Hundreds of Holocaust survivors and descendants of survivors have signed a letter, published as an advertisement in the New York Times, condemning the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and calling for a boycott of Israel.

Child of holocaust survivors at Demonstration in support of Gaza in Toronto, rally from Queens Park to the US consulate on July 24, 2014 (Photo: Linda Dawn Hammond / IndyFoto)

According to the letter, the condemnation was prompted by an advertisement written by Elie Wiesel and published in major news outlets worldwide, accusing Hamas of “child sacrifice” and comparing the group to the Nazis. The letter, signed by 360 Jewish Holocaust survivors and descendants of survivors accuses Wiesel of “abuse of history” in order to justify Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip: “…we are disgusted and outraged by Elie Wiesel’s abuse of our history in these pages to justify the unjustifiable: Israel’s wholesale effort to destroy Gaza and the murder of more than 2,000 Palestinians, including many hundreds of children. Nothing can justify bombing UN shelters, homes, hospitals and universities. Nothing can justify depriving people of electricity and water.” The letter also blames the United States of aiding Israel in its Gaza operation, and the West in general of protecting Israel from condemnation. “Genocide begins with the silence of the world,” the letter reads.

The letter ends with a call to bring the blockade of Gaza to an immediate end, and for a full boycott of Israel. “Never again” must mean NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE! ” the letter concludes.

Related:

Full list of the letter’s signatories