Israel Matzav

'Holocaust Conference' taking place in Tehran

The sham 'Holocaust Conference' opened in Tehran today, with Iran claiming that "it would not be an attempt to deny the World War II genocide but merely to discuss it in an unrestricted atmosphere." 'Unrestricted' as long as you have the right point of view of course. The Times of London reports this morning that 'Palestinian' lawyer Khaled Kasab Mahameed was denied a visa to enter Iran to attend the conference (Hat Tip: Pajamas Media), while Neturei Karta (do they actually deny the Holocaust?!?) was allowed in. Mahameed believes that his denial was because he carries an Israeli passport. I think there's more to it than that:

“I’m bitterly disappointed,” Mr Mahameed, who studied at a British university, told The Times. He was seeking a personal audience with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President, to tell him that denials or questioning of “such huge, monstrous horror” harmed the Palestinian cause.

Mr Mahameed lives in Israel, where he has established the Arab Institute for Holocaust Research and Education, the Arab world’s first Holocaust museum, in Nazareth. He believes that the “study, analysis and acknowledgement” of the Holocaust by Arabs is important for a durable peace between the Palestinians and Israel. “It’s not enough to curse these Holocaust deniers as foolish. We have to convince them the Holocaust did happen,” Mr Mahameed said.

My guess is that Mahameed was denied a visa because he knows that the Holocaust did happen, and because he is one of those rare people known as a 'moderate Muslim,' who actually truly believes in reconciliation between Israel and the 'Palestinians.' We could probably make real peace with him in half an hour.

On the other hand, look at the cast of characters that is attending the 'Holocaust Conference':

Figures such as Fredrick Toben, a German-born Holocaust denier who lives in Australia, had little trouble getting a visa to attend the conference. There were reports that Lady Michele Renouf, an Australian-born model and socialite, was also on her way to Tehran. She was ejected from the Reform Club in London three years ago after attempting to get David Irving, the right-wing British historian, to speak there.

Irving was understood to be on the original invitation list to the Tehran conference when Mr Ahmadinejad first proposed the gathering last January. But a month later Irving was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in Austria after disputing the existence of gas chambers at Auschwitz.

By the admission of Manouchehr Mohammadi, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, the conference will address issues such as “whether the gas chambers were actually used by the Nazis”.

...

Tehran claims that 67 “intellectuals and researchers” from 30 countries, including Britain, Germany and France, will attend but has refused to name them. Iran is portraying the gathering as an exercise in free speech, claiming that open discussion of the Holocaust is denied in the West, where some countries make Holocaust denial a crime.

“For 60 years talking about the Holocaust was a crime in the West, but now there is a serious debate about the Holocaust in the media and also in political and popular meetings,” Mr Ahmadinejad said at the weekend. “Even some Western politicians have declared that the original foundation of the Zionist regime was a mistake,” he added.

There's another group attending that the Times of London was too kind to mention: the anti-Zionist nutcases of Neturei Karta, whose hatred of Israel and their fellow Jews apparently knows no boundaries. For the record, I don't categorize Neturei Karta as Haredi (ultra-Orthodox), because Haredim follow 'Daath Torah' (recognized Torah scholars) and Neturei Karta does not follow any. Even the anti-Zionist Satmar movement - with whom people often associate Neturei Karta - has expelled them because of their penchant for endangering fellow Jews.

Here's the Jerusalem Post's report on the 'Conference's' opening session:

The organizers, the Foreign Ministry's Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), said the two-day conference has drawn 67 foreign researchers from 30 countries.

In his opening speech, the institute's chief, Rasoul Mousavi, said the conference "seeks neither to deny or prove the Holocaust.

"It is just to provide an appropriate scientific atmosphere for scholars to offer their opinions in freedom about a historical issue," Mousavi said.

He said the conference provided an opportunity to discuss "questions" about the Holocaust away from Western taboos and the restrictions imposed on scholars in Europe.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki dismissed the foreign criticism as "predictable," telling conference delegates in a speech that there was "no logical reason for opposing this conference."

"The objective for organizing this conference is to create an atmosphere to raise various opinions about a historical issue. We are not seeking to deny or prove the Holocaust," Mottaki said.

There are no words for this treachery. No words. And for those who call themselves religious Jews who participate in it there is nothing but complete and utter contempt.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:59 PM