Army chief: Settlers cheapened Holocaust

Halutz blasts settlers for protesting Gaza, northern West Bank pullout using Holocaust terminology

Neta Sela|Published: 04.24.06 , 16:47

The cheapening of the Holocaust is happening right at our own backyard, as evidenced by settlers resorting to Holocaust terminology to protest the Gaza and northern West Bank disengagement, Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said Monday.

Army officers at Yad Vashem (Photo: Haim Tsach)

"One of the things that happened to us is that we're cheapening the Holocaust by everyday use (of Holocaust terminology.) Look at the disengagement and the connection to the Holocaust. 'Never forget, never forgive' is a sentence from the Holocaust that was posted in every Sukkah in Samaria on colorful placards showing troops evacuating residents," Halutz said in remarks to senior officers at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. "This is apropos the claim that the cheapening of the Holocaust is right at our doorstep and not anywhere else."

The army chief concluded the day with his own personal lessons regarding the Holocaust.

"The lesson that we must ensure this never happens again to the Jewish people is an operative lesson," he said. "There's someone talking like Hitler. He's talking now. You heard him a week ago, two weeks ago, and a month ago. This leads to operative significance for the State of Israel, and I suggest that we don't erase this and put this matter to the side as an insignificant issue. This is a very important thing, and I don't know how to ensure the Holocaust doesn't repeat, unless we work on this issue so that it doesn't repeat."

Following the address, the army chief was asked whether he was referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Halutz responded: "Everyone can understand what he wishes to understand."

Earlier Monday, President Moshe Katsav also addressed the Iranian threat and noted that Ahmadinejad's remarks are "permeating the Muslim conscience."

"In the face of Iran's determination and the deception of the international community, the free world is displaying hesitance, which is being interpreted as weakness and exploited," Katsav said.