December 09, 2005
Iran's hard-liner president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who recently had called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," again sparked a barrage of international criticism on Thursday by questioning whether the Holocaust happened and by saying that Israel should be moved to Europe. Ahmadinejad's remarks were immediately condemned around the world. Both Israel and the United States cited Iran's hostility toward Israel as a reason why the Islamic cleric-run regime must be prevented from developing nuclear weapons. The US denounced his comments as "appalling and reprehensible." Ahmadinejad's remarks were even more striking for their venue: a summit of Muslim nations in Islam's holiest city, Mecca, convened to condemn terrorism and extremism and stressing the themes of moderation and tolerance.
Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the summit, Ahmadinejad implied that European countries backed the founding of Israel in the Middle East in 1948 out of guilt over the Holocaust. "Some European countries insist on saying that during the Second World War, Hitler burned millions of Jews and put them in concentration camps," Iran's leader said. "Any historian, commentator or scientist who doubts that is taken to prison or gets condemned… Let's assume what the Europeans say is true ... Let's give some land to the Zionists in Europe or in Germany or Austria," he said. "They faced injustice in Europe, so why do the repercussions fall on the Palestinians?" He said most Jews in Israel "have no roots in Palestine, but they are holding the destiny of Palestine in their hands and allow themselves to kill the Palestinian people," Ahmadinejad said.
Read about the WJC's compaign for international condemnation of President Ahmadinejad
