Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC)
CHHE Endorses United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Statement on Potential Syrian Crematorium
From Sarah Weiss, Executive Director, The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education:
Every day at The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education, students and community members learn about the starvation, deprivation, atrocities, and genocide committed over seven decades ago while similar atrocities occur on our watch. Since the genocide in Syria began in 2011, more than 400,000 individuals have lost their lives and over 11 million have been displaced from their homes. The phrase “Never Again” loses its meaning when genocide continues and the international community stands by.
During the Holocaust, many Americans said they didn’t know what was happening because it wasn’t being reported. We cannot deny the knowledge of these atrocities, as they are being documented in real time. Holocaust survivors hoped that by sharing their stories, we would not let similar things happen again, so we must continue raise awareness and encourage action to end this ongoing genocide.
Last week, we heard reports the Syrian regime may be using one of the horrific tools of the Holocaust, the crematorium. We appreciate the work of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in raising awareness of the ongoing genocide and their statement on the most recent developments:
Statement from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Syrian Regime’s Potential Use of Crematoria Part of Ongoing Campaign of Atrocities
May 16, 2017 — WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum welcomes the State Department’s release of previously classified imagery pointing to the suspected construction and use of a crematorium at one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most notorious and deadly torture facilities, Sednaya prison.
The Administration’s release of this imagery adds to the extensive information about the nature of the crimes Assad’s security forces have been committing against regime opponents and civilians in these secret facilities since the start of the conflict in 2011. Some of the earliest evidence of the Assad regime’s crimes have been on display at the Museum since 2015, including photographs of torture and death in these facilities which were smuggled out of the country by a former regime photographer code-named Caesar. These photographs constitute the most comprehensive evidence of the regime’s widespread and systematic targeting of Syrian civilians. More >
