US Jewish leaders condemn Greek politician’s Holocaust denial

The Conference of Presidents, a body representing 51 major US Jewish organizations, on Thursday strongly condemned statements made by Greek Golden Dawn Party chairman Nikos Mihaloiakos in which the politician denied the Holocaust.

Conference of Presidents Chairman Richard B. Stone and CEO Malcolm Hoenlein were joined in their condemnation of Mihaloiakos’s statements, which were made on Greek television, by the Greek government and Jewish organizations in Greece.

According to a statement released by the two Jewish leaders, Mihaloiakos had claimed that there were no crematoria or gas chambers in Auschwitz and that the number of six million Jews murdered by the Nazis was an “overestimation.”

“The odious views of Mr. Mihaloiakos and his cohorts not only insult millions of Nazi victims, but are an affront to civilized people the world over,” said Stone and Hoenlein, cautioning Greek voters not to grant power to such a politician. “His twisting of historical facts serves only to rekindle intolerance and incite hatred. We welcome the Greek government’s speedy and forceful condemnation and call on President Karolos Papoulias not to appoint any Golden Dawn members to any government posts, regardless of any future coalition agreements.”