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<font size=4><b>Debunking Anti-Iran Propaganda: The Myth of the "New
Holocaust"<br><br>
</b></font><font size=3>By Benjamin Schett<br><br>
<a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca">Global Research</a>, March 6,
2012<br>
<a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=29626" eudora="autourl">
http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=29626<br><br>
</a></font><font face="Verdana" size=3>In a pattern of propaganda now
well-established in the mainstream media, fear-mongering against Iran is
reaching an all-time peak. A case in point includes ongoing accusations
that Iran is in violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty,
despite statements to the contrary from U.S. Defence Secretary Leon
Panetta as well as a number of American intelligence officials[1].
<br><br>
In addition, claims that Iran is involved in terrorist activities were
released by the Obama administration, fabricating an Iranian conspiracy
with the goal to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. <br>
(For details, see:
<a href="http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=27094">
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=27094</a>
) <br><br>
Most recently, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused
Iran of having planned terrorist attacks in India, Georgia and Thailand.
<br>
(For details, see:
<a href="http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29320">
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29320</a>)<br><br>
As it stands, the intensification of propaganda is fuelling an
anti-Iranian proxy conflict in Syria and creating the serious danger of
aggression against Iran in the coming months by Israel's extremist
government and/or the Obama administration. These media fabrications also
do not question why the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran would increase
worldwide tensions so much more than the hyper-developed nuclear weapons
programs of countries like Israel and the United States. (Notwithstanding
the fact that there is no existing proof that suggests that Iran is doing
anything other than developing a peaceful civilian atomic
program.)<br><br>
Opponents of possible armed aggression against Iran are regularly accused
of repeating the mistakes from the period prior to World War II, namely
of not taking seriously the purportedly dangerous eliminatory
"anti-Semitism" of the Iranian regime. This charge is echoed by
the Anti-Defamation League, one of the biggest pro-Zionist U.S. groups,
who is lobbying for taking any "necessary" measures in order to
overthrow the Iranian government and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:
<br><br>
</font>
<dl>
<dd>"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's anti-Semitic and
anti-Israel views place him and the Iranian regime among the foremost
threats to Jews and the state of Israel."[2] <br><br>
</dl>Moreover, Israeli President Shimon Peres called Iran a "danger
to the entire world" while addressing the German Bundestag in a
speech marking Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2010. <br><br>
The symbolism of such actions is clear: whoever refuses to participate in
the campaign against Iran is neglecting the threat of a new Holocaust,
the insinuation being that if Iran were to get nuclear weapons, it would
use them against the state of Israel. <br><br>
First of all, suggesting that the current situation in Iran is even
remotely comparable to the crimes committed by the Nazis inexcusably
downplays the suffering of Jews, Roma, Communists, Slavic nations and
other victims of Fascism.<br><br>
In addition, while the strategic motivation behind arguments made by
Israeli decision-makers is clear, the facts are not. In fact, the alleged
statements made by Ahmadinejad calling for Israel to be "wiped of
the map" were proven to be fake thanks to a false translation from
Farsi into English. (See:
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/jun/14/post155">
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/jun/14/post155</a>) This has
been well known already for some time, although it does not seem to faze
the war propagandists.<br><br>
The other question that should be asked by anyone investigating
accusations against the Iranian government of being the "foremost
threat against Jews" is how do Jews actually live in Iran? If the
Iranian president is supposed to be some kind of reborn Hitler, would
that not be reflected in imposed anti-Jewish legislature in his country,
calls for pogroms, etc.?<br><br>
The evidence on Jewish life in Iran, from various sources, including
Jewish and American mainstream is revealing. For example, a website
belonging to the Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and
Culture (FASSAC) acknowledges that: <br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"While Jewish communities in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Morocco
and Algeria have all but vanished, Iran is home to 25,000 – some here say
35,000 – Jews."[3] <br><br>
</dl>This makes Iran’s Jewish community the largest</i> in the Middle
East, outside of Israel. Furthermore, many Iranian Jews show pride in
their mixed Jewish-Iranian heritage and would not consider emigration:
<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"Jewish leaders say their community has far stronger roots in
Iran than other Middle East Jewish communities, which were virtually
eradicated by massive immigration to Israel in the 1940s and 1950s.
Esther, the biblical Jewish queen who saved her people from persecution
in the fifth century B.C., is reputed to be buried in Hamadan, in western
Iran. The grave of the Old Testament prophet Daniel lies in southwestern
Iran."<br><br>
</dl>As we see, Jewish roots in Iran date back to biblical times:
"The Jews trace their heritage in Iran to the Babylonian Exile of
the 6th century BC..."[4]. Indeed, several Persian kings enjoy a
positive reputation in the Old Testament because of their friendly
attitude towards the Hebrew people.<br><br>
Today, Jewish religion and culture is still present in everyday life in
Iran:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"Tehran has 11 functioning synagogues, many of them with Hebrew
schools. It has two kosher restaurants, and a Jewish hospital, an old-age
home and a cemetery. There is a Jewish representative in the Iranian
parliament. There is a Jewish library with 20,000
titles..."<br><br>
</dl>It can't be denied that there must have been considerable concern
among Iranian Jews in the time following the Islamic Revolution in 1979,
as it was hard to predict how things would develop under the new
radically anti-Zionist leadership, and many chose to emigrate on this
account. Nonetheless:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"Khomeini [the spiritual leader of the Islamic Revolution] met
with the Jewish community upon his return from exile in Paris and issued
a ''fatwa'' decreeing that the Jews were to be protected. Similar edicts
also protect Iran's tiny Christian minority."<br><br>
</dl>The Iranian leadership seems to draw a clear line between Zionism as
a political ideology (inspired by Western European colonialist ideas in
the 19th century), and Judaism. This conclusion can be underlined by
several statements President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made throughout
recent years. In a Christmas message to the people of Great Britain,
broadcast by Channel Four, Ahmadinejad started his speech with the
following lines: <br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"Upon the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, Son of Mary, the
Word of God, the Messenger of mercy, I would like to congratulate the
followers of Abrahamic faiths, especially the followers of Jesus Christ,
and the people of Britain."<br><br>
</dl>The religious pathos might not be to everybody's taste, but the more
relevant question would be whether these could realistically be the lines
of a fanatical preacher of hate, as he is portrayed by mainstream media
in the West. In fact, by addressing the "followers of Abrahamic
faith", president Ahmadinejad expresses his respect for the three
religions of the book: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. <br><br>
Critics might argue that a conciliatory message prepared for a Western
audience might serve the purpose of leaving the people outside Iran in
the dark about its real hidden agenda. Thanks to the Internet, it is not
necessary to speak Farsi to get an impression of what Ahmadinejad is
saying in front of an audience in his own country. In a speech delivered
in May 2007 in the city of Esfahan (available on YouTube with English
subtitles), he explains to the crowd what his response is to people who
accuse him of being anti-Semitic on account of his heavy criticism of the
Israeli regime: <br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"Some officials from that country (USA)… said all kinds of
things. One of them was: "They [the Israeli leaders] are Jewish, why
are you anti-Jewish?" I said: I am not anti-Jewish at all... But
they are lying. They are not Jewish, but a bunch of corrupt criminals
abusing the name of Judaism."[5] <br><br>
</dl>In May 2006, the National Post</i> published an article claiming
that the Iranian parliament had passed a sumptuary law forcing religious
minorities, Jews included, to follow a specific dress code:
<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"It also envisages separate dress codes for religious
minorities, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, who will have to adopt
distinct colour schemes to make them identifiable in public. The new
codes would enable Muslims to easily recognize non-Muslims so that they
can avoid shaking hands with them by mistake, and thus becoming najis</i>
(unclean)."[6] <br><br>
</dl>However, the story turned out to be a hoax and the National Post</i>
issued an apology by its editor-in-chief[7]. But the intention of this
falsification is obvious: it was meant to remind people of the yellow
star that Jews were forced to wear in Nazi Germany, and thereby create
fears of similar events happening in Iran that might lead to some kind of
new Holocaust.<br><br>
One of the particularly critical Jewish responses to this provocation
came from Iran’s Jewish Member of Parliament, Moris Motamed. (It should
be noted that Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians all have their own
guaranteed seat in the Iranian Parliament (Majilis), which is one of the
results of Khomeini's fatwa</i> calling for the protection of these
religious minorities). As Motamed outlined in an interview with
Counterpunch</i>: <br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"Unfortunately, this was fake news published in a Canadian
newspaper. I considered this news a big insult to the religious
minorities of Iran. I refuted the story vigorously, to the point that the
source of the news and the Canadian government officially apologized to
the Iranian government."[8] <br><br>
</dl>The same Motamed, who officially represents the Iranian Jewish
community, does not criticize Iran’s nuclear program, unlike many
foreigners who claim to act in favour of Judaism by encouraging
"strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities":<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"As a Jewish Iranian, I consider enrichment of peaceful nuclear
technology the obvious right of Iranian society. What is sad here and
I’m so sorry about it is that before the Islamic Revolution, we
witnessed… western Europe and America pressuring Iran to obtain nuclear
technology and establish a nuclear power plant. Now the idea is brought
up: "Why do you want nuclear technology? What is the point of
nuclear technology for you when you have rich resources like fuel and gas
and oil?" My question here is why at that earlier time, the problem
of natural resources was not brought up?"<br><br>
</dl>In further demonizing the Iranian state, Western media and
pro-Zionist lobbyists accuse Ahmadinejad of making ambiguous statements
about the Holocaust. Clearly, however, holocaust denial does not
represent the official position of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Otherwise it couldn't be explained why in 2007 the Iranian state
television broadcast a series emphasising the suffering of Europe’s Jews
in the Second World War, in what can be likened to an Iranian version of
"Schindler’s List": <br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"The central character is an Iranian diplomat, who provides
false Iranian passports to enable Jews to flee the Nazi-occupied France,
a sort of Iranian Schindler. He even has a love affair with a Jewish
woman."[9] <br><br>
</dl>This Iranian diplomat saving Iranian Jews, named Abdol Hossein
Sardari, actually existed in real life and has been honoured in past
decades by Jewish organisations, including the Simon Wiesenthal
Centre.[10] <br><br>
It should not be the goal of this article to make a final judgement on
Jewish life in Iran, because this would be an almost impossible
enterprise without having the personal experience of how life looks when
belonging to a religious minority in a very religious country. But it is
important to put the collected information into perspective. It is
apparent Iranian Jews have the right to freely practice their religion
and to maintain their culture and traditions. Jewish institutions such as
synagogues, Jewish libraries, hospitals and restaurants are
well-established across the country. <br><br>
By contrast, the impression we get from one of America's closest Middle
Eastern allies, the totalitarian Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (a rival of
Iran), looks very different. Neither Jewish nor Christian worship is
allowed, and Saudi school textbooks spread hateful messages such as the
following, according to Daily Mail</i>: <br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"In one, for ninth-graders, students are taught the annihilation
of the Jewish people is imperative. One text reads in part: 'The hour (of
judgment) will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them.
There is a Jew behind me come and kill him.'"[11] <br><br>
</dl>This is not the first time that the U.S. government is fighting
alongside extremists against states that they perceive as barriers to the
proliferation of their economic, geopolitical and imperial agendas, while
at the same time pretending to combat "terrorism", "ethnic
cleansing" and other crimes against humanity. <br><br>
All things considered, the hypocrisy is plainly clear. It is therefore
not only necessary but also imperative to oppose the dangerous propaganda
and warmongering spread by the most aggressive factions within the U.S.
and Israeli establishments, and ensure that truth prevails over rampant
militarization.<br><br>
Benjamin Schett</b> is an independent Swiss-based researcher and student
of East European History at the University of Vienna. He can be reached
at <a href="mailto:schettb@gmail.com">schettb@gmail.com</a> <br><br>
<br>
</i><font face="Verdana" size=2>Notes<br><br>
</b>[1]
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-01-08/iran-nuclear-weapons/52451620/1">
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-01-08/iran-nuclear-weapons/52451620/1</a>
. <br><br>
[2]
<a href="http://www.adl.org/main_International_Affairs/ahmadinejad_words.htm" eudora="autourl">
http://www.adl.org/main_International_Affairs/ahmadinejad_words.htm</a>.
<br><br>
[3]
<a href="http://www.sephardicstudies.org/iran.html">
http://www.sephardicstudies.org/iran.html</a>. <br><br>
[4]
<a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/293359/Iran" eudora="autourl">
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/293359/Iran</a>. <br><br>
[5]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEDqygQMoZ8&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL77FD8F72F884C7F8">
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEDqygQMoZ8&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL77FD8F72F884C7F8</a>
. <br><br>
[6] Original article:
<a href="http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=398274b5-9210-43e4-ba59-fa24f4c66ad4&k=28534&p=1">
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=398274b5-9210-43e4-ba59-fa24f4c66ad4&k=28534&p=1</a>
. <br><br>
[7]
<a href="http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=6df3e493-f350-4b53-bc16-53262b49a4f7" eudora="autourl">
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=6df3e493-f350-4b53-bc16-53262b49a4f7<br>
<br>
</a>[8]
<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2008/07/14/talking-to-iran-s-only-jewish-member-of-parliament">
http://www.counterpunch.org/2008/07/14/talking-to-iran-s-only-jewish-member-of-parliament</a>
. <br><br>
[9]
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7119474.stm" eudora="autourl">
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7119474.stm</a>. <br><br>
[10]
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdol_Hossein_Sardari">
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdol_Hossein_Sardari</a>. <br><br>
[11]
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2077658/The-Arabic-textbooks-children-chop-hands-feet-Sharia-law.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2077658/The-Arabic-textbooks-children-chop-hands-feet-Sharia-law.html</a>
. <br>
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