A poll by Sami Smoocha, sociologist at the University of Haifa, finds that 28 percent of Israel's Arab citizens believe the Holocaust never happened. Among high school and college graduates the figure is 33 percent. (With 721 Arabs interviewed, the margin of error is 3.7 percent.) Smoocha explains that Arab radicals see the Holocaust as a political event; by denying it, they understand that they are expressing opposition to Israel.
Comment: This finding suggests that controlling the education system has its limits. In Israel proper, the state is in full control. Yet even there, its best efforts have limited effect, competing as they must with family, friends, foreign media, mosque sermons, and a myriad of other sources of information and opinion. (March 18, 2007)
