Iranian president Ahmadinejad again attacked Israel and the Jewish people in crude, vicious terms during an interview with Iranian TV station Al-‘Alam . It took place during the Islamic Conference in Saudi Arabia on December 8. His anti-Semitic answers to the interviewer included Holocaust denial and references to the illegitimacy of the Zionist movement and the State of Israel . He said, for example:

• Holocaust denial : The Iranian president stated that some European countries insisted on saying that during the war Hitler killed millions of innocent Jews in furnaces and sent them to concentration camps. He added, “ we do not accept this claim.” ¹

• Denial of Israel 's right to exist : “Those who occupy and rule Jerusalem – where did their parents come from ? Most of them don't have roots in Palestine , but they rule the fate of Palestine and allow themselves to kill the Palestinian people.” It should be noted that in his December 7 speech before the Islamic Conference he stated that the existence of the State of Israel was “ the main obstacle facing the Islamic nation .”

• Dispute with the European countries because of their support of Israel and struggle against Holocaust deniers : According to Ahmadinejad, the situation resulted from the fact that if “anyone proves something [to the European countries] contrary to [the existence of] the Holocaust they condemn that person and throw them in jail.” He said that “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 [European countries] offer part of Europe and we well support it. ”

• Terrorism in the struggle against Israel : The issue, he said, related to the long-term interests of the nation of Islam. He rejected the interviewer's statement that there were who said that “ Israel has become a reality that must be accepted” and that there were those who blamed Iran for deviating from the Arab consensus. He called for a struggle against Israel and against accepting its existence . He stated that resistance (i.e., terrorism) ² was the preferable way to convince Israel to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people.

The remarks made by the president of Iran , coming in the wake of his previous statement regarding wiping Israel off the map, ³drew swift condemnation from the international community . The remarks showed that it was not a question of a slip of the tongue from an inexperienced politician, but rather an example of an extremist Islamic anti-Semitic ideologue with a clear commitment to Khomeini's radical revolutionary heritage, which prefer nationalist rather than pragmatic considerations . They do not take into consideration the problematic international circumstances in which Teheran finds itself and contradict Iran 's aspirations to present itself to the international community as a normative, responsible nation.

Iranian president Ahmadinejad, an extremist Islamic anti-Semitic ideologue who
continuously denies Israel 's right to exist (Photo: www.irib.ir )

Terrorism and anti-Semitism: Khadr Habib, senior PIJ official in the Gaza Strip,
praises Ahmadinejad, saying he had clearly expressed the feelings and thoughts of every Muslim
(Photo: Al-'Alam TV, December 12).

Silvan Shalom, Foreign Minister, reacted harshly to the remarks made by the Iranian president, saying “his comments reflect a clear denial of the Holocaust and clearly defy international law recognizing Israel 's right to exist.” (www.Ynet.co.il, December 8, 2005).

Shaul Mofaz, Defense Minister, said that Ahmadinejad's remarks show that the Iranian régime is not only extremist and intent upon destroying the State of Israel, but racist and anti-Semitic as well. Mofaz said that the world should not only condemn the Iranian president's statement but should continue its struggle against the Iranian nuclear arms race.

This time as well, the international community was quick to rebuke the Iranian president for his remarks and to defend Israel 's status. On December 9 the UN Security Council condemned the remarks, saying “The members of the Security Council reaffirm the rights and obligations of the State of Israel as a full and long-standing member of the United Nations, and reaffirm that, under the United Nations Charter, all Members have undertaken to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.” In addition, the Secretary-General recalled that the General Assembly recently adopted a resolution rejecting denial of the Holocaust and urged all countries to educate their populations about that genocide. ⁴ In addition, in several European countries the Iranian ambassadors were asked to provide an explanation for Ahmadinejad's statements.

• An Al-Ahram editorial blasted the Iranian president's remarks , saying they were lacking the political acumen that might be expected from the president of an important sovereign country which was a member of the United Nations. According to the editorial, the age of inflated political statements intended to fan emotions and win support from extremist factions was over, or almost over. It even voiced the writer's opposition to “countries and organizations' playing the Palestinian card to achieve personal goals and interests… Most of the violent acts carried out in the name of support for the Palestinian people have shown themselves to only damage the Palestinian cause and the Palestinians' legitimate rights…” ( Al-Ahram , December 10, 2005).

• Samir Rajab , the former editor-in-chief of governmental Al-Gumhouriya , wrote in his column that Ahmadinejad's remarks only complicated the situation and served Israel by making the rest of the world hostile to Iran ( Al-Gumhouriya , December 10).

• The conclusion reached by the commentator of Radio Sawt al-Arab was that the remarks were meant for internal Iranian political ears. They came as a response, the commentator said, to criticism levied at the régime regarding its internal and foreign policies, and that such remarks point up Iran 's isolation ( Radio Sawt al-Arab , December 10).

However, the December 12^th edition of Al-Gumhouriya contained two anti-Semitic articles in the same spirit as Ahmadinejad's remarks:

• ‘Adel ‘Abd al-Hamid exploited the opportunity to accuse the Jewish people of spreading “the fable of the Holocaust,” saying that the Iranian president had “again reminded the world of the doubts existing regarding the existence of the Holocaust.”

• ‘Issam Kamal wrote that the Iranian president had caused an international panic not only because the Jews “rule what happens in Europe and the United States ” but because “the people of the western world fear that the Jews will return to live among them.”