A group of Holocaust survivors and their descendants from the U.S. and Europe have signed onto a letter challenging a letter published in the New York Times by fellow Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who they contend promoted “blatant falsehoods to justify the unjustifiable”. They argue that their experience of surviving the Nazi genocide has led them to believe that “Never Again” should apply to everyone, including Palestinians.Their letter reads as follows:

As Jewish survivors and descendants of survivors of the Nazi genocide we unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and the ongoing occupation and colonization of historic Palestine. We further condemn the United States for providing Israel with the funding to carry out the attack, and Western states more generally for using their diplomatic muscle to protect Israel from condemnation. Genocide begins with the silence of the world.

We are alarmed by the extreme, racist dehumanization of Palestinians in Israeli society, which has reached a fever-pitch. In Israel, politicians and pundits in The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post have called openly for genocide of Palestinians and right-wing Israelis are adopting Neo-Nazi insignia.

Furthermore, we are disgusted and outraged by Elie Wiesel’s abuse of our history in these pages to promote blatant falsehoods used to justify the unjustifiable: Israel’s wholesale effort to destroy Gaza and the murder of nearly 2,000 Palestinians, including many hundreds of children. Nothing can justify bombing UN shelters, homes, hospitals and universities. Nothing can justify depriving people of electricity and water.

We must raise our collective voices and use our collective power to bring about an end to all forms of racism, including the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people. We call for an immediate end to the siege against and blockade of Gaza. We call for the full economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel. ‘Never again’ must mean NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE!

Signed,

Hajo Meyer, survivor of Auschwitz, The Netherlands.

Henri Wajnblum, survivor and son of victim of Nazi genocide, France.

Renate Bridenthal, child refugee from Hitler, granddaughter of Auschwitz victim, United States.

Marianka Ehrlich Ross, survivor of Nazi ethnic cleansing in Vienna, Austria. Now lives in United States.

Annette Herskovits, survived in hiding in France and daughter of parents who were murdered in Auschwitz, United States.

Irena Klepfisz, child survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto. Now lives in United States.

Karen Pomer, granddaughter of member of Dutch resistance and survivor of Bergen Belsen. Now lives in the United States.

Hedy Epstein, survivor sent to England on kindertransport, both parents and family members died in Auschwitz, only her grandfather survived. Now lives in United States.

Lillian Rosengarten, survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, United States.

Suzanne Weiss, child survivor on Kindertransport, France. Now lives in Canada.

H. Richard Leuchtag, survivor, United States.

Ervin Somogyi, survivor and daughter of survivors, United States.

Liliana Kaczerginski, daughter of Vilna ghetto resistance fighter, France.

Jean-Claude Meyer, son of Marcel, shot as a hostage by the Nazis, whose sister and parents died in Auschwitz. Now lives in France.

Chava Finkler, daughter of survivor of Starachovice labour camp, Poland. Now lives in Canada.

Micah Bazant, child of a survivor of the Nazi genocide, United States.

Sylvia Schwartz, daughter and granddaughter of survivors of the Nazi genocide, United States.

Margot Goldstein, daughter and granddaughter of survivors of the Nazi genocide, United States.

Ellen Schwarz Wasfi, daughter of survivors from Vienna, Austria. Now lives in United States.

Lisa Kosowski, daughter of survivor and granddaughter of Auschwitz victims, United States.

Daniel Strum, son of a refugee from Vienna, who, with his parents were forced to flee in 1939, his maternal grand-parents were lost, United States.

Bruce Ballin, son of survivors, some relatives of parents died in camps, one relative beheaded for being in the Baum Resistance Group, United States.

Rachel Duell, daughter of survivors from Germany and Poland, United States.

Raphael Cohen, grandson of Jewish survivors of the Nazi genocide, United States.

Emma Rubin, granddaughter of a survivor of the Nazi genocide, United States.

Alex Safron, grandson of a survivor of the Nazi genocide, United States.

Danielle Feris, grandchild of a Polish grandmother whose whole family died in the Nazi Holocaust, United States.

Jesse Strauss, grandson of Polish survivors of the Nazi genocide, United States.

Anna Baltzer, granddaughter of survivors of Nazi genocide, family members perished in Auschwitz (grand-niece of members of Belgian Resistance), United States.

Abigail Harms, granddaughter of Holocaust survivor, Austria. Lives in United States.

Tessa Strauss, granddaughter of Jewish survivors of the Nazi genocide, United States.

Caroline Picker, granddaughter of survivors of the Nazi genocide, United States.

Amalle Dublon, grandchild and great-grandchild of survivors of the Nazi holocaust, United States.

Antonie Kaufmann Churg, 3rd cousin of Ann Frank and grand-daughter of survivors, United States.

Aliza Shvarts, granddaughter of survivors, United States.

Linda Mamoun, granddaughter of survivors, United States.

Ted Auerbach, grandson of survivor whose whole family died in the Holocaust, United States.

Bob Wilson, grandson of a survivor, United States.

Abby Okrent, granddaughter of survivors of Aushwitz, Dachau, Stuttgart and the Lodz Ghetto

Natalie Rothman, great granddaughter of Holocaust victims in Warsaw. Now lives in Canada.

Yotam Amit, great-grandson of Polish Jew who fled Poland, United States.

Daniel Boyarin, great grandson of victims of the Nazi genocide, United States.

Terri Ginsberg, niece of a survivor of the Nazi genocide, United States.

Nathan Pollack, relative of Holocaust survivors and victims, United States.

Marcy Winograd and Jackie Hirtz, relatives of Holocaust victims, United States.