UNESCO, the UN”s cultural body, on Sunday strongly condemned the “Second International Holocaust Cartoon Contest”, which opened in Tehran over the weekend. The contest features, among others, entries deriding Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his government’s Middle East policies. But the organizers of the exhibition have denied that it is meant to deny the Holocaust, and…
Jack Rosen, president of the American Jewish Congress, issued the following statement on May 17:
“We welcome Director-General Bokova’s rejection of this heinous contest which is predicated on a state-sponsored anti-Semitism that has no place in modern society. The American Jewish Congress stands with UNESCO in condemning this flagrant denial of human history. We are committed to joining forces with UNESCO in order to educate every generation about the Holocaust and to combat anti-Semitism in Iran and around the world.”
Condemnations of Group X behavior by members of Group Y appear credible only to the degree that those members of Group Y equally condemn their own group’s similar behavior, for example: mockery of whatever other groups hold as sacred.
Moral claims that lack a foundation in the Golden Rule are properly excluded from adult discussions of moral dimensions.
Without any dog in the fight, it seems cartoon contests mocking the Holocaust are about as worth outrage as those mocking Mohammed.
I think much religious bigotry is probably associated with any such stunt, but freedom of expression means nothing if we don’t protect expression of ideas we abhor.
–John “Buck” Field, Puerto Varas, Chile, but permanent residence is in Aspen, Colorado