JCCV Statement

The JCCV deplores trivialisation of Holocaust terminology in water dispute. Anton Block, president of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, the peak body of Victorian Jewry, said today:

“Without entering the debate between the Victorian Government and critics of its intention to reallocate water resources, the JCCV is concerned about certain of the latter using Holocaust rhetoric to malign the Government.

The JCCV’s policy on Holocaust rhetoric has three key elements:

1. We recognise that the Holocaust, the Nazi program of genocide, was a unique historical event.
2. We consider that the Holocaust is generally recognised as the benchmark of human evil
3. We deplore the inappropriate use of terminology relating to the Nazi Genocide in Australian public debate.

To compare Premier Brumby with the man who started a war that killed tens of millions from many nations and who had a deliberate policy of exterminating the Jewish people is nonsensical. But even more than that, it trivialises the suffering of so many Australians, some of whom remain alive today, still experiencing tremendous psychological and physical pain.

We understand that there was no ill intent towards Holocaust survivors on the part of those using these words. However we ask that they and others remember the power of memory and of language and that they be more sensitive in future public discourse.”

For further information, please contact:

Anton Block 0418 320 417 or Geoffrey Zygier 0413 731 545