New York, N.Y., March 26, 2002 ... The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed outrage at Portuguese Nobel Laureate Jose Saramago's comparison of the Holocaust and the current situation in Ramallah, calling his comments "incendiary and the height of ignorance." While visiting Ramallah with a delegation of writers, Mr. Saramago stated that the Israeli blockade of Ramallah is "in the spirit of Auschwitz," and "this place is being turned into a concentration camp."

"Jose Saramago's comments are incendiary and reflect ignorance at its height," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "Such comparisons between the Nazis' deliberate policy to murder the Jews of Europe are outrageous and diminish the nature of the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr. Saramago might have served a more constructive role had he urged Palestinians to reject their on-going campaign of terrorism and recommit to peaceful negotiations with Israel."

Mr. Saramago was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998.

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.