Update 1/27/09: Mr. d'Escoto Brockmann did not attend the Holocaust remembrance ceremony.

New York, NY, January 23, 2009 … Pointing to his public embrace of the Iranian president and his statements comparing Israel to the Nazi regime, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today said the President of the United Nations General Assembly was "unfit to participate" in ceremonies commemorating the tragedy of the Holocaust.

ADL called on Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann to officially withdraw from the UN's January 27 observance of the "International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust," where he is slated to make statements alongside survivors, witnesses, historians, ambassadors and other dignitaries, and members of the Jewish community.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor, issued the following statement:

The U.N.'s annual commemoration of the Holocaust is a solemn and sacred event devoted to the memory of the millions of victims slaughtered at the hands of the Nazis, to the survivors of those atrocities, and to the families of those who were lost.   It recognizes the uniqueness of the Holocaust and the U.N.'s special responsibility to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten.

Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann's presence would be an insult to the memory of the millions of victims slaughtered at the hands of the Nazis and a slap in the face to the survivors of those atrocities, to the families of those lost, and to the Jewish people. Since taking office as president of the General Assembly four months ago, Mr. d'Escoto Brockmann has embraced the world's leading Holocaust denier and anti-Semite, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, under the guise of criticizing Israel.  He has used a version of the classic anti-Semitic charge of deicide, and has insinuated similarities between the regime of the Nazi extermination apparatus, and Israel. 

Mr. d'Escoto Brockmann's behavior is a perversion of the ideals of the U.N. Charter, which the General Assembly president is mandated to uphold.  In the short time he has been in office, his incendiary anti-Semitic remarks have brought the U.N. to a humiliating new low.  We are saddened that his presence will detract from our observance of this important global recognition of the tragedy and meaning of the Holocaust.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.