NEW YORK — 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 nonprofit 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 not comment on the matter.