The Minister of Diaspora Affairs was speaking at the opening of the new Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum in Jerusalem.
Sharansky opened his speech Wednesday morning by quoting from the newest edition of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a recent best-seller in Syria. He quoted passages accusing Jews of killing Gentiles, kneading their blood into matzahs, and using them in religious rites.
"Before the Germans agreed to slaughter millions of defenseless Jewish men, women and children," Sharansky said, "they were taught that the Jews are sub-humans who defile and poison the German race. We should have learned from this of the great destructive potential of incitement, which prepares the ground for boundless violence."
Sharansky warned that the recent edition ofProtocols is now found in bookstores in Paris, London and Amsterdam. "This is the tip of the iceberg of the industry of anti-Semitism that is returning to Europe from the Middle East," the former Soviet refusenik said. " It includes books, movies, cable television programs and internet sites. The bottom line of this propaganda is: The world would be a better place without Jews. The effects of this incitement can be seen on the streets of Europe."
"I ask myself," Sharansky said, "what is the purpose of all the memorial sites and speeches, if the Europe of today, on the ground of which the Holocaust occurred, is not able to enlist the necessary will and courage to defeat anti-Semitism? Have we truly not learned a thing?"
Sharansky opened his speech Wednesday morning by quoting from the newest edition of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a recent best-seller in Syria. He quoted passages accusing Jews of killing Gentiles, kneading their blood into matzahs, and using them in religious rites.
"Before the Germans agreed to slaughter millions of defenseless Jewish men, women and children," Sharansky said, "they were taught that the Jews are sub-humans who defile and poison the German race. We should have learned from this of the great destructive potential of incitement, which prepares the ground for boundless violence."
Sharansky warned that the recent edition ofProtocols is now found in bookstores in Paris, London and Amsterdam. "This is the tip of the iceberg of the industry of anti-Semitism that is returning to Europe from the Middle East," the former Soviet refusenik said. " It includes books, movies, cable television programs and internet sites. The bottom line of this propaganda is: The world would be a better place without Jews. The effects of this incitement can be seen on the streets of Europe."
"I ask myself," Sharansky said, "what is the purpose of all the memorial sites and speeches, if the Europe of today, on the ground of which the Holocaust occurred, is not able to enlist the necessary will and courage to defeat anti-Semitism? Have we truly not learned a thing?"