Has Ahmadinejad Lost his Mind?!
He's not "possessed" like many people make him out to be, but he is as obsessed with the Holocaust issue and other whacko conspiracy theories. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went too far this time: he hosted a "Holocaust conference" that was most likely a mock conference used to insult Jewish history and the Holocaust itself, which is an event that has roots in human history as Jews, Poles, and all other "opponents" to the Nazi regime were executed (quoted "opponents" because many of them were innocent of any opposition or support for that matter). Ahmadinejad is shatterring his own image with the very thing that people are accusing him of being: denying the Holocaust's existence.
To do that, he invited several historians from around the world to attend this conference... historians who have been painted as Holocaust deniers. Granted, these people have the right to believe what they believe in, but as long as they do, there will be people elsewhere who will criticize them for it. I myself do not deny the Holocaust: I know people whose parents and grandparents survived the Holocaust. The invitee list is caustic. Among the attendees are former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and French professor Robert Faurisson, both of them well-known anti-Semites. If Iran's leader was honest about this Holocaust conference, he would have invited an equal number of reputable historians on the Holocaust who affirm its occurrence, not just Khaled Mahameed, who is one of these historians.
Not surprisingly, the conference received widespread condemnation, mainly from the Western world. Of course, we get the same old, lame old rhetoric from Ehud Olmert, probably the most incompetent Israeli Prime Minister to date. The conference was immediately labelled as anti-Semitic (which I believe it is to some extent) because it speaks of continuing a debate which ended years and years ago, ever since the criminals responsible for the Holocaust were tried and executed.
But Ahmadinejad received even more noteworthy criticism from an unexpected source: a Palestinian prisoner. While I'm sure that most if not all Palestinians believe that the Holocaust really occurred, this one made note because it was actually made much more public. Angus McDowall of The Independent writes,
To do that, he invited several historians from around the world to attend this conference... historians who have been painted as Holocaust deniers. Granted, these people have the right to believe what they believe in, but as long as they do, there will be people elsewhere who will criticize them for it. I myself do not deny the Holocaust: I know people whose parents and grandparents survived the Holocaust. The invitee list is caustic. Among the attendees are former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and French professor Robert Faurisson, both of them well-known anti-Semites. If Iran's leader was honest about this Holocaust conference, he would have invited an equal number of reputable historians on the Holocaust who affirm its occurrence, not just Khaled Mahameed, who is one of these historians.
Not surprisingly, the conference received widespread condemnation, mainly from the Western world. Of course, we get the same old, lame old rhetoric from Ehud Olmert, probably the most incompetent Israeli Prime Minister to date. The conference was immediately labelled as anti-Semitic (which I believe it is to some extent) because it speaks of continuing a debate which ended years and years ago, ever since the criminals responsible for the Holocaust were tried and executed.
But Ahmadinejad received even more noteworthy criticism from an unexpected source: a Palestinian prisoner. While I'm sure that most if not all Palestinians believe that the Holocaust really occurred, this one made note because it was actually made much more public. Angus McDowall of The Independent writes,
However, Mr Ahmadinejad has been condemned on the eve of the conference by Mahmoud al-Safadi, who was sentenced to 27 years by Israel for throwing Molotov cocktails during the 1988 intifada. In an open letter to the Iranian president, he says that Mr Ahmadinejad's stance is a "great disservice to popular struggles the world over".
"Perhaps you see Holocaust denial as an expression of support for the Palestinians," he writes. "Here, too, you are wrong. We struggle for our existence and our rights, and against the historic injustice that was dealt us in 1948.
"Our success and our independence will not be gained by denying the genocide perpetrated against the Jewish people, even if parts of this people are the very forces that occupy and dispossess us to this day." Mr Safadi says that reading the works of Arab intellectuals helped convince him that the Holocaust was a historical fact.
Golden words, in my opinion. I find it hypocritical that Ahmadinejad stands against the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and at the same time deny that genocide occurred against the Jews, even though a part of the Jewish people (i.e. Zionists in the Israeli regime) are committing atrocities against the Palestinians. It is often taken in the Arab world, sadly, that Israel represents the world Jewry, and Judaism as a whole, and that support for the Palestinians means that we should oppose Israel, the "representative" of the world Jewry. This is the reason why many Zionists equate anti-Zionism (over Palestine) with anti-Semitism, and sadly, some pro-Palestinian supporters, Palestinian or not, "justify" their anti-Semitism because the "other side" is anti-Arab or anti-Palestinian or anti-Muslim racist.
This, of course, isn't true. There are many Zionists out there who support a Jewish state, but do not support genocide, nor are they anti-Arab/anti-Muslim bigots, and I know this because I've debated with such people. Ahmadinejad seeks to polarize the sides, and turn it into some apocalyptic conflict. His support for Palestine does not come at denying the Holocaust. If he hosted a conference against Zionist motivations in Palestine (i.e. the Catastrophe of 1948), I'd have no problem as it is purely historical, though politics is rapidly losing its flavor with me because of how much it divides people. If he is supporting an oppressed people, he shouldn't denigrate the oppressor's background, that's what I'd say. I hope this Holocaust conference becomes nothing more than a sham and a reassurance to Ahmadinejad that it did happen.
Ahmadinejad's views on Israel have been very ambivalent. On one note, he acknowledges the existence of the Holocaust but undermines the legitimacy of the Israeli regime. On the other, he is willing to say that the Holocaust is a myth. Even returning to the related stories in the first article I presented (the one with Olmert and Merkel) do you see this ambivalence in his opinion. Clearly, Ahmadinejad is stammerring on this issue.
On that note, I am equivocal in condemning all genocides in the history of man, from the earliest days to the present, wherever such killings of innocents occurs. Whether it be the Holocaust, Stalin's Purges, the Crusader conquest of Jerusalem, etc., there is no justification for such actions. Ahmadinejad is now trying to push some of that under the dirt, and that is certainly not going to help the Palestinian cause for self-determination. But Ahmadinejad remains a non-threat, though his provocative remarks and assertation of independence are quite surprising for a politician these days. Whatever it is, with or without this petty Holocaust conference, the Holocaust happened, and so has every other genocide that has been recorded in human history. And those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it. We should remember all incidents of sufferring in the past and present, so we could work together to build a safer and more prosperous future for our children.
Saracen
This, of course, isn't true. There are many Zionists out there who support a Jewish state, but do not support genocide, nor are they anti-Arab/anti-Muslim bigots, and I know this because I've debated with such people. Ahmadinejad seeks to polarize the sides, and turn it into some apocalyptic conflict. His support for Palestine does not come at denying the Holocaust. If he hosted a conference against Zionist motivations in Palestine (i.e. the Catastrophe of 1948), I'd have no problem as it is purely historical, though politics is rapidly losing its flavor with me because of how much it divides people. If he is supporting an oppressed people, he shouldn't denigrate the oppressor's background, that's what I'd say. I hope this Holocaust conference becomes nothing more than a sham and a reassurance to Ahmadinejad that it did happen.
Ahmadinejad's views on Israel have been very ambivalent. On one note, he acknowledges the existence of the Holocaust but undermines the legitimacy of the Israeli regime. On the other, he is willing to say that the Holocaust is a myth. Even returning to the related stories in the first article I presented (the one with Olmert and Merkel) do you see this ambivalence in his opinion. Clearly, Ahmadinejad is stammerring on this issue.
On that note, I am equivocal in condemning all genocides in the history of man, from the earliest days to the present, wherever such killings of innocents occurs. Whether it be the Holocaust, Stalin's Purges, the Crusader conquest of Jerusalem, etc., there is no justification for such actions. Ahmadinejad is now trying to push some of that under the dirt, and that is certainly not going to help the Palestinian cause for self-determination. But Ahmadinejad remains a non-threat, though his provocative remarks and assertation of independence are quite surprising for a politician these days. Whatever it is, with or without this petty Holocaust conference, the Holocaust happened, and so has every other genocide that has been recorded in human history. And those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it. We should remember all incidents of sufferring in the past and present, so we could work together to build a safer and more prosperous future for our children.
Saracen
posted by Saracen @ 4:30 PM
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