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Catherine Perez-Shakdam

IHRC’s Holocaust Boycott: A Threat to Democracy

Courtesy of Catherine Perez-Shakdam - Executive Director We Believe In Israel
Courtesy of Catherine Perez-Shakdam - Executive Director We Believe In Israel

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is not simply a commemorative occasion; it is an essential confrontation with history, a stark and unflinching reminder of the human capacity for evil and the urgent necessity of vigilance. This year’s event, marking 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, should unite us in solemnity. Instead, the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has chosen to desecrate this observance with its call for a boycott.

The IHRC claims Gaza’s omission as a “genocide” invalidates HMD’s commemorations. Such a statement is not only historically illiterate but also grotesquely manipulative. The Holocaust was an unparalleled atrocity, a meticulously orchestrated campaign of extermination that consumed six million Jews and millions of others in the maw of industrialized genocide. To equate this with contemporary conflicts is a craven attempt to dilute the moral clarity of Holocaust remembrance.

Karen Pollock of the Holocaust Educational Trust has rightly called this boycott “shocking and disgraceful,” a brazen effort to subvert the memory of Holocaust victims with tawdry political manoeuvring. To yield to such demands is to trivialize the Holocaust, to render its lessons mute, and to risk forgetting the singular horror it represents.

The IHRC’s posturing as a moral arbiter is laughable, given its own sordid record. This organization operates as little more than an outpost for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) within Britain. A 2023 independent review of the Prevent counter-terrorism strategy laid bare its extremist affiliations, describing it as ideologically aligned with the Iranian regime, a state synonymous with institutionalized antisemitism and terrorism.

Massoud Shadjareh, the IHRC’s chair, has openly praised Qassim Soleimani, the IRGC commander whose legacy is one of death and destabilization. Shadjareh’s eulogy, wishing for “many, many more Qassim Soleimanis,” is as revealing as it is reprehensible. Meanwhile, the IHRC’s annual Al Quds Day rallies—complete with Hezbollah flags fluttering defiantly in London’s streets—lay bare its alignment with entities dedicated to erasing Israel from the map.

Financially, the IHRC’s lifeblood is provided by its charitable arm, the IHRC Trust. This is not merely questionable; it is a scandal. That charitable status can be used to funnel resources into an organization that promotes such divisive and extremist agendas demands urgent action. The Charity Commission’s ongoing investigation must be thorough, and the UK government must initiate a wider inquiry into the IHRC’s operations, recognizing it for what it truly is: a proxy of the IRGC and a clear threat to British values.

The IHRC’s actions are not a matter of mere disagreement; they represent a direct assault on the principles of liberal democracy. Its narrative, draped in the guise of justice, is nothing more than a Trojan horse for the corrosive ideology of the Iranian regime. This is not simply an affront to Jewish communities; it is an affront to all who value pluralism, human rights, and the inviolability of historical truth.

State officials must cease their complacency. By failing to confront the IHRC’s activities, they enable the proliferation of extremist narratives that threaten to fracture Britain’s social fabric. A robust, transparent, and public inquiry into the IHRC is not just necessary; it is overdue.

Holocaust Memorial Day must remain an unassailable bastion against the tides of historical revisionism and hatred. It is a day that calls us to confront the consequences of prejudice and to reaffirm our commitment to a world where such horrors are never repeated. The IHRC’s call for a boycott must be met not with appeasement but with renewed determination to ensure HMD’s enduring relevance.

Local councils, universities, and civic leaders must rebuff this boycott with resolute participation in Holocaust Memorial Day events. The message must be clear: the lessons of the Holocaust are non-negotiable, and its memory is sacrosanct.

The IHRC’s boycott is not merely an insult to history; it is a calculated move to sow division and advance an agenda antithetical to the values of any free society. Britain must resist this with every fibre of its being. By safeguarding Holocaust remembrance, we honor the past, protect the present, and commit to a future where such atrocities are never allowed to happen again. Let us defend the sanctity of Holocaust Memorial Day and reaffirm, unequivocally, that “Never Again” is a promise we intend to keep.

About the Author
Catherine Perez-Shakdam - Director Forward Strategy and Executive Director Forum of Foreign Relations (FFR) Catherine is a former Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and consultant for the UNSC on Yemen, as well an expert on Iran, Terror and Islamic radicalisation. A prominent political analyst and commentator, she has spoken at length on the Islamic Republic of Iran, calling on the UK to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. Raised in a secular Jewish family in France, Catherine found herself at the very heart of the Islamic world following her marriage to a Muslim from Yemen. Her experience in the Middle East and subsequent work as a political analyst gave her a very particular, if not a rare viewpoint - especially in how one can lose one' sense of identity when confronted with systemic antisemitism. Determined to share her experience and perspective on those issues which unfortunately plague us -- Islamic radicalism, Terror and Antisemitism Catherine also will speak of a world, which often sits out of our reach for a lack of access.
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