S. African Pro-Palestine Group Marks Holocaust

A pro-Palestinian group in South Africa on Tuesday joined people across the globe in commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day.



"We commemorate this day firstly in the recognition that the Nazi Holocaust was a human tragedy of unspeakable proportions," Mohamed Desai of the South African chapter of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign said in a statement.



"We want to mourn and commemorate with those who truly believe that an injury to one is an injury to all; that when we say 'Never Again!' we mean 'Never Again!' to any and all groups of people," he added.



International Holocaust Remembrance Day is meant to commemorate the victims of the mass-killing of Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II (1939-1945).



BDS, which has previously held public events to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, said Holocaust denial – and even anti-Semitism – occasionally emerges within Palestine solidarity circles.



"This needs to be dealt with and confronted head on," Desai said.



Desai said his group was tired of the Holocaust being monopolized to serve pro-Israeli "racist and ethnic interests."



The pro-Palestine group saluted a growing number of Holocaust survivors who have come out in recent months to join the call for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.



"Last August, 40 survivors of the Nazi Holocaust published an open letter in the New York Times slamming the Israeli attacks on the Palestinian Gaza strip and supporting the non-violent BDS boycott against Israel," the group said.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Gauteng