May 9, 2016
AJC is outraged by Venezuela’s blasphemous use of the Holocaust to demonize Israel.
Venezuela’s Ambassador to the UN, Rafael Ramirez, addressing an informal session of the UN Security Council, said, “What does Israel plan to do with the Palestinians? Will they be disappeared [sic]? Does Israel seek probably to wage a final solution as was perpetrated against the Jews?”
“The Venezuelan ambassador’s incendiary remarks are profoundly offensive to Holocaust victims and their descendants, many of whom live in Israel,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “By trivializing the Holocaust, not to mention grotesquely distorting the situation on the ground, Venezuela undermines the UN General Assembly vision that this tragic event ‘will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism, and prejudice.’”
Harris praised the U.S., French, and British ambassadors for immediately denouncing the Venezuelan envoy’s comments, and called on the other members of the Security Council to do the same.
“The Venezuelan government’s own abysmal record, including systematic violations of human rights and the inability to care for its citizens, should prompt Ambassador Ramirez to spend more time focusing on his own country's situation without creating such offensive distractions,” Harris added.
