Never Again?" – Holocaust Memory and the Gaza Genocide: A Betrayal of the Pledge.

Commentary on Holocaust Education & Contemporary Genocide

The extensive global infrastructure of Holocaust museums, education programs, and memorials—backed by billions in funding—stands as a testament to the world’s solemn vow: "Never Again."Yet as this machinery of remembrance operates with precision, another genocide unfolds in Gaza, live-streamed to the world, with over 40,000 Palestinians killed (including 15,000+ children), mass graves, targeted starvation, and the deliberate destruction of hospitals, schools, and press.

The Paradox of Selective Memory

1. Moral Inconsistency:

- The same European nations funding Holocaust education (Germany: €1B+) arm Israel unconditionally, despite ICJ rulings on plausible genocide.

- The IHRA’s (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) expansive definition of antisemitism, weaponized to silence Palestine solidarity, exposes a hierarchy of grief: Some lives demand memorials; others, oblivion.

2. Journalist Deaths as Litmus Test:

- 165+ Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza (2023–2024) dwarf WWII’s ~69 journalist deaths—yet no comparable outrage.

- Where are the museums for Gaza’s martyred press? The curricula on their targeted erasure?

3. Education vs. Complicity:

- 35+ countries teach the Holocaust but ignore Gaza’s live genocide. Students learn of gas chambers while watching Israel bomb UN shelters in real time.

- The IHRA’s ( International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance)"countering distortion" grants fund projects that, in practice, conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism—suppressing discourse on apartheid.

The Unanswered Question

Why does "Never Again" exclude Palestinians? Why is Gaza’s annihilation met with funding for bombs, not memorials? The answer lies not in ignorance, but in power:

- The Holocaust’s victims are safely historic; Palestine’s are inconveniently contemporary.

- Israel’s impunity mirrors the very fascism Europe claims to abhor.

A Call for Integrity

If Holocaust education is to mean anything, it must condemn all genocide—past and present. Otherwise, it risks becoming a sanitized ritual, absolving Western guilt while enabling new atrocities.

"Never Again" is now. Act accordingly.

---

Sources: UN OCHA, CPJ, Euro-Med Monitor, ICJ interim rulings.

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