Jerusalem, Jan 25: Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial launched an Arabic-language Web site on Thursday, saying it wanted to bring accurate information to the Arab world about the Nazis' killing of 6 million Jews.
"There is denial, there is revisionism, there is ignorance in many parts of the Arab world but we also know there is an interest among many people to actually be able to learn about the Holocaust," said Estee Yaari, a Yad Vashem spokeswoman.
A survey last March by Israel's Haifa University found that 28% of the country's Arab citizens do not believe the Holocaust took place.
The new Web site includes academic articles, archival documents and online video testimony from Holocaust survivors, as well as accounts about non-Jews, including Muslims from Turkey and Albania, who saved Jewish lives during World War II.
Khaled Kasab Mahameed, an Israeli Arab who opened his own Holocaust museum for Arabic-speakers in the Galilee town of Nazareth in 2005, praised Yad Vashem's move.
"This is a very great step towards exposing the most significant event which shapes the policies and relations between Arabs and Jews and to bring peace all over the world," said Mahameed, founder of The Arab Institute for Holocaust Research and Education.
Bureau Report
