Holland has made it illegal to openly deny the Holocaust. It is deemed anti-semitic. The death of millions of jews during WO II is a moral atrocity that still weighs on many people’s minds, even as the last survivors are passing away. For some it seems a logical think to outlaw denial of this tragedy, but to me it isn’t.
There are some clear rules in the public sphere in the western world today : 1. Don’t deny the Holocaust 2. Don’t attack Israel. In both cases you are deemed an anti-semite. Rule nr. 3 is ‘Don’t be an anti-semite’. In my personal life I have no reason to be an anti-semite, I am not anti much in life, my main anti feelings are against economism and priests of any religion.
But the rules above are truely enforced. If you write something that is vaguely anti-semitic you get beat down immediately. This is bad. There have been many killings in history, the Holocaust is one of them. Nobody is perfect, people who happen to be jew are no exception. You have to be able to point out mistakes Israel makes, after all this is what its members of the opposition of Israeli parliament do as a full time job.
To make a law so that a person gets punished for claiming the holocaust did not happen is extreme. It is the start of more prohibitions, rules on what books you can own, etc. It is also very primitive. Does anyone think that true anti-semitics don’t have private telegram or other communication means to be angry at jews?
Another an way more important aspect of it is that it doesn’t help at all. If I where an anti-semite I would not deny the Holocaust. It is one of the biggest succes stories of jew haters in jew hating history. Other instances of the killing of jews have occurred in history, but this is true for nearly every priest run religion. Christians where persecuted harshly in roman times, Protestants where prosecuted, entire cities exterminated in Holland by the Spanish inquisition. Religions have driven people crazy for as long as they existed.
So talking about the Holocaust can be an act of anti-semitism. Therefore not talking about it can be an act of pro-semitism. It thus makes no sense and it is no use to ban denial of it. It is however a dangerous prescedent when it comes to freedom of speech.
This law was pushed by Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius who has been pushed to become the prime minister if her party the VVD has a majority in parliament at the next elections. We all get told her life story, because these days you are supposed to elect a politician because you like him or her [or whatever], not based on [pronoun] ideas. It seems she is for censorship, and that is very bad.