Eli Rosenbaum says many countries don't have the political will to "secure a measure of justice in the Nazi cases."
By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, JPOST CORRESPONDENTNazi display at German Historical Museum 390(photo credit: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
WASHINGTON – A leading American prosecutor who works to bring Nazi war criminals to court on Thursday criticized nations for not doing all they could to aid in such cases.“Without doubt it is still possible to secure a measure of justice in the Nazi cases,” declared Eli Rosenbaum, the US Justice Department’s director of human rights enforcement, strategy and policy, at a ceremony commemorating the Holocaust. “In many countries, however, the political will to do so is not being mustered.”Rosenbaum was speaking before members of Congress, local dignitaries, Jewish leaders and officials in an event to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day organized by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.“It is enormously important that efforts to achieve justice be continued,” he maintained.“Doing so is a moral debt that is owed to the victims.”He noted that the passage of time “has in no way lessened the gravity of the crimes, and the perpetrators ought not be rewarded for their success in evading detection.”But he suggested the most important reason to continue to pursue these cases was that doing sends “an unmistakable message” to would-be perpetrators: “If you dare to commit atrocity crimes, you will be pursued however far you run, however long it takes to apprehend you.”His words underscored the theme of this year’s event, “Never again: Heeding the warning signs.”Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren also addressed the audience, recalling how he accompanied US President Barack Obama on his recent trip to Israel and laid a wreath on the grave of Theodor Herzl.“The president’s wreath reaffirmed the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in our ancient homeland,” Oren said.
