HETI International Conference on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial

The Holocaust Education Trust Ireland has issued a report on their International Conference on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial.

HOLOCAUST EDUCATION TRUST IRELAND

International Conference

Antisemitism and Holocaust denial  - New Perspectives

Holocaust Education Trust Ireland organised an international conference on antisemitism and Holocaust denial which took place in Dublin on 18/19 November 2010. Scholars attended from the US, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Israel.

This is the first time such a conference has taken place in Ireland and the first time these two subjects have been addressed simultaneously in an academic forum. The conference venue was Trinity College Dublin. HETI hopes that the gathering of such eminent scholars in Dublin will prompt further research and academic debate. It is the intention of the organisers that a serious publication will be one of the outcomes of this endeavour.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin, hosted a welcome reception for the visiting scholars and overseas guests in Iveagh House on Wednesday evening, 17 November and the minister addressed the gathering. The conference was launched by Mary White TD, Minister for Integration and the conference was officially closed by Mr Colin Wrafter, Director, Human Rights Division, Department of Foreign Affairs.

The event was co-sponsored by the United Nations Department of Public Information and the Under-Secretary-General, Kiyo Akasaka, sent a message of goodwill. ITF Chair Dan TIchon of Israel was also in attendance.

A podcast and the paper abstracts will be available on HETI's website next week www.hetireland.org

The keynote address and public lecture was delivered by Robert S Wistrich, Hebrew University, Jerusalem at which over 240 people attended. The title of his paper was: A Lethal Obsession: antisemitism from antiquity to global jihad

Scholars and papers:

Werner Bergmann, Centre for Research on Antisemitism, Berlin

Antisemitism in contemporary Germany

Pierre Birnbaum, University of Paris

Jews, engagement in the nation-state and some sources of political antisemitism

Jeffrey Herf, University of Maryland

Nazi propaganda for the Arab world during World War ll and its aftereffects

Tony Kushner, Parkes Institute, University of Southampton

The resurgence of antisemitism - a reappraisal

Deborah Lipstadt, Emory University

Holocaust denial and freedom of speech

Meir Litvak, Centre for Iranian Studies, Tel Aviv University

Antisemitism in Iran and Holocaust denial

Bassam Tibi, University of Goettingen

Islamist frustrated expressions of grievance, or Islamization of antisemitism?

Robert Jan van Pelt, University of Waterloo, Canada

Holocaust scholarship in the wake of Holocaust denial

Esther Webman, Centre for Middle East and Aftican Study, Tel Aviv University

Stealing the Holocaust from the Jews? The Holocaust as a metaphor in public discourse

Mark Weitzman, Simon Wiesenthal Center, New York

"Every sane thinker must be an antisemite": antisemitism and Holocaust denial in the theology of radical Catholic traditionalists

Christian Wiese, University of Frankfurt

An indelible stigma? Christianity and antisemitism

Julian Wetzel, Centre for Research on Antisemitism, Berlin

Soft denial in different political and social areas on the web

Robert S Wistrich, Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Holocaust denial and inversion

Elhanan Yakira, Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Different forms of denial, old and new forms of hatred of the Jews

HETI received some funding from the following:

Department of Education and Skills, Ireland

Office of the Minister for Integration

Fondation pour la Memoire de la Shoah

Trinity College Dublin

University College Dublin

The Herzog Centre, Trinity College

Fáilte Ireland

Embassies: Israel, United States, France, and the Federal Republic of Germany

Further information: www.hetireland.org