When the obvious becomes a headline

What type of a world is this that when the obvious is said, or when a historic fact is cited it turns into a headline?

Well, it's our world, a world in which fundamentalism, political demagoguery and blind hate overcome clear vision and unequivocal facts, and where rationale cannot be refuted. It's a world in which denying the Holocaust has become so common, that when the UN secretary general condemns it is becomes a newsworthy item.

True, Annan made this statement in front of a man who epitomizes arrogant ignorance and falsehood, a man who seeks nuclear arms and makes announcements about the genocide of Israel. Undoubtedly, this matter contributed to the newsworthiness of Annan's statement, but come on…

Holocaust well documented

Thousands of books have documented the Holocaust, many of which are personal memoirs, others learned studies. Films on the Holocaust are produced and shown; some have turned into box office hits.

Monuments, centers and museums depicting the Holocaust have been founded worldwide. National Holocaust days, with the participation of millions of people, are marked worldwide and covered extensively by the media.

World leadership recently convened at Auschwitz, at Yad Vashem and the UN to commemorate Holocaust victims.

Despite this, it is becoming increasingly common to turn the Holocaust into a subject for debate. There's something very wrong with this. It doesn't make sense.

This anomaly stems in part from politicizing the Holocaust in light of the Middle East conflict. It has no major role in this debate, but it has taken root there, particularly by Israel's opponents, and sometimes even by its proponents. Israel's most fervent opponents can be found among Holocaust deniers.

They believe Israel was established solely as a result of the Holocaust (while ignoring the history of the Zionist movement), and that by denying the Holocaust the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish State will also cease to exist.

Teaching history of Holocaust not enough

The growing trend of Holocaust deniers indicates that despite all our activities aimed at perpetuating the Holocaust, and teaching its history, this is not enough. We have to devise a way of educating the masses that have already been poisoned.

More importantly, we should expand our efforts to find ways of reaching out to the younger generations worldwide, before they surrender to the false arguments of Ahmadinejad and his ilk.

And yes, when Kofi Annan and others confirm that the Holocaust did indeed take place, we have to swallow the bitter pill, and hope that their statements turn into headlines. Because, if we don't we'll find ourselves marching toward another dark era, where truth is distorted and evil rules all.

Dr. Robert Rozett is a Holocaust researcher and director of the Yad Vashem library