Canada Holocaust memorial omits any mention of Jews, anti-Semitism
Heritage minister says offending plaque now removed, will be replaced with new one ‘that reflects the horrors experienced by the Jewish people’
Canada’s government removed a plaque at a new Holocaust memorial that omitted any reference to Jews or anti-Semitism.
The National Holocaust Memorial, in the capital of Ottawa, was inaugurated last week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
On Tuesday, a lawmaker from the opposition Conservative Party criticized the “profoundly obvious omission.”
“If we are going to stamp out hatred toward Jews, it is important to get history right,” said MP David Sweet.
Following its removal, Heritage Minister Melanie Joly said the plaque would be replaced with a new one “that reflects the horrors experienced by the Jewish people.”
She also stressed that the memorial “commemorates the 6 million Jews as well as the 5 million other victims that were murdered during the Holocaust.”
The original plaque memorialized the “millions of men, women and children murdered during the Holocaust” and the “survivors who persevered and were able to make their way to Canada after one of the darkest chapters in history.”
In Justin Trudeau's Canada the new Holocaust Monument plaque doesn't mention Jews, Anti-Semitism or the 6 Million. pic.twitter.com/byPGME6V6S
— Senator Linda Frum (@LindaFrum) October 3, 2017
Although the plaque failed to mention the millions of Jews murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust, Trudeau emphasized his commitment to combating anti-Semitism during the inauguration of the memorial last week.
“Today we reaffirm our unshakeable commitment to fight anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and discrimination in all its forms, and we pay tribute to those who experienced the worst of humanity,” Trudeau was quoted by the BBC as saying. “We can honor them by fighting hatred with love, and seeking always to see ourselves in each other.”
Prior to the opening of the monument last week, Canada was the only country from the Allies in World War II that did not have a Holocaust memorial, according to the National Post.
A similar omission caused waves in the US earlier this year after American President Donald Trump issued a statement for International Holocaust Remembrance Day that failed to mention Jews or anti-Semitism.
The White House later defended the statement, saying Jews weren’t the only group targeted and murdered by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.
