The director of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial has sent a letter to
Germany's top Roman Catholic official complaining about comments made by two German bishops that compared conditions in the West Bank to the Holocaust.

Avner Shalev, director of Yad Vashem, said he was appalled and surprised.

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"The remarks illustrate a woeful ignorance of history and a distorted sense of perspective. Israel's actions do not bear any resemblance to the Nazis," Shalev wrote in his letter Tuesday to Cardinal Karl Lehmann, head of the German Bishops Conference, who led a delegation to Israel and the West Bank last week.

Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that during the visit, Eichstaett Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke said: "Photos of the inhuman Warsaw ghetto at Yad Vashem in the morning, in the evening we go to the ghetto in Ramallah - that blows your lid off."

According to the report, Augsburg Bishop Walter Mixa also spoke of ghetto-like conditions and described the situation as nearly racism.

While saying that criticism of Israel is legitimate, Shalev said "comparing the Nazi plan to annihilate the Jewish people to the situation in the West Bank does nothing to help us understand what is going on today."

"These unwarranted and offensive comparisons serve to diminish the memory of victims of the Holocaust and mollify the consciences of those who seek to lessen European responsibility for Nazi crimes," he said. "I urge all people to keep the Holocaust out of cheap political exploitation and demagoguery."

He said was especially disappointed because Lehmann had shown a deep understanding of the Holocaust and its significance for Jews, Germans and the entire world.

On Tuesday, Germany's main Jewish group also complained about the bishops' reported comments.

Conference secretary Hans Langendoerfer has expressed regret over comments made by some individuals in the delegation.