31% back MCB over ‘Genocide Day’

Remember how Islamophobic commentators attacked the Muslim Council of Britain because it argued that Holocaust Memorial Day was too narrow and instead advocated commemorating a wider “Genocide Day”? Melanie Phillips claimed that this was proof of “the open anti-Jewish hatred of supposedly mainstream Muslims“, while Peter Tatchell declared that the MCB’s stance “reeks of prejudice and hypocrisy“.

Well, a YouGov poll (pdf) commissioned by the Jewish Chronicle has found that 35% of respondents agreed that “the main focus of Holocaust Memorial Day should be to commemorate the victims of Nazi persecution”, while 31% said that “the day should be renamed ‘Genocide Day’, and be used to commemorate the victims of all persecution throughout the world”.

So, there’s evidently an awful lot of anti-semites reeking of prejudice and hypocrisy out there.

Postcript:  I should perhaps add that personally I think the MCB (who reportedly are currently discussing their position on this issue) are mistaken in boycotting Holocaust Memorial Day. My point here is that their motivation is not anti-semitic.