In a recent speech by Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, he made several false claims regarding the Holocaust and the Jewish people. Assad claimed that there was no evidence to support the notion that six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, despite the overwhelming historical and academic evidence that exists.
Furthermore, Assad went on to falsely claim that the United States was responsible for the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany between World War I and World War II. This claim is blatantly false and has been discredited by numerous historians who point to economic and political factors within Germany at the time.
Assad also made the startling claim that there was “no method of torture or killing specific to the Jews” during the Holocaust. This falsehood ignores the reality of the death camps and gas chambers used specifically to systematically murder millions of Jewish people.
Moreover, Assad dismissed the subject of the Holocaust as a mere “politically charged issue,” arguing that it was used to prepare for the transfer of Jews to Palestine. Again, this claim is baseless and ignores the horrific reality of the Holocaust.
Assad’s false claims extended beyond the Holocaust and into Israeli history. He falsely claimed that the Jews who returned to Israel after the establishment of their nation in 1948 had no connection to the ancient people of Israel. This dismisses the fact that many Jews have ancestral roots in what is now modern-day Israel and undermines the cultural and historical ties the Jewish people have to the region.
Overall, Assad’s rhetoric is dangerous and highly problematic, as it seeks to deny historical truths surrounding the Holocaust and the Jewish people. It also serves to perpetuate harmful and inaccurate narratives about Israel and its people.