Lantos Archives
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of this project is to expose anti-Semitism in the Arab and Muslim world, which is the main catalyst for anti-Semitic incidents throughout Europe in recent years. MEMRI's objective is to bring this issue to media, to present evidence so that legal countermeasures can be taken, and to inform policy makers in order to provide the informational infrastructure for policies, strategies and legislative initiatives to counter anti-Semitism. It also seeks to enhance academic research of anti-Semitism.
MEMRI is the only organization in the world that comprehensively monitors anti-Semitism in the media, education systems and schoolbooks, and Friday sermons in mosques in the Middle East, and produces hundreds of reports on the material it has found. Thus, The Tom Lantos Archives on Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial maintains the largest archives in the world of translated Arabic, Farsi, Turkish and Urdu/Pashto material on anti-Semitism from the past decade.
IDENTIFYING THE FOUR MAIN ELEMENTS OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE MUSLIM WORLD
1. Early Islamic Roots:
Anti-Semitism rooted in the Koran, Muslim tradition, and classical Muslim literature; dates back to the Prophet Muhammad’s confrontation with the Jewish tribes of the Arabian Peninsula.
2. Early Christian and Western Influence:
Anti-Semitism from Europe and Christian tradition, including blood libels, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Jewish stereotypes, and distortions of the Talmud.
3. Holocaust Denial and Calls for a New Holocaust:
Denial of the Holocaust while at the same time approving of it; equation Jews/Zionist with Nazism, borrowing from Nazi propaganda, and calling for a new Holocaust.
4. Modern Demonization of the Jews:
The continuing demonization of Jews, Israel, and Zionism as a single entity.
THE NEED FOR THIS PROJECT
The primary goal of the Tom Lantos Archives on Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial is to provide governments, legislatures, media and academia, and the public at large with primary sources on anti-Semitism in the Arab and Muslim world. No other organization is doing this vital work. All major organizations that focus on anti-Semitism will depend upon the research from this project.
MAIN TASKS OF THIS PROJECT
- Monitoring websites, print media, and TV Channels, from Arab countries, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
- Gathering video and audio from throughout the world and producing subtitles in English.
- Establishing a web-based archive that is easily accessible and available free of charge.
- Regularly distributing material to MEMRI’s, the Lantos Foundation’s, and other distribution lists.
- Organizing public events, such as press conferences and conventions, to expose this anti-Semitism using the projects research.