No Holocaust Day

The week's news at a glance.

London

Advisors to Prime Minister Tony Blair have recommended abolishing Holocaust Day because it is offensive to Muslims. Since 2001, Britain has observed an annual day commemorating the slaughter of 6 million Jews by the Nazis during World War II. But members of a Blair-appointed task force on Islamic extremism argued this week that the day should be replaced with a generic Genocide Day that honors victims of all massacres. “Muslims feel hurt and excluded that their lives are not equally valuable to those lives lost in the Holocaust time,” Sir Iqbal Sacranie, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, told the London Daily Telegraph. A Home Office spokesman said the government would consider the proposal, but stressed that Britain regards the Holocaust as a “defining tragedy in European history.”

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up