‘This claim is personally hurtful and professionally injurious...’
AWELSH Jewish writer and historian who lost more than 40 members of his family in the Holocaust has been refused an apology by First Minister Mark Drakeford after Welsh Government officials published a false accusation that he associates with a Holocaust denier.
Mike Joseph, who was born in Cardiff and has lived in Wales all his life, was invited to give a talk about his family’s history at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth on January 27, Holocaust Memorial Day, but the Library cancelled the event after the involvement of the Welsh Government and lobbying by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT).
In 2018 Planet magazine published two articles by Mr Joseph in which he criticised the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
He believes the IHRA definition, adopted by numerous governments and the British Labour Party, fails to address the reality of anti-Semitism, while seeking to prevent criticism of Israel.
He also believes it leaves Jewish critics of Israel, including for example the distinguished writer Primo Levi, at risk of breaching the code.
In a letter to the First Minister, Mr Joseph criticised the content of a note sent to Welsh ministers on December 9, 2019 from within the Welsh Government. The note referred to his “association with a Holocaust denier”, a claim that originated with the HMDT
Mr Joseph wrote: “This claim is personally hurtful and professionally injurious. It implies that by supporting the work of Professor Rebecca Gould [who was previously cleared of an accusation of being a Holocaust denier], I too am a Holocaust denier. But this is entirely and provably false. The claim is made in reckless disregard of known and knowable facts. It is untrue.”
In 2017 Bristol University investigated and rejected an allegation by UK Holocaust Envoy Lord Pickles that an article written by Prof Gould was antisemitic and represented a denial of the Holocaust.
Like Mr Joseph, she disagrees with the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.
Explaining his background, Mr Joseph stated in his letter to Mr Drakeford: “I am the Welsh-born son of German-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust, who reached safety in Wales in 1944. Both my parents fled Germany days before the outbreak of war. My father’s family mostly survived the war, some finding refuge in Wales, many in Palestine. In 1941 in Nazi-occupied Ukraine, my mother’s family, including my grandparents, uncle and aunt, a total of 46 close relatives, were killed by the Nazi SS and their collaborators.
“In 1999 my documentary about this was broadcast in the UK by BBC Radio 4 and worldwide by BBC World Service. In 2010 S4C documented my visit to Israel and Palestine to learn how my father’s surviving relatives had lived and coped with their traumatic history.
“Professionally I am a broadcaster and historian. I am a member of the International Network of Genocide Scholars and an Honorary Research Associate at Swansea University.
“Far from being an associate of
Holocaust denial, I have for over 20 years been one of Wales’ most active voices in Holocaust discourse and scholarship.
“But when the Welsh Government received a claim that I associate with a Holocaust denier, instead of ensuring the claim was valid, the Welsh Government hastily quoted the damaging claim in a briefing to ministers.”
Correspondence disclosed to Mr Joseph after a freedom of information request demonstrates that civil servants lacked knowledge about the nature of his event at the National Library, with them describing it in six different ways.
In his letter to the First Minister, he stated: “Neither the National Library nor I were asked to provide information about the nature, content and purpose of the event, information that would have informed the government’s position. Instead it acted in ignorance, relying on prejudicial and untrue evidence supplied by the HMDT, and proceeded to issue the note for ministers.”
Mr Joseph’s letter concluded: “The Welsh Government did not question the claims by the HMDT. Simple checks would have revealed the claims were false and unfounded.
“Welsh Government ministers then conveyed damaging allegations against two writers of Jewish descent [himself and Prof Gould] to a widening circle of ministers.
“The Welsh Government knowingly based its actions on inadequate evidence when it was open to them to obtain such evidence.
“I am a Welsh Jew. I have been prevented from remembering my family, murdered in the Holocaust, at a public event to which I was invited by the National Library of Wales. I cannot believe that any Welsh Government, least of all a Labour government, would seek such an outcome.”
Refusing to apologise to Mr Joseph, Mr Drakeford told him: “No ‘claims’ as you put it, have been made by the Welsh Government and therefore I do not believe that any apology or retraction is appropriate.
“In terms of handling the issue, I am content that both the briefing and advice prepared for ministers on the HMDT letter were accurate and proper.”
The correspondence disclosed to Mr Joseph shows that the National Library was reluctant to cancel the event.
Pedr ap Llwyd, the chief executive and librarian, wrote to a Welsh Government official stating: “We have
I am the Welsh-born son of German-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust, who reached safety in Wales in 1944. Both my parents fled Germany days before the outbreak of war
MIKE JOSEPH
known Mr Joseph for a number of years and are very much aware of the atrocities his immediate family suffered during the Holocaust. We are also aware that he is opposed to Israeli policy against Palestinians, as are many Jews in Israel. However, being critical of Israel does not make him anti-Jewish.
“We have held numerous discussions with Mr Joseph regarding the deposit of his family archives at the National Library, which give an important insight into the suffering of the Jews under the Nazi regime and its collaborators, from a Welsh perspective. Mr Joseph’s talk will be based on his family papers, which include diaries and letters.
“I do understand that Mr Joseph has argued against the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, however that in itself does not give me sufficient reason to cancel this particular event, and to do so could cause reputational damage to the Library.
“As a public body and national library, we must recognise that everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression, albeit with certain restrictions such as national security, public order or of public health or morals.
“In our opinion, Mr Joseph’s view of IHRA’s definition of antiSemitism would not morally allow us to restrict his freedom of opinion.”
Nevertheless, after discussions with the Welsh Government and the HMDT, the January event was cancelled.
On December 19, Mr ap Llwyd wrote to a Welsh Government official stating: “Having considered carefully the risks (to the Library and to the Welsh Government) associated with going ahead with Mr Joseph’s lecture,
I’ve reluctantly decided to cancel the event.
However, I am eager to invite the speaker to the Library on another occasion.
“I shall inform the HMDT of our decision, and can you please pass this email along to the
First Minister’s office?”
The National Library has now rescheduled the event to go ahead on April 20.
Mr Joseph told us: “The Welsh Government failed to check that the claim that I associate with a Holocaust denier was true. The alleged Holocaust denier is of course Professor Gould, who I reported in 2018 had been investigated and cleared by her university. Though the claim is untrue, it was still shared with ministers and the National Library, and the untrue claim is now released online by the Welsh Government [in its freedom of information disclosure log] where it has been picked up the Welsh media. “What concerned the Welsh Government when it received the false claim from the HMDT?
On December 5, 2019 one of its senior civil servants wrote this, ‘I just wanted to flag the potential for criticism of Welsh Government, given we’ve adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism’.
“That was just one week before the recent General Election.”
We sought statements from the Welsh Government, the National Library of Wales and the HMDT.
The Welsh Government did not address Mr Joseph’s concern at being falsely accused of associating with a Holocaust denier. Instead, a spokeswoman said: “It is entirely false to claim that the Welsh Government intervened in the cancellation of this event. Decisions about events to be held at the National Library of Wales are solely a matter for the Library’s board and leadership team to determine, not the Welsh Government.”
Pedr ap Llwyd said: “Mike Joseph has been a very good friend of the Library for many years and we look forward to his talk in April. Mike has a very poignant story to tell and his Welsh upbringing makes his story quite unique and of particular relevance to the Library.
“As for the decision made to postpone the original event to be held on Holocaust Memorial Day, this was entirely my own and the National Library’s decision. The First Minister did not attempt to influence my decision in any way, and to suggest otherwise would be wrong and unfair.”
Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the HMDT, said: “Our concerns about the event ‘A Family in War, Holocaust and Palestinian Nakba [an Arabic term denoting the 1948 ‘catastrophe’ when more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes] through a Century of Letters’ were first expressed to the National Library of Wales in December, when the event was planned to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day. Holocaust Memorial Day is about bringing people and communities together. This event, however, is insensitive and divisive.
“Mike Joseph’s previous defence of controversial distortions of the Holocaust and criticism of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism gave cause for concern. This definition, developed by an international team of experts, adopted by governments, councils, political parties, trade unions and other civic organisations, is an important tool to help us all challenge worrying levels of recorded anti-Semitism here in the UK and internationally.”
Mr Joseph said: “I am pleased the see that the HMDT has not repeated the false claim that I associate with a Holocaust denial.”