Jewish groups condemn statement by Iran’s Supreme Leader calling Holocaust reality ‘uncertain’

By Maud Swinnen

Addressing a large crowd last week in Iran's north-eastern city of Mashhad, Ayatollah Khamenei (pictured) claimed that the systematic murder of six million Jews by the Nazis was "not certain".    

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the World Jewish Congress (WJC) condemned a statement made by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in which he asserted during a major national address that the historical reality of the Holocaust is “unknown,” and questioned if it “actually did happen.”

He also denounced Western nations that view “freedom” of speech as their “red line” yet impose restrictions on discussing the Holocaust     Ayatollah Khamenei made the statements on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

Addressing a large crowd in Iran's northeastern city of Mashhad, Ayatollah Khamenei claimed that the systematic murder of six million Jews by the Nazis was "not certain".’

"The Holocaust is an event whose reality is uncertain and, if it happened, it's uncertain how it happened," he said. Khamenei has called the Holocaust a "myth" many times in the past. He also used the reference to the Holocaust to criticize Western attacks on Iran's theocratic regime.

"In Europe no one dares to speak of the Holocaust," Khamenei said. "They passionately defend their red lines. How do they expect us to overlook our red lines that are based on our revolutionary and religious beliefs?"

He added : ‘’Expressing opinion about the Holocaust, or casting doubt on it, is one of the greatest sins in the West.”

In a statement, ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman said : "It is no accident that Iran’s Supreme Leader chose his major national address of the year to question if the Holocaust happened. His message is that despite the ongoing nuclear negotiations, Iran is holding strong to its radical ideology, including denial of the Holocaust, and other extremist anti-Semitic and anti-Israel views as well as their ongoing support for world terror as evidenced by the recent Israeli seizure of Iranian weapons destined for the Gaza Strip.

"Once again, the injection of Holocaust denial by an Iranian leader shows the world how such deep-seated hatred exists at the helm in Iran. We have seen the Ayatollah spew his vehement animosity toward Jews before on other national occasions in Iran and these statements once again show the bigotry and hypocrisy of this regime,’’ Foxman added.

World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder asked whether the world could trust the “charm offensive” of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, after Ayatollah Khamenei’s statements.

“When countries are rushing to welcome back a supposedly more moderate Iran into the world community and to do business with it, they should remember, it is not a new Iran, but the same Iran with a new face,” Lauder said.

“Ayatollah Khamenei's words are unmistakable: he denies the Holocaust happened. Iran needs to renounce Holocaust denial, extremism, and bigotry if the world is to have any faith in its conduct and intentions. Until then, the West needs to be very careful in in engaging with Tehran,’’ Lauder said.

In December 2013, Khamenei’s Facebook and Twitter pages marked the anniversary of French Holocaust-denier Roger Garaudy’s trial for his 1996 book that referred to the Holocaust as the “myth of the six million,” and lav¬ished praise on Garaudy as a “French #Muslim resistance fighter”.

In June 2013, the Ayatollah’s Facebook page contained a post which featured a visual representation of the classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theory of Jewish control of the United States government.

Iranian leaders routinely make anti-Semitic statements; Iranian media features anti-Semitic cartoons and the regime controlled Press TV channel airs anti-Semitic and anti-Israel propaganda.

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