ADL urges IRS to rescind status granted to Holocaust denial group

NEW YORK, July 9 (JTA) — The Anti-Defamation League has urged the Internal Revenue Service to rescind its recent decision to give tax-exempt status to a group that promotes Holocaust denial. The Institute for Historical Review and its parent organization, Legion for Survival of Freedom, Inc., were granted 501 (c) (3) status, a form of tax exemption given to non-profit groups. The institute is widely known for engaging in Holocaust denial activities, from publishing materials to placing ads in campus newspapers. “It is very troubling to us that a group whose identity centers on refuting the Holocaust should receive tax-exempt status,” Elizabeth Coleman, the ADL’s civil rights division director, wrote last month in a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti. “Far from being an educational or public-service organization committed to exploring historical events, IHR is the major center for Holocaust-denial propaganda and anti-Semitic vitriol,” wrote Coleman. “We question the decision granting this group the benefits afforded to legitimate non-profit educational institutions and urge you to reconsider.” The ADL is awaiting a response from the IRS. Officials in Rossotti’s office would no comment on the matter.