Excellency,

I would like to bring to your attention the deeply disturbing upcoming Second International Holocaust Cartoon Contest on the theme of Holocaust denial that will be held in Iran in the month of April 2015. According to the organizers, the purpose of the contest is to offer a response to the West’s reaction to the Charlie Hebdo terror attack in Paris.

This contest legitimates Holocaust denial. It encourages Holocaust deniers to present their profoundly offensive drawings as “art”, thereby making a mockery of the millions of Jewish victims of one of history’s darkest moments.

According to foreign media sources, the winner of this contest will not only be rewarded financially, but will also have its “oeuvre” presented at the “Palestine Museum of Contemporary Art” in Tehran.

With the atrocities of the Holocaust still fresh in our collective memory, this contest goes against the very essence of our determination to memorialize the Holocaust, and learn its lessons.

In his Statement to the General Assembly on Antisemitism, French Philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy said, “When you go after the Jews, insisted an early opponent of the Nazis, it is like a first line crumbling under an invisible volley that eventually will hit the rest of us as it draws closer.”

Excellency, in this regard I am reminded of your remarks on January 22 at the General Assembly meeting on the rise of Antisemitism. “It is not only our solemn duty to remember the tragedies which took place but it is our responsibility to learn from the unspeakable atrocities of the Holocaust. Furthermore, it is our obligation to prevent such acts of intolerance and hate from ever happening again. We must condemn without reservation all manifestation of intolerance, including Antisemitism.”

As so eloquently stated by you, we have an obligation to prevent such acts of intolerance and hate from ever happening again. We must condemn this without reservation. This form of Holocaust denial is an abomination to everything the United Nations stands for. Keeping silent is not an option.  I urge you to publicly condemn this contest and the Iranian authorities that sponsor it.

                                                                         Sincerely yours,

                                                                         Ron Prosor

                                                                         Ambassador

                                                                         Permanent Representative

H.E. Mr. Sam Kutesa

President of the 69th Session of the

General Assembly

United Nations

New York