The liberal defence of Holocaust denial: A critical examination

This paper takes issue with the prevalent American stand on Holocaust denial.It explains why Holocaust denial is, in fact, hate speech, why liberal views on this speech are erroneous, and why there is a need to bar Holocaust denial by law.It is argued that while education is a key in fighting ignorance, education alone may not suffice in fighting against historical denial and distortion aimed at promoting hatred and violence against targeted minorities.After distinguishing Holocaust denial from Holocaust distortion, the arguments put forward by Noam Chomsky, a free speech absolutist, and others are examined.The last section explains why Holocaust denial should be barred.Lack of education, ignorance, the changing modes of communication, the fact that many people receive information via tailored channels, the abundance of lies and fake news, the growing presence of Holocaust denial on the internet, the shrinking number of Holocaust survivors, the increasing number of racist incidents and particularly of anti-Semitic incidents -all these factors should be reckoned with.