by Felix Quigley
September 13, 2009
There are many, many people who defend the horror story which is Ahmadinejad against the charge that he threatened in a speech to wipe Israel off the map. This includes rather directly Presiden Obama because Obama insists on dealing with Ahmadinejad in a friendly manner in discussions etc.
Why get bogged down though in a debate about translation!
Why not take a step back and try to see the overall picture, which shows the elvel of hate for Israel from this Government of Islam in Iran!
I think that is much better because on the basis of that overall and sober assessment it is possible to reach a more sober understanding and judgement: If Iranian Islam has the Nuclear Bomb what would it be used for.
In this I tend to think of the antisemitism of the Nazis and what always struck me as very notable and not to be forgotten. In the depths of their defeat and obvious despair the Nazis did not give up the killing of the Jews, rather they intensified it, a fact that struck even Eichmann as peculiar, and he was up to his neck in the killing.
So in dealing with this issue of the Jew haters and what they would do, or not do, there is something always which does not respond to logic.
That is why those who say that Iran with the Nuclear Bomb represents safety for Israel to me are Jew Haters.
Let us look at this selection of Wikipedia on the subject of how the Iranian followers and interpreters of Islam hate Israel and hate Israelis.
I feel it is a very powerful hate. The only thing I can compare it to is the German Nazis.
In the following when you see references amde to “The Palestinians” it is well to remember that the Arabs who were then living in Palestine (but never addressing themselves as “Palestinians“) were actually Nazis, and gfollowers in the main of Hajj Amin el Husseini!
Statement during 2005 Muslim Summit
On December 8, 2005, Ahmadinejad gave an interview with Iran’s Arabic channel ‘Al-Alam’ during a summit of Muslim nations in Islam’s holy city of Mecca. The interview contained remarks that were widely condemned as Holocaust denial:
Some European countries insist on saying that during World War II, Hitler burned millions of Jews and put them in concentration camps… Any historian, commentator or scientist who doubts that is taken to prison or gets condemned. Although we don’t accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, if the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe — 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.
The remarks were condemned by Israeli, European and American politicians,[60][64][65] Kofi Annan “was shocked,”[66][67] and Saudi, Turkish, and Iranian officials sharply criticized his speech because it “marred a Mecca summit dedicated to showing Islam’s moderate face.”[68][69]
Shortly after these remarks were made, Iran’s Interior Minister, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, claimed Ahmadinejad’s remarks had been misunderstood:
Actually the case has been misunderstood. (Ahmadinejad) did not mean to raise this matter. [He] wanted to say that if others harmed the Jewish community and created problems for the Jewish community, they have to pay the price themselves. People like the Palestinian people or other nations should not pay the price (for it).[70]
Statements on Israel’s 60th Birthday
On Israel’s 60th birthday, Ahmadinejad gave a speech, in which, according to the official IRNA news agency, he stated
Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken. Today the reason for the Zionist regime’s existence is questioned, and this regime is on its way to annihilation.”[71]
Ahmadinejad also stated that Israel “has reached the end like a dead rat after being slapped by the Lebanese”, which is presumably a reference to the July-August 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
In a subsequent speech, Ahmadinejad stated “The Zionist regime is dying,” and that “The criminals imagine that by holding celebrations (…) they can save the Zionist regime from death.” Ahmadinejad also stated that “They should know that regional nations hate this fake and criminal regime and if the smallest and briefest chance is given to regional nations they will destroy (it)”.[72]
Statement on Israel on the Anniversary of Death of Ayatollah Khomeini
While speaking at a gathering of foreign guests marking the 19th anniversary of the death of Iran’s late revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as stating that
“You should know that the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime which has 60 years of plundering, aggression and crimes in its file has reached the end of its work and will soon disappear off the geographical scene.”[73]
Statement on Israel during UN Summit on Global Food Security
While visiting Rome, Italy for the United Nations summit on global food security, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, in June 2008, Ahmadinejad stated, through a translator, that
“People like my comments, because people will save themselves from the imposition of the Zionists. European peoples have suffered the greatest damage from Zionists and today the costs of this false regime, be they political or economic costs, are on Europe’s shoulders.”[74]
Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, complained to the United Nations and the Italian government about Ahmadinejad’s presence at the conference, stating that “It is deplorable that a leader like him, who is failing both his own people and the international community, is allowed to hijack the agenda of this important FAO conference.”
Statement on Israel and Zionism during 2008 UN General Assembly
In an address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, 2008, Ahmadinejad stated that Zionists are criminals and murderers, are “acquisitive” and “deceitful,” and dominate global finance despite their “minuscule” number. He further stated that “It is deeply disastrous to witness that some presidential nominees have to visit these people [Zionists], take part in their gatherings and swear their allegiance and commitment to their interests in order to win financial or media support. These nations are spending their dignity and resources on the crimes and threats of the Zionist network against their will.”Ahmadinejad stated the “Zionist regime” was on the path to collapse and that the “underhanded actions of the Zionists” as among the causes of the recent unrest in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. In a subsequent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Ahmadinejad stated that “The [Zionist] regime resembles an airplane that has lost its engine and is kind of going down. And no one can help it,” he said. “This will benefit everyone.”[75][76]
Statement that “Smaller Israel” is dead
In a speech broadcast on IRINN, the Iranian News Channel, on September 18 and 23, 2008, Ahmadinejad stated, in regard to the acceptance by Israeli leaders that the idea of Greater Israel is dead, that:
I would like to declare that the idea of “smaller Israel” is also dead. The very notion of Israel is dead, but they are lagging behind the times. Just like the idea of Greater Israel died 30 years ago, and they did not realize this, and have continued to perpetrate crimes for 30 years… Today, I say to them: The idea of smaller Israel is dead.[77]
Other Statements on Israel
In a public address, which aired on the Iranian News Channel IRINN TV on June 2, 2008, Ahmadinejad stated:
The Zionist regime has lost its raison d’être. Today, the Palestinians identify with your name [Khomeini], your memory, and in your path. They are walking in your illuminated path and the Zionist regime has reached a total dead end. Thanks to God, your wish will soon be realized, and this germ of corruption will be wiped off.[78]
Statement that Zionsts have taken control of the Power centers of the world
In a speech broadcast on IRINN, the Iranian News Channel, on September 18 and 23, 2008, Ahmadinejad stated:
The Zionists are crooks. A small handful of Zionists, with a very intricate organization, have taken over the power centers of the world. According to our estimates, the main cadre of the Zionists consists of 2,000 individuals at most, and they have another 8,000 activists. In addition, they have several informants, who spy and provide them with intelligence information. But because of their control of power centers in the U.S. and Europe, and their control of the financial centers and the news and propaganda agencies, they spread propaganda as if they were the entire world, as if all the peoples supported them, and as if they were the majority ruling the world.[77]
At a Holocaust conference at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran on January 27, 2009, Ahmadinejad stated (according to a transcript was published by the official Iranian news agency IRNA and translated by MEMRI), that
“Today the Zionists dominate many of the world’s centers of power, wealth, and media. Unfortunately, they have ensnared many politicians and parties, and they are plundering the wealth and assets of nations in this way, depriving peoples of their freedoms and destroying their cultures and human values by spreading their nexus of corruption.”[79]
Statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day
At a Holocaust conference at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran on January 27, 2009, Ahmadinejad stated (according to a transcript was published by the official Iranian news agency IRNA and translated by MEMRI), that
“The illegitimate Zionist regime is an outcome of the Holocaust… a political and power-seeking network claimed to be the advocate for one group of the victims, and sought reparations for their blood. [This network] ruled that the survivors of this particular group of victims must receive compensation – and part of this compensation was to establish the Zionist regime in the land of Palestine. On this pretext, they attacked Palestine and, after massacring the [indigenous] people and driving them from their homes, they occupied their homeland and created the Zionist regime – in order to ensure that no regional power would emerge in the Islamic lands except for the West, [because] Islamic civilization and culture have the dynamic potential to threaten their interests, which were based on oppression and thirst for power. These principles and philosophy comprise the Zionist regime.[79]
Statement on the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the Holocaust: “They sealed it off”
In an interview with Iranian news channel IRINN on January 28, 2009, Ahmadinejad stated:
“An incident known as 9/11 occurred. It is not yet clear who carried it out, who collaborated with them, and who paved the way for them. The event took place, and – like in the case of the Holocaust – they sealed it off, refusing to allow objective research groups to find out the truth. They invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, using 9/11 as a pretext.”[79]
Denying the Holocaust?
On 14 December 2005, in Zahedan in Iran, Ahmadinejad in a speech said he wanted to explain his recent remarks on a summit in Saudi Arabia – supposedly the 8 December meeting in Mecca. The 14 December speech then runs, in short outline, like this: ‘People in Palestine are getting killed every day by the new rulers of Palestine. As a consequence of the Holocaust, the Europeans took land from the Palestinians for a Jewish state. I don’t care whether the Holocaust took place or not, but it is illogical to give a piece of Palestine for compensation. Some people make an awful fuss about that Holocaust, make a myth of it. (…) Countries that themselves have nuclear, chemical and biological weapons should not raise an outcry when Iran wants access to peaceful nuclear technology.’[80][81][82]
Of this new speech, three reports exist, a long one from IRNA [80] and two small ones from BBC [81] and CNN.[82] IRNA is the Iranian state news agency. CNN declares to base its story on IRIB, another Iranian agency. The sentence in which ‘Holocaust’ and ‘myth’ are connected to each other is translated differently in these three versions. The translation given by the BBC has been labeled by the BBC itself as ‘Holocaust denial’. Israel, the U.S., the European Commission and several individual European countries have reacted shocked and indignant on some supposed statements from Ahmadinejad.[81][82] Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev said, the Iranian regime holds a “perverse vision of the world”. Germany’s foreign minister called Ahmadinejad’s remarks “shocking and unacceptable”. The White House spokesman said, the comments underline the need to “keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons”. A European Commission spokeswoman called the comments “completely unacceptable”.
The head of Iran’s Jewish community, Haroun Yashayaei, sent a letter to Ahmadinejad in early 2006 that read, in part, “How is it possible to ignore all of the undeniable evidence existing for the exile and massacre of the Jews in Europe during World War Two? Challenging one of the most obvious and saddening events of 20th-century humanity has created astonishment among the people of the world and spread fear and anxiety among the small Jewish community of Iran.”[83]
In February 2006, Former President Mohammad Khatami clearly rejected Ahmadinejad’s remarks by calling the Holocaust a “historic fact”.[84]
In August 2006, the ‘Deutsche Welle’ citing AFP citing the German news agency Mehr, and ‘Mail & Guardian Online’ citing Mehr reported that Ahmadinejad had written a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in which he suggested, the victorious Allied powers in World War II may have invented the Holocaust to embarrass Germany.[85][86] “Is it not a reasonable possibility that some countries that had won the war made up this excuse to constantly embarrass the defeated people … to bar their progress,” Ahmadinejad reportedly wrote in the letter. Merkel indicated that she would not formally respond to the letter, saying it contained “totally unacceptable” criticism of Israel and “constantly put in question” the Jewish state’s right to exist.
In a September 2006 with NBC Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams, Ahmadinejad clarified his remarks, saying that when he called the Holocaust a myth he was merely trying to communicate that it was not just Jews that died, but millions of people and he wants to know why it is the Palestinian people that have to pay for the Nazis’ slaughter of the Jewish people.[87]
In the second World War, over 60 million people lost their lives. They were all human beings. Why is it that only a select group of those who were killed have become so prominent and important? Do you think that the 60 million who lost their lives were all at the result of warfare alone? There were two million that were part of the military at the time, perhaps altogether, 50 million civilians with no roles in the war — Christians, Muslims. They were all killed. The second and more important question that I raised was, if this event happened, and if it is a historical event, then we should allow everyone to research it and study it. The more research and studies are done, the clearer the issue gets. We still leave open to further studies absolute knowledge of science or math. Historical events are always subject to revisions, and reviews and studies. We’re still revising our thoughts about what happened over thousands of years ago. Why is it that researchers are jailed? Why is researching this issue prohibitited? Where as we can openly question God, the prophet, concepts such as freedom and democracy? And the third question that I raised in this regard: assuming that this happened, where did it happen? Did the Palestinian people have anything to do with it? Why should the Palestinians pay for it now? Five million displaced Palestinian people is what I’m talking about. Over 60 years of living under terror. Losing the lives of thousands of dear ones. And homes that are destroyed on a daily basis over people’s heads. You might argue that the Jews have the right to have a government. We’re not against that. But where? At a place where their people were — several people will vote for them, and where they can govern.
On December 11, 2006 the “International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust” opened, to widespread condemnation.[88] The conference, called for by and held at the behest of Ahmadinejad,[89] was widely described as a “Holocaust denial conference” or a “meeting of Holocaust deniers”,[90] though Iran insisted it was not a Holocaust denial conference.[91]
At a Holocaust conference at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran on January 27, 2009, Ahmadinejad stated (according to a transcript was published by the official Iranian news agency IRNA and translated by MEMRI), that
For 60 years they allowed no one to question and cast doubt on the logic of the Holocaust and its very essence – because if the truth were to be exposed, nothing would remain of their logic of liberal democracy. It is the very advocates of liberal democracy who defend the Holocaust, who have sanctified it to the point where none may enter. Breaking the padlock of the Holocaust and reexamining it will be tantamount to cutting the vital arteries of the Zionist regime. It will destroy the philosophical foundation and raison d’être of this regime…I invite the dear researchers, intellectuals, young people and students, who are the trailblazers, to reexamine not only the Holocaust, but also its consequences and aftermath and inform others of their studies and research. Let us not forget that more than ever before, the Zionist network, which came up with the issue of the Holocaust, must be exposed, and be presented to the peoples as it really is.[79]
Within Iran, Ahmadinejad’s statements on the Holocaust have also been criticized by cleric and presidential hopeful Mahdi Karroubi.[92][93]
In early June 2009, Ahmadinejad, while describing Israel as “the most criminal regime in human history” went on to refer to the “great deception of the Holocaust” in a speech quoted by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.[94]
[edit] Accusations of anti-semitism
Criticism of Ahmadinejad’s comments denying the Holocaust and calling for Israel to be “wiped off the map” has come from the U.S. Senate, which passed a unanimous resolution condemning his “harmful, destructive, and anti-semitic statements.” Identification of Ahmadinejad with anti-semitism has come from a variety of sources.[95][96][97]
The Iranian government has responded that “the Western media empire is trying to portray Iran as an anti-semitic country”[98] and alternate translations have been cited to contradict the accusations.[citation needed] Currently, 40,000 Jews live in Iran and have representation in the Iranian parliament in the form of a Jewish MP, Maurice Mohtamed. Their treatment is a matter of great debate, some stating that the Jews are treated better than other religious minorities in Iran.[99]
In addition Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stated that “Jews are respected by everyone, by all human beings … some people think if they accuse me of being anti-Jew they can solve the problem. No, I am not anti-Jew … I respect them very much … We love everyone in the world — Jews, Christians, Muslims, non-Muslims, non-Jews, non-Christians”.[100]
Ahmadinejad’s September 2008 speech to the UN General Assembly, in which he dwelled on what he described as Zionist control of international finance, was denounced as “blatant anti-Semitism” by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.[101]
[edit] Defense of Ahmadinejad
Regarding Ahmadinejad’s statements on Israel and the Holocaust, Shiraz Dossa, a tenured professor at St. Francis Xavier University, in Nova Scotia, Canada, wrote in June 2007 that “Ahmadinejad has not denied the Holocaust or proposed Israel’s liquidation; he has never done so in any of his speeches on the subject (all delivered in Farsi/Persian). As an Iran specialist, I can attest that both accusations are false… What Ahmadinejad has questioned is the mythologizing, the sacralization, of the Holocaust and the “Zionist regime’s” continued killing of Palestinians and Muslims. He has even raised doubts about the scale of the Holocaust. His rhetoric has been excessive and provocative. And he does not really care what we in the West think about Iran or Muslims; he does not kowtow to western or Israeli diktat.”[22]
[edit] Reaction to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s stroke
On January 4, 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive haemorrhagic stroke and was widely reported to be dead or near death. The next day President Ahmadinejad spoke to Shi’a clerics in the city of Qom. Speaking of Sharon he said:
The United States quickly condemned Ahmadinejad’s comment as “hateful and disgusting” and U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called Ahmadinejad’s remarks “part of a continuing stream of hateful invective that has come from this president.”
[edit] Reaction to 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
On July 15 2006, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad compared the actions of Israel in launching an offensive against Lebanon to that of Nazi Germany. “Hitler sought pretexts to attack other nations,” Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the ISNA students news agency at the inauguration of a Tehran road tunnel. “The Zionist regime is seeking baseless pretexts to invade Islamic countries and right now it is justifying its attacks with groundless excuses,” he added.[103]
On Aug 3rd, 2006, in a speech during an emergency meeting of Muslim leaders, Ahmadinejad called for “the elimination of the Zionist regime”. While some media outlets immediately interpreted his words as another threat to “destroy Israel”,[104][105][106] such interpretations have again been challenged.[107] In the speech, Ahmadinejad said, “although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented”. He stated that the Middle East would be better off “without the existence of the Zionist regime”. He called Israel an “illegitimate regime” with “no legal basis for its existence” and accused the United States of using Israel as a proxy to control the region and its oil resources; “The Zionist regime is used to reach this objective. The sole existence of this regime is for invasion and attack.”
[edit] July 2008 speech by Rahim Mashaei
Esfandyar Rahim Mashaei, Vice President and Head of Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran, proclaimed Iran a friend to the people in Israel in his speech at a tourism convention in Tehran. [108] This sentiment is similar to the “one state” solution [Israel should not be a state for the jewish people and should do annexation of the palestinian territories what will make israel an arab majority country]. He also added that Iran “wants no war with any country,” and insisted that Iran’s actions during its war with Iraq were purely defensive.
Hard-liners close to the government pounced on Mashaei’s remarks. But Ahmadinejad appeared to back up Mashaei, voicing sympathy for the Israeli people, even as he predicted Israel’s demise.” he said at a news conference
“The Iranian nation never recognized Israel and will never ever recognize it … But we feel pity for those who have been deceived or smuggled into Israel to be oppressed citizens in Israel.”
The issue prompted Iran’s top political and military figure, Supreme Leader Khamenei, to “to spell an end to any debates” about Iran’s position on the people of Israeli, during a Friday sermon in Tehran, saying
“It is incorrect, irrational, pointless and nonsense to say that we are friends of Israeli people … Who are Israelis?” … They are responsible for usurping houses, territory, farmlands and businesses. … A Muslim nation cannot remain indifferent vis-a-vis such people who are stooges at the service of the arch-foes of the Muslim world.”[109]
REFERENCES ETC CAN BE FOUND ON
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad_and_Israel
4international 