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| Holocaust tribute by pro-Palestinian party
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George Galloway
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The British Respect Party, led by the pro-Palestinian and anti-war campaigner George Galloway, were behind a Holocaust Memorial Day at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) on Thursday evening.
The event was advertised as being hosted by Unite against Fascism, an anti-Fascist organisation, and did not state that Respect were involved. But party members have in the last few days handed out flyers on campus and admitted participation.
Scheduled to speak at the Memorial Day was Holocaust survivor Leon Greenman.
Also scheduled to speak was Professor Stephen Rose, a pro-Palestinian activist and supporter of a cultural and academic boycott of Israel, but Thursday Rose pulled out the ceremony.
In 2004, Rose chaired a conference at SOAS entitled “Resisting Israeli Apartheid: Strategies and Principles.”
Political ploy
Gavin Gross, president of the SOAS Jewish Society, said: “I believe that Respect may have organised this Holocaust Memorial Day event as a political ploy to inoculate themselves against future charges of anti-Semitism.”
“When they attack Israel or ‘the Zionists’ in future, they will point to their embrace of Holocaust Memorial Day to demonstrate that their criticism is purely about Israel and that they care very much about Jews,” he added.
Rob Hoveman, spokesman for the Respect party, said: “The Respect Party utterly opposes anti-Semitism and organisations such as the British National Party whose agenda is both fascist and anti-Semitic.”
“Respect supports Holocaust Memorial Day, it’s an important day to reassess the consequences of anti-Semitism.”
Uniting against far right
Sabby Dhalu, secretary of Unite against Fascism, a new national campaign against the extreme right in Britain, said: “We want to unite all against fascism and the common enemy which is the far right. Our concern is the growth of the British National Party.”
“The underlying issue is that we try to unite all regardless of views of the Middle East.”
“Holocaust Memorial Day shows us how important it is not to forget what happened in Nazi Germany,” she added.
Today university officials made the Respect party advertise that they were assisting in the organisation of the ceremony.
Last year the UN passed a resolution establishing 27 January as an international day for Holocaust remembrance.
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