Lawmakers in Spain are to decide on a proposal put forward by the governing People’s Party (PP) of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy that would make Holocaust studies mandatory in schools across the country. The newspaper 'El País' reported that the proposed amendment to the nation’s Education Improvement Law (Lomce) would introduce the Shoah into the curriculum “at various stages of basic education.”
The president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, Isaac Querub, said the proposal “certainly represents progress,” but added that the federation would have liked to see a “more comprehensive amendment, explaining the general history of the Jewish people.” Querub also told the press agency ‘Europa Press’: “Unless the Holocaust is contextualized, it will give a distorted image of the history of the Jewish people. We believe that a better understanding of the Jews and their historical development limits bias,” and he added that recent polls indicating high levels of anti-Semitism in Spain meant the amendment was needed.
One of the reasons given by the sponsors of the proposal was the growing Holocaust denial in parts of Europe and the resurgence of neo-Nazi parties, such as Jobbik in Hungary and Golden Dawn.
Moreover, levels of anti-Semitism in Spain are considerably higher than in most other European countries.
