage with government officials at all levelson human rights issues, the US recognizes that combating hatred and securing international human rights will require a society-wide approach.
Last year, Secretary Clinton launched an initiative to strengthen civil society across the globe. She instructed all in Washington and at US overseas posts – to treat civil society as strategic partners.
“I am proud of the impact that this campaign is making. I am proud of the work the Obama Administration is doing to secure human rights for all peoples regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.” -Ms. Rosenthal
The United States is working with all of those who are committed to a world free of anti-Semitism and all other forms of ethnic or religious intolerance.
Of the nine million Jews who had resided in Europe before the Holocaust, approximately two-thirds perished. In particular, over one million Jewish children were killed in the Holocaust, as were approximately two million Jewish women and three million Jewish men.
Jews and others frequently use the term Shoah, Hebrew for “catastrophe,” to refer to the Holocaust. After the start of World War II, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler created forced-labor and death camps throughout Europe to execute the “final solution of the Jewish question.” The Nazis persecuted other groups they deemed racially ‘inferior,’ including Gypsies, the physically and mentally disabled, gays and lesbians, Soviet prisoners of war, Poles, communists and numerous minority groups. The Nazi regime initially constructed forced-labor camps to imprison Jews, but as early as 1941 built extermination camps designed solely for the quick and efficient mass murder of Jews and others
