( dpa ) - Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Centre launched an Arabic-language website Thursday, in what a spokeswoman said was an attempt to combat growing Holocaust denial in Arabic- speaking countries.
"We know that there's Holocaust denial, revisionism and ignorance in many Arabic-speaking countries, but we also know that there are many Arabic speakers who want to learn about the Holocaust from accurate sources. We want to make the information available to them.," Yad Vahsem Spokeswoman Estee Ya'ari told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa.
"Holocaust denial in various counties exists, and so it is important that people see us, the Holocaust survivors, that they'll listen to our testimonies and learn from the legacy of the Holocaust - also in Arabic," Holocaust survivor Dina Beitler said at the ceremony in Jerusalem launching the site.
The launch of the Arabic-speaking site coincides with the release of the results of a Yad Vashem-commissioned poll, which found that 58 per cent of Israel's Arab citizens believe there is a need to teach about the Holocaust at school, with the number rising to 64 per cent among those under age 24.
The survey found also found that some 70 per cent of Israeli Arabs know about the Holocaust, of whom 60 per cent heard about it for the first time at school and 27 per cent through the media.
The Arabic-language website, which can be accessed via http://www.yadvashem.org, includes the historical narrative of the Holocaust, concepts from the Holocaust, academic articles, artifacts, photographs, archival documents and online video testimony.
According to Yad Vashem, nearly 7 million people visited the centre's website in 2007, 56,000 of whom came from Muslim states, including 32,500 from Arabic-speaking countries.