Khaled Kasab Mahameed

Khaled Kasab Mahameed is an Arab Israeli Muslim lawyer living in Nazareth, Israel.

Career

In March 2005 he established The Arab Institute for the Holocaust Research and Education, a Holocaust Memorial located in Nazareth. The small museum documents the horrors of the Holocaust, showcasing photographs acquired from Yad Vashem, the world-renowned Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. The Arab Institute for the Holocaust Research and Education along with its website ^[1] was established by Mahameed in order to educate Arabs about the Holocaust.^[2] According to Mahameed the museum is the first of its kind.^[2] Every week Mahameed goes to the West Bank to educate Palestinians about the Jewish Holocaust.^[3] Mahmeed opened a Holocaust memorial exhibit in Ni'lin in January 2009 and on April 21, Holocaust Memorial Day, there was an official inauguration ceremony.^[4][5] Ni'lin has been a place of frequent protests of the Israeli West Bank barrier.^[6]

He regards educating Arabs on the Holocaust as a contribution to promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace.

“

I take Holocaust pictures to Palestinians so they stop (the) violence. The way to peace is through the Holocaust.[4]

”

Mahameed has been criticized from the Arab side for focusing on Israeli problems rather than the problems of the Palestinian people^[7] as well as for instance by the USA based Anti Defamation League (ADL), which accuses him of making an improper connection between the situation of the Palestinians and the Holocaust. The ADL has argued that Mahameed's museum generates the impression that Palestinians are suffering as a result of the Holocaust by having to accept an illegal Israeli state, which the ADL regards as anti-Israeli. ^[2][8][9] Since first saying this, ADL's senior associate national director Kenneth Jacobson has described the initiative as "very good", after visiting Khaled Kasab Mahameed and his museum.^[8]

In 2006, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad invited Mahameed to his government's "International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust". Mahameed was to be the lone speaker arguing that the Holocaust did in fact occur^{[citation needed]}, with the exception of the ultra-Orthodox anti-Israel rabbi Aharon Cohen. However, Ahmadinejad rescinded the invitation after learning that Mahameed holds an Israeli passport.^[10]

According to Ha'aretz, Mahameed intended to tell the conference that:

“

the Holocaust did happen and that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's position of Holocaust denial is wrong. "Everything that happened must be internalized and the facts must not be denied . . . It is the obligation of all Arabs and all Muslims to understand the significance of the Holocaust. If their goal is to understand their adversary, they must understand the Holocaust." ... According to Mahameed, ... "The naqba [disaster] the Palestinians experienced in 1948 is small compared to the Holocaust, but the political implications of the Holocaust have made its terrors a burden on the Palestinian people alone.[11]

”

See also

• Arab-Israeli conflict

References

1. ^ Alkaritha.ORG موقع الكارثة اليهودية - المقالات Articles
2. ^ ^{a b c} Holocaust-Museum in Nazareth: "Hören Sie mit dem Leugnen auf" - Politik - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten
3. ^ McGirk, Tim (2008-07-08). "Teaching Auschwitz to the Palestinians". TIME. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1821145,00.html. Retrieved 2009-05-02. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Estrin, Daniel (2009-04-21). "West Bank exhibit's aim: To teach Palestinians about Holocaust". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-04-21-holocaust_N.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-02. 
5. ^ http://heartoftheother.com/come-to-the-nilin-holocaust-museum-inauguration
6. ^ Mandel, Roi (2009-01-27). "Naalin holds Holocaust exhibit". ynetnews.com. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3662822,00.html. Retrieved 2009-05-02. 
7. ^ Radin, Charles A. (2005-05-06). "Muslim opens Holocaust museum in Israel". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/05/06/muslim_opens_holocaust_museum_in_israel. Retrieved 2009-05-02. ,
8. ^ ^{a b} Stannard, Matthew B. (2005-08-03). "A TIME OF CHANGE: ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS AND THE DISENGAGEMENT / Palestinian teacher of Holocaust history". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/08/03/MNGFOE24TN1.DTL. 
9. ^ Estee Yaari, Yad Vashem spokeswoman, released the following statement: "At the beginning of this venture, Yad Vashem had hoped that Mahameed’s initiative was a sincere desire to learn about and teach about the Holocaust, and indeed, Mahameed was here at Yad Vashem to meet with staff, and receive material. However, as we read more of his writings, it appears that he is conflating the Holocaust with other events and contributing to the misappropriation of the Holocaust as a tool against Israel. Yad Vashem believes that the Holocaust should not be politicized". Cf. Lorenzo Kamel, "Spiegare la Shoah agli Arabi. Khaled ci prova". Europa, 18 novembre 2009. http://www.europaquotidiano.it/gw/producer/dettaglio.aspx?id_doc=114662.
10. ^ Lefkovits, Etgar (2006-12-10). "Iran bars Israeli Arab from Shoah forum". Jerusalem Post. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881865648&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull. Retrieved 2006-12-12. 
11. ^ Stern, Yoav (2006-11-17). "Founder of Holocaust museum in Nazareth invited to Tehran". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/789142.html. Retrieved 2006-12-12. 

Heumann, Pierre "Hören Sie mit dem Leugnen auf" Der Spiegel Online December 8, 2006 (German) [1]

Stannard, Matthew B. "Palestinian teacher of Holocaust history" San Francisco Chronicle August 3, 2005 [2]

External links

• The Arab Institute for the Holocaust Research and Education Website

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Name	Mahameed, Khaled Kasab
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