New York, NY, June 18, 1998…The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today urged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to rescind the non-profit status granted to a Holocaust denying organization. The California–based Institute for Historical Review (IHR) and its parent organization, Legion for the Survival of Freedom, Inc. have recently been granted 501 (c) (3) status.

"It is very troubling to us that a group whose identity centers on refuting the Holocaust should be granted tax-exempt status," wrote Elizabeth Coleman, ADL Director, Civil Rights Division, in a letter to Charles O. Rossotti, Commissioner, IRS.

"Far from being an educational or public-service organization committed to exploring historical events, IHR is the major center for Holocaust-denial propaganda and anti-Semitic vitriol," continued Ms. Coleman. "We question the decision granting this group the benefits afforded to legitimate non-profit educational institutions and urge you to reconsider."

IHR promotes the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that accuses Jews of fabricating tales of their own genocide to manipulate the non-Jewish world. In support of this belief, IHR distributes a number of books and propaganda materials saturated with anti-Semitic innuendo.

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.