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Omri Boehm, an Israeli-German philosopher, has been disinvited from speaking at a Holocaust Remembrance Day event at the Buchenwald concentration camp following the intervention of the Israeli Embassy in Germany.
Boehm has drawn controversy in recent years for comparing the Holocaust to the Nakba and accusing Yad Vashem of whitewashing what he described as racist Israeli politicians. He has claimed that his remarks were misquoted, though they have been widely published in multiple media outlets.
Boehm was invited to speak by Professor Dr. Jens-Christian Wagner, director of the Buchenwald Memorial Foundation. However, the invitation sparked outrage from Israel’s embassy in Berlin.
Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor condemned the decision, calling it not only outrageous but a blatant insult to the memory of the victims. "The decision to invite Omri Boehm, a man who described Yad Vashem as an instrument for political manipulation, belittled the Holocaust and even compared it to the Nakba, is not only outrageous, but constitutes a blatant insult to the memory of the victims. The instrumentalization of Holocaust memory is already in full swing, and Boehm is just one of the most outspoken speakers.
He argued that Boehm seeks to dilute Holocaust remembrance by framing it in the context of universal values, stripping it of its historical and moral significance. Prosor added that history is not an abstract debate and the Holocaust is not an intellectual playground. He emphasized that today, unlike in the past, the State of Israel exists to speak for those who once had no voice, and that any attempt to distort or desecrate the memory of the murdered will not be ignored.
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Boehm, who was born in Haifa and is known for his controversial views, has equated the Holocaust with the Nakba and labeled Israel an apartheid state. In past interviews, he argued that if Israelis do not take responsibility for what he calls the "crime of ethnic cleansing," they will repeat it.
He has also claimed that Yad Vashem has been used to whitewash far-right Israeli politicians and Israel’s so-called racist policies, citing former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as an example. He described Bennett, who was a frequent guest at Yad Vashem while serving as Israel’s education minister, as far more violent and racist than European leaders like Viktor Orbán and Matteo Salvini.
Boehm has further suggested that Holocaust remembrance in Israel has become a central force that undermines democracy, normalizes racism, and prevents political compromise.
"Does this mean that Israel must forget in order to have a future? That is exactly what it means. Since the commemoration of the Holocaust has become a central force in Israel that undermines the functioning and status of citizenship, normalizes racism and prevents a policy of compromise, the future of the country depends on changing the attitude towards history," he said.
He has criticized Israeli high school visits to concentration camps and IDF fighter jets flying over Auschwitz, comparing them to pilgrimages to a golden calf. He has argued that unless Israel undergoes a fundamental shift in how it views its history, its future is in jeopardy.
First published: 21:40, 04.03.25