People usually ask “how” instead of “why” about Holocaust deniers. We ask, how can they deny the Holocaust? The important question is why do they deny the Holocaust.
In my view, they deny the Holocaust to deny the narrative that Jews were innocent (rather than comprising a group that has interests that clash with the interests of other groups) and to signal to each other that they want to commit another genocide against Jews and other enemies.
Hating Jews is not socially acceptable in the West today so those who hate Jews usually speak in code.
Holocaust denial is the act of and theory behind denying the genocide of Jews in the Holocaust during World War II. The key claims of Holocaust denial are that the German Nazi government had no Final Solution policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas chambers to mass murder Jews, and the actual number of Jews killed was significantly (typically an order of magnitude) lower than the historically accepted figure of 5 to 6 million.
Holocaust deniers generally do not accept the term denial as an appropriate description of their activities, and use the term revisionism instead. Scholars use the term “denial” to differentiate Holocaust deniers from historical revisionists, who use established historical methodologies. The methodologies of Holocaust deniers are criticized as based on a predetermined conclusion that ignores extensive historical evidence to the contrary.
Most Holocaust denial claims imply, or openly state, that the Holocaust is a hoax arising out of a deliberate Jewish conspiracy to advance the interest of Jews at the expense of other peoples.[9] For this reason, Holocaust denial is generally considered to be an antisemitic conspiracy theory, and it frequently encounters criticism.
Niche construction shows how all forms of life try to change their niche to their own group’s benefit. We might even use our suffering for political leverage. Jews and blacks, for example, have used the horror of the Holocaust and of slavery to stigmatize any negative assessment of their group. Stephen Steinlight wrote in 2001:
For perhaps another generation, an optimistic forecast, the Jewish community is thus in a position where it will be able to divide and conquer and enter into selective coalitions that support our agendas.
That America has largely tolerated this dual loyalty — we get a free pass, I suspect, largely over Christian guilt about the Holocaust — makes it no less a reality.
“How can they hate us?” is not the best question for any minority group to ask right now. A better one is, “Why do they hate us?” And it’s not because we’re all so wonderful.
Different groups have different interests and these conflicts fuel conflict. We don’t hate each other because of misunderstanding. We hate because we understand.
No people is entirely innocent, and the actions of a tiny number of your own group may fuel a whirlwind of opposition.
Among Orthodox Jews, Agudah Yisrael signed on to expanding the definition of hate crimes. The OU supports immigration amnesty. In fact, almost all large American Jewish organizations support immigration amnesty, an idea that many hate.
These Jewish organizations all demanded amnesty for undocumented immigrants in the United States, invoking the language of the Torah about our obligation to do kindness to the stranger in our midst.
National Organizations
American Forum of Russian Jewry (AFRJ)
American Jewish Committee
Anti‐Defamation League
Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice
B’nai B’rith International
Bukharian Jewish Congress of the USA and Canada
HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society)
Jewish Council on Public Affairs
Jewish Federations of North America
Keshet
National Council of Jewish Women
Orthodox Union
Rabbinical Assembly
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Tikkun Olam Commission of the Jewish Reconstructionist Movement
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
Union for Reform Judaism
Uri L’Tzedek
Women of Reform JudaismLocal Organizations
AJC Cincinnati
AJC Cleveland
AJC Houston
AJC Los Angeles
AJC New York
AJC Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey
Anti‐Defamation League of Eastern PA and Southern NJ
Congregation Meor Hachaim of Luna Park (New York, NY)
FEGS Health & Human Services (New York, NY)
Greater Philadelphia Jewish Coalition on Immigration
HIAS Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (Boston, MA)
Jewish Community Action (St. Paul, MN)
Jewish Community Center at Starrett City (New York, NY)
Jewish Community Relations Council of Philadelphia
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (Chicago, IL)
Jewish Family & Career Services (Atlanta, GA)
Jewish Family & Children’s Service (Pittsburgh, PA)
Jewish Family & Children’s Services of the East Bay (Berkeley, CA)
Jewish Family Service of Buffalo & Erie County New York
Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, Inc.
Jewish Family Services (Ann Arbor, MI)
Jewish Labor Committee Western Region (Los Angeles, CA)
Jewish Social Policy Action Network (Philadelphia, PA)
Jewish Vocational Service of MetroWest (East Orange, NJ)
Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (New York, NY)
Massachusetts Board of Rabbis (Newton, MA)
National Council of Jewish Women ‐ Greater Philadelphia
National Council of Jewish Women Texas State Policy Advocates
UJA‐Federation of New York
Women of Vision (Philadelphia, PA)
