[Salon] Why Simon Schama is wrong to claim blood libel - Arab Digest.org Guest Post

Why Simon Schama is wrong to claim blood libel Summary: a distinguished historian says there is no genocide in Gaza and that to say there is is a blood libel; in doing so he ignores the words and actions of Holocaust survivors who speak against the genocide Israel is committing. At a recent Holocaust Education Trust (HET) gathering the historian and commentator Sir Simon Schama claimed that those who call what the IDF is doing in Gaza a genocide are committing a blood libel against Jews: We, the victims of the greatest genocide the world has ever seen, are being called perpetrators of genocide.This is a profound lie….We will not have our job done until anybody uttering the notion that Israel is committing genocide is made to be ashamed for doing so. He added that “we are in the business of facts in this room.” Let then the facts speak. Sir Simon as an historian of note must surely be aware of the conclusion reached by members of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) who voted on a resolution in September of last year that Israel is committing genocide. He may point out that less than a third of the members voted, albeit of those who did 86% were in support. He may want to ignore that the IAGS is considered the world leader in genocide scholarship. What then of a resolution signed by 32 Holocaust survivors, 77 children of survivors and 132 grandchildren, great grandchildren and other relatives denouncing Israel’s actions? As Jewish survivors and descendants of survivors of the Nazi genocide we unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and the ongoing occupation and colonization of historic Palestine. We further condemn the United States for providing Israel with the funding to carry out the attack, and Western states more generally for using their diplomatic muscle to protect Israel from condemnation. Genocide begins with the silence of the world. Although denying the Nazi genocide is criminal in over a dozen countries Sir Simon Schama - who denies Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians - is a BBC presenter whose documentary “The Road to Auschwitz / The Holocaust, 80 Years On” won the 2026 BAFTA Television Award for Best Specialist Factual programme. In his address Sir Simon spoke collectively of “we, the greatest victims of genocide.” Yet his claim of a blood libel ignores the words and actions of actual survivors of the Holocaust one of whom is the architect Stephen Kapos. Unlike Sir Simon who was born in London in 1945 to British born Jews Stephen Kapos was separated from his parents in Budapest by the Nazis. He, his mother and his father who was incarcerated in Belsen and Theresienstadt survived but 15 members of his family did not. Kapos has been active in support of ending the Gaza war, marching frequently with other protesters in London. Wearing a sign that reads “This holocaust survivor says stop the genocide in Gaza” he told Mehdi Hasan he protests in support of Palestine and to challenge the lie that the marches are anti-Semitic ‘hate marches’ and ‘no go areas for Jews.’ Kapos speaking as a holocaust survivor is very clear about how the savagery perpetuated on Europe’s Jews by the Nazis has been weaponised to justify the genocide ongoing in Gaza and the settler terrorism and ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem and the Occupied West Bank: The Holocaust has been used by Israel and not only Israel (but by) Zionist forces the world over as a justification for impunity that because of that great suffering they somehow feel justified to inflict similar suffering to others. Though Sir Simon can brush aside the ICC arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant and dismiss the UN enquiry that has determined Israel is committing genocide by claiming as Netanyahu and his government have repeatedly done that these institutions are biased against Israel, he surely cannot so summarily dismiss the words and actions of Holocaust survivors. Doing so, it could be argued, is the true blood libel: Sir Simon diminishes survivors and justifies genocide using the Holocaust to do so. Members can leave comments about this newsletter on the Arab Digest website.