quick thought/link

As I am sure all of you are aware of, United States President Barack Obama spoke recently in Cairo.  It was kind of a big deal.  Part of the speech was on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.  Obama rightfully called attention to the hateful discourse of Holocaust denial that one periodically sees in the Middle East, calling for it to end in order to make meaningful peace discussions a reality.

With that in mind, it equally behooves us to recall how this event can and is manipulated and twisted within the United States.  Indeed, when using a historical reference, I think it's important to remember that all instances of remembering history are (un)consciously making statements about current affairs.  The closest thing to a fair use of history is to at least try to remember it at in the truest and most holistic sense of which we are aware, regardless of a person's country or culture of origin.  Denial, lying, and fragmentation of history further misinformation and distortion, lending themselves to sectarianism, violence, and hatred.  This resonates particularly true with an event as recent and painful as the Holocaust.

For anyone wondering what I'm talking about, this particular story from today's news is sickening.  If you a resident of New York, or just have enough time on your hands,  please call/write/email Dov Hikind with a politely-worded message informing him that memorials to the Holocaust should be memorials to all of the Holocaust.