Hijacking Memory: The Holocaust and the Siege of Gaza

Quick Overview

The discussion reveals how Holocaust memory is being dangerously invoked and weaponized by Israeli and European entities to justify actions in Gaza, silence criticism, and deny ongoing violence, creating a paradigm where historical Jewish suffering is exploited for contemporary political ends, often leading to the dehumanization of Palestinians and a crisis in international law and academic discourse.

Key Points: Holocaust memory, initially used for Israeli national identity post-Eichmann trial, became a major political slogan by the 1980s, exemplified by Menachem Begin's comparison of Arafat to Hitler. An Israeli government spokesman argued "October 7th denial is the new Holocaust denial," linking criticism of current actions to Holocaust denial and Jewish victimhood. Yelena Subotic states public Holocaust memory is often "largely decoupled from the Holocaust itself" and serves contemporary state political needs, creating self-congratulatory national narratives. Raz Segal argues the weaponization of the Holocaust portrays Israel as facing a genocidal assault by "Nazis" (Hamas/Palestinians), decontextualizing the power imbalance between a powerful state and a stateless people. Omar Bartov identifies "many statements of genocidal intent" and a "clear effort of ethnic cleansing" in Gaza, noting that a million Gazans have been moved from northern to southern Gaza. Segal asserts that the international legal system, built on the Holocaust's uniqueness, has historically granted Israel impunity, and the current situation, with mounting evidence of mass violence, is a "shock to the system." The panel highlights a "major crisis" within Holocaust and genocide studies, where some scholars contribute to the problem by denying Israeli mass violence and reaffirming dehumanizing narratives about Palestinians.

Context: The discussion, convened by Diaspora Alliance and Jewish Currents magazine, explores the dangerous ways Holocaust memory is invoked and marshaled in the present, particularly in response to the October 7th attacks and the ongoing war in Gaza. Scholars Omar Bartov, Yelena Subotic, and Raz Segal, along with moderator Linda Kinsler, analyze how this historical memory is misused to justify actions, silence dissent, and shape public perception, while also considering its genuine influence on Jewish collective memory.