To: National Desk

Contact: David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, 215-635-5622, e-mail: rafaelmedoff@aol.com

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 26 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A new survey has found that Holocaust-denial activity decreased in the United States in 2003, but increased in the Arab world, where it often enjoys government sponsorship.

The year-end report, Holocaust Denial: A Global Survey - 2003, has been issued by The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, which is located on the campus of Gratz College, near Philadelphia. The report's co-authors are Holocaust scholars Dr. Alex Grobman (author of a recent book on Holocaust denial) and Dr. Rafael Medoff (director of the Wyman Institute).

The complete text of the 17-page report may be viewed on the Wyman Institute's web site, http://www.WymanInstitute.org.

Highlights of the report:

-- Holocaust deniers in the U.S. received a boost when former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel (D-Alaska) spoke at a deniers' convention in Virginia in June.

-- Overall, Holocaust denial activity decreased in the United States, as a result of the ongoing legal conflicts between the two major U.S. promoters of Holocaust denial, the Institute for Historical Review and Liberty Lobby founder Willis Carto.

-- Government-sponsored newspapers and other media in Egypt, Syria, the Palestinian Authority, and elsewhere in the Arab world published articles denying the Holocaust.

-- For the first time ever, a Holocaust denier was invited to the White House. Palestinian Authority prime minister Mahmoud Abbas, author of a book (based on his doctoral dissertation) denying the Holocaust, visited the White House in July.

-- The leader of an important Muslim country, Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohammed, publicly affirmed that the Holocaust occurred, thus breaking ranks with many in the Muslim world. However, he did so in a speech in which he alleged Jewish control of the world, and it was that theme, not his acknowledgment of the Holocaust, which attracted attention.

The report also describes Holocaust-denial activity during the past year in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

ABOUT THE WYMAN INSTITUTE: The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, located on the campus of Gratz College (near Philadelphia), is a research and education institute focusing on America's response to the Holocaust. It is named in honor of the eminent historian and author of the 1984 best-seller The Abandonment of the Jews, the most important and influential book concerning the U.S. response to the Nazi genocide.

The Institute's Advisory Committee includes Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel, Members of Congress, and other luminaries. The Institute's Academic Council includes 45 leading professors of the Holocaust, American history, and Jewish history. The Institute's Arts & Letters Council, chaired by Cynthia Ozick, includes prominent artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers. (A complete list is available upon request.)