New Resource to Confront Holocaust Denial on Campus

[From the Jewish Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith]

October 21, 2009

In response to the appearance of Holocaust denial advertisements in American college newspapers, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Life unveiled a new resource to help students respond.

A new resource guide, Fighting Holocaust Denial in Campus Newspaper Advertisements, is available on the League’s Web site and is being widely distributed throughout the United States by ADL and Hillel.

“Holocaust denial ads are not only extremely offensive, but unequivocally false,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor. “This is not a First Amendment issue; newspaper editors routinely choose to accept or reject advertisements. Would editors publish ads claiming the world is flat, or that slavery never existed?”

“Holocaust Denial advertisements are an affront to truth and an insult to the memory of those who were murdered by the Nazis,” said Wayne L. Firestone, Hillel President.

The joint ADL-Hillel guide was developed in response to a series of campus newspaper advertisements placed by Bradley Smith and his Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust (CODOH). In his 2009 campaign, Smith successfully placed advertisements in more than a dozen campus papers, with an ad most recently appearing in the Harvard Crimson.

Fighting Holocaust Denial provides historical background on Holocaust denial and a profile of Smith and the CODOH. The guide provides legal analysis of the First Amendment and newspaper advertising policies, and offers actionable strategies for responding when Holocaust denial ads are published.

ADL and Hillel recommend that editorial staffs develop and implement policies defining acceptable advertising standards, such as those maintained by the newspaper industry, which they can reference when declining hateful ad submissions.

Fighting Holocaust Denial in Campus Newspaper Advertisements may be accessed here. For more information or to obtain a print copy of the publication, please contact the Anti-Defamation League at education@adl.org.

(YWN Desk - NYC)