Earlier on 14 December, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad described the Holocaust as a "myth." He said that even if the Holocaust did happen, Israel should be moved from the Middle East. "If you committed such a crime, then it would be good if you gave a piece of your own soil, a piece of soil in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to [the Jews] so that they can create a country for themselves," Ahmadinejad said.
Ahmadinejad's remarks drew swift condemnation from Israel, Germany, the European Union, and the United States.
This is the latest in a series of highly controversial remarks by Ahmadinejad about the Israel and the Jews. Previously, he called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and described it as a "tumor."
(AP/AFP/Reuters)
Iranian Anti-Zionism
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Each year in Iran, the last Friday of Ramadan is celebrated as Qods (Jerusalem) Day, officially a day for expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people."I have been notifying the Muslims of the danger posed by the usurper Israel," Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, father of Iran's Islamic Revolution, said in an August 1979 announcement. "I ask all the Muslims of the world and the Muslim governments to join together to sever the hand of this usurper and its supporters...and, through a ceremony demonstrating the solidarity of Muslims worldwide, announce their support for the legitimate rights of the Muslim people..." (more)
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INTERVIEW: On December 22, 2005, RFE/RL's Radio Farda spoke with FRED ZEIDMAN, director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Zeidman commented on Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's anti-Israeli comments.
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Hear the complete interview (about nine minutes):
ARCHIVE: For an archive of RFE/RL's coverage of Iran, click here.