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The post referred to people who “suffered and died at the hands of fascism for being members of marginalized groups.”
By Shula Rosen
Canada’s military said it has revised its internal review procedures after acknowledging that a Holocaust Remembrance Day message published earlier this year failed to accurately identify Jews as the central victims of the Nazi genocide, prompting sharp criticism from Jewish organizations and historians.
The Canadian Army said the social media post, published Jan. 27 to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, was removed once officials recognized that its wording did not reflect “the historical reality of the Holocaust, specifically the genocide of six million Jews.” A military spokesperson told the National Post that the Armed Forces “regrets the error and apologizes for the hurt it caused.”
The post referred to people who “suffered and died at the hands of fascism for being members of marginalized groups” and called for a society free of antisemitism and hatred.
Critics said the formulation erased the fact that the Holocaust was a state-driven effort aimed first and foremost at the extermination of the Jewish people.
Pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting said removing the post was insufficient and called on the military to issue a clear apology to Jewish Canadians.
Dara Solomon, executive director of the Toronto Holocaust Museum, told the National Post that omitting Jews from a Holocaust commemoration “dishonors the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust,” particularly at a time of rising antisemitism and declining public knowledge of the Shoah.
Simon Wolle, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, said remembrance “requires specifically recognizing the more than 6 million Jewish victims who perished during the Shoah,” warning that failure to do so deepens trauma for a community still living with the Holocaust’s legacy.
The Canadian Army said social media content is reviewed internally but acknowledged no consultation took place with Jewish community representatives before publication. It said new safeguards are being implemented for historically and culturally sensitive material, including enhanced senior-level review and consultation. The military also said it has met with staff from the Office of the Chaplain General to inform changes aimed at preventing similar errors in the future.
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