Ahmadinejad's Holocaust Denial and Anti-Israel Rhetoric

10.01.2007

Ahmadinejad's Holocaust Denial and Anti-Israel Rhetoric

  • Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questions European support for Israel. On October 19, 2006, “Jerusalem Day,” an annual day in Iran of protest against Israel, he asked European Union leaders, “What benefit have you got in supporting this regime [Israel], except the hatred of the nations? We have advised the Europeans that the Americans are far away but you are the neighbours of the nations in this region.” Ahmadinejad further cautioned Europe that, “We [Iran] inform you that the nations are like an ocean that is welling up, and if a storm begins, the dimensions will not stay limited to Palestine, and you may get hurt.” [1]
  • On Oct. 26, 2005 Ahmadinejad sponsored a conference in Teheran dubbed “The World Without Zionism.” In a speech there he announced his desire to do away with the State of Israel: "The establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world," he said. "As the Imam [the late Ayatollah Khomeini] said, 'Israel must be wiped off the map'… The Islamic world will not let its historic enemy live in its heartland." [2]
  • In a December 14, 2005 speech, Ahmadinejad claimed the Nazi Holocaust of European Jewry never occurred. "They have invented a myth that Jews were massacred and place this above God, religions and the prophets…If somebody in their country questions God, nobody says anything, but if somebody denies the myth of the massacre of Jews, the Zionist loudspeakers and the governments in the pay of Zionism will start to scream." [3] At a speech in Zehedan, he deemed the Holocaust a “fairy tale.” [4]
  • Iran is currently preparing to host a Holocaust denial symposium. [5] 
  • In response to publication cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed in Denmark and elsewhere, Ahmadinejad organised an international cartoon contest to vilify the Holocaust. [6]  On November 1, 2006 Mohammed Hossein Saffar-Harandi, Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance who supports Ahmadinejad’s views on the Holocaust, presented the first prize of €9,444.00 to Abdellah Derkaoui, a Moroccan cartoonist. [7]
  • In mid-2006 Ahmadinejad petitioned Israel to move away from the Middle East, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). “I advise them to pack up and move out of the region before being caught in the fire they have started in Lebanon,” said Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly called for the Jewish state to be relocated elsewhere on the planet from Germany to Alaska. [8]
  • At a symposium on Iraqi security, Ahmadinejad appealed to Muslims worldwide to support his call to eradicate Israel. “The basic problem in the Islamic world is the existence of the Zionist regime, and the Islamic world and the region must mobilise to remove this problem,” he said. [9] He stated that the destruction of Israel would be the real cure for the conflict” and “the way to peace in the Middle East.” [10]

Ahmadinejad repudiated the Holocaust and recommended Israel be moved to Europe. At a news conference in Mecca, he declared: “Some European countries insist on saying that Hitler killed millions of innocent Jews in furnaces, and they insist on it to the extent that if anyone proves something contrary to that, they condemn that person and throw them in jail.”  He suggested that if European countries support “the occupiers of Jerusalem” because Hitler slaughtered innocent Jews, then, “If the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces—like in Germany, Austria or other countries—to the Zionists, and the Zionists can establish their state in Europe. You offer part of Europe and we will support it,” he added. [11]  “Why do they insist on imposing themselves on other powers and creating a tumour so there is always tension and conflict?” [12]
           

References

[1] Beeston, Richard, “You could get hurt for backing Israel, Iran leader tells Europe,” The Times of London, Oct. 21, 2006.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2414307.html

[2] Butcher, Tim, “Wipe Israel off map, says Iran's president,” The Daily Telegraph, Oct. 27, 2005. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/27/wiran27.xml

[3] “Iranian leader denies Holocaust,” BBC, Dec. 14, 2005.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4527142.stm

[4] “Ahmadinedschad bezeichnet Holocaust als "Mythos," Stern, Dec. 14, 2005.
Antisemitismus: Ahmadinedschad bezeichnet Holocaust als 'Mythos' - stern.de

[5] Aly, Gotz, “Iran is making lunacy official policy,” Der Spiegel, Jan. 24, 2006.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/1,1518,396965,00.html

[6] Tait, Robert, “Iran cartoon show mocks Holocaust,” The Guardian, Aug. 20, 2006.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1854223,00.html

[7] Hafezi, Parisa, “Moroccan wins Iran’s cartoon contest,” Reuters, Nov. 1, 2006.

[8] “Iran's Ahmadinejad tells Israel to pack up and go,” Agence France Presse, July 23 2006, p. 54.

[9] “Iran's Ahmadinejad calls on Islamic countries to 'remove' Israel,” AFX, July 9, 2006, p. 61.

[10] Berger, Sebastien, and Bishop, Patrick, “‘Eliminate’ Israel to solve the crisis, says Iranian president," The Daily Telegraph, Aug. 4, 2006. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/08/04/wmid204.xml

[11] “Move Israel to Europe, Iran leader suggests,” Reuters, Dec. 9, 2005.

[12] Theodoulou, Michael, “Put tumour of Israel into Europe, says Iran's leader,” The Times of London, Dec. 9, 2005.

 

Related Links