The memorial site invited Boehm for his ethical reflections on universal human rights and Nazi crimes. The Israeli embassy said that Boehm ‘dilutes the memory of the Holocaust with his discourse on universal values’
Under pressure from the Israeli government, a speech by Israeli-German philosopher Omri Boehm at an event marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany was cancelled.
In a statement on X, Israel’s embassy to Germany described the decision to invite Boehm to the event as “a blatant insult” to the remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust. As reasons, they cited his comparison of the Holocaust to the Palestinian Nakba and his description of Yad Vashem as “an instrument of political manipulation.”
Boehm confirmed to Haaretz that his participation in the ceremony was canceled. He said that he and the memorial site tried to prevent a scandal and intend to cooperate in the future.
The Israeli embassy said that “under the guise of science, Boehm is trying to dilute the memory of the Holocaust with his discourse on universal values, thereby depriving it of its historical and moral significance.”
“History is not an abstract debate and the Holocaust not an intellectual playground,” the embassy added.
The Buchenwald memorial site said in a statement that Boehm – the grandson of a Holocaust survivor – was invited to the event because of his ability to hold “value and ethical reflections on the connection between history and memory, particularly regarding the value of universal human rights and their significance in relation to the crimes of the Nazis.”
Director of the Buchenwald memorial site, Jens Christian Wagner, told the media that Boehm’s invitation ” led to a conflict with representatives of the Israeli government, which also involved the survivors of the camps. In order to protect the survivors and out of a desire to ensure a commemorative event for the concentration camp – where the emphasis is not on an initiated and external debate but on the survivors – we decided, after discussion with Boehm, to postpone his speech to a later date.”
The German government responded on Friday that former Nazi concentration camps are free to choose who they invite to their ceremonies.