Holocaust Memorial Day: Never Again for Anyone

	January 27: Holocaust Remembrance
Never Again for Anyone: On the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we honor Hajo Meyer’s life and his commitment to the liberation of all people suffering dehumanization. On the occasion of this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the day that marks the liberation of Auschwitz, we remember Dr. Hayo Meyer, proud member of IJAN and long time anti-Zionist activist who passed away at the age of 90 on August 22, 2014. The day after he died, a letter from Jewish Survivors of the Nazi genocide and their descendants was published as an ad in the NY Times. The ad reflected Hajo’s words “never again for anyone”: decrying Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza and Elie Wiesel’s attempt to use the genocide of Jewish people to justify the attacks on Gaza. Dr. Meyer was the first to sign on.   Hajo was unwavering in his conviction and passion that Never Again meant Never Again for Anyone and in his outrage that his experience in Auschwitz was misused by Israel and Zionism to justify the colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Dr. Meyer was born in 1924 in Bielefeld, Germany. When he was barred from attending school there after November 1938, he fled to the Netherlands, alone. In 1944, after a year in the underground, he was caught and subsequently survived 10 months at Auschwitz. During the last decade of his life, Dr. Meyer dedicated himself to countering the Zionist manipulation of the Nazi genocide to justify the colonization of Palestine. He played a leading role on the Never Again for Anyone tour of Europe in 2010, and of the United States and Canada in 2011. By trade, he was the Director of the Phillips (electronics) Physics Laboratory (NatLab). After his retirement he became a builder of custom new violins and violas. He also played and performed the violin. In the last decade of his life, he traveled the world with his wife and companion, Chris Tillanus, to bring the message of Never Again for Anyone. While we will miss Hajo, his message continues and grows stronger in the world as he is joined by survivors of the Nazi genocide, the descendants of its victims and survivors, and all people committed to justice. This short video includes some of Hajo's powerful words:https://vimeo.com/117251606.
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network Argentina :: Canada :: England :: Europe :: India :: Israel :: United States ijan@ijsn.net :: ijsn.net © International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

French Holocaust Rescuers Boycott Zionist Holocaust Memorial Event

This is from The Forward:

PARIS — A French organization that saved Jews during the Holocaust has declined to attend a commemoration because it was organized by pro-Israel Jews.

The Marseille branch of CIMADE, a French Protestant group established in 1939, declined to attend the region’s main memorial ceremony for Jewish Holocaust victims because of the pro-Israel attitude of CRIF, the umbrella group representing French Jewish communities, which organized the event together with the municipality.

The values that led CIMADE to save Jews make the group “equally committed to oppose the colonial, discriminatory and bellicose policy of Israel with regards to the Palestinians,” CIMADE regional deputies Françoise Rocheteau and Jean-Pierre Cavalie wrote in a letter to the local CRIF branch on Dec. 21. It also said CIMADE was determined to fight “apartheid.”

The letter, which was published online on Feb. 11 by a group which promotes a boycott of Israel, was a reply to an invitation extended by CRIF to CIMADE to attend the 70th commemoration on Jan. 20 of the deportation and subsequent murder of thousands of local Jews.

Marseille had a Jewish population of 39,000 in 1939, according to Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People. Only 10,000 remained after the Holocaust. CIMADE organized “vital relief and later resistance” in connection with the murders, according to Yad Vashem, and helped smuggle Jews to safety. Yad Vashem named Madeleine Barot, who headed CIMADE during the Holocaust, a Righteous among the Nations in 1988. She passed away seven years later.

“We understand our positions may appear unacceptable, making us unwelcome at your commemoration,” the CIMADE representatives wrote. “We cannot keep silent on our convictions but do not wish to cause a scandal.”

It's interesting that they're trying a softly softly approach.  I wonder if CRIF will appreciate that.