On the eve of the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jewish groups in Italy decried the “hypocrisy” allegedly shown by NGOs marking the occasion, according to Italian news outlet La Repubblica.
Jewish groups projected onto the ancient Roman Piramide Cestia landmark, "If Israel had bombed the trains to Auschwitz, you would have sided with Hitler,” and “Hypocrisy and antisemitism are your flags."
The NGOs listed included Amnesty International, which accused Israel of genocide for its war against Hamas in Gaza, Doctors Without Borders, and the Red Cross.
"Among the many improper uses of the Amnesty International logo, this is the most despicable of all. Antisemitism is a serious and widespread violation of human rights, and accusing a human rights organization of violating them is ridiculous as well as serious,” Riccardo Noury, spokesperson for Amnesty International Italy, reportedly said in response to the projection.
“On a day like this dedicated to the memory and respect of the victims and survivors of the Shoah, this action is truly despicable."
Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross have been repeatedly criticized for failing to visit the Israeli hostages abducted to Gaza by Hamas.
The parents of now-released hostage Doron Steinbrecher were told by the Red Cross in December to “think of the Palestinian side…It’s hard for the Palestinians, they’re being bombed” in reprimand for their concerns on their daughter’s health.
Doron needs a medication she takes daily, and her parents said they thought the Red Cross was finally willing to transfer the medication to her - but instead, they were sat down and reprimanded by representatives of the Red Cross.
Survivors of Hamas captivity also questioned Red Cross officials in early January on why they didn’t do more to ensure that medication and treatment reached the hostages.
Similar sentiments were shared by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, although Netanyahu’s attention focused on the International Court of Justice - which issued warrants against him and other Israeli officials.
“Founded in the shadow of the Holocaust, the ICC has disgraced itself with antisemitic attacks on Israel. Hamas are the new Nazis, and we are committed to defeating them once and for all,” Netanyahu asserted on X/Twitter on Monday.
Irish Jewry, along with Israel’s foreign minister, took a similar issue with Irish President Michael Higgins - noting the leader was delivering a speech about the genocide of Jewry despite his open condemnation of Israel’s war against Hamas.
The ongoing suffering of Holocaust survivors
On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered some 1200 people - the largest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. Since the attack, Israel has faced war on multiple fronts against terrorists allied with Hamas and the rate of global antisemitism steeply inclined.
With half of the world's Jewry, including numerous Holocaust survivors, the failure to condemn attacks against the civilians of the state has become a sore spot for many.
Holocaust survivor Ludmila Lipovsky was one of many Israeli citizens to lose her life to terrorists in 2024. A total of 86 Holocaust survivors, forced to evacuate from Israel's northern and southern borders, perished since Hamas's attacks, the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry confirmed last week.
"The biggest murderous attack against Jews since the Holocaust was perpetrated from Jihadist Gaza. Nonetheless, he [Higgins] echoed Hamas' anti-Semitic lies and propaganda at a Holocaust memorial ceremony, leading to the removal of Jews, descendants of Holocaust survivors, from the event," Sa'ar wrote on X/Twitter
Ireland's Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder noted that the president had “neglected even to acknowledge the scourge of contemporary antisemitism in Ireland, let alone do anything to address it," resulting in his speech ringing “hollow for many Irish Jews.".