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Iran's foreign minister questioned the right of Israel to exist yesterday at the opening of a provocative conference on the Holocaust. The two-day gathering in Teheran is being attended by dozens of international guests, including a British anti-Zionist rabbi, who will hear presentations debating the use of the gas chambers.
The Teheran conference was attended by six members of Jews United Against Zionism. Some wore badges that had Israel’s flag crossed out
In opening remarks, Manouchehr Mottaki said: "If the official version of the Holocaust is thrown into doubt, then the identity and nature of Israel will be thrown into doubt. If... it is proved that the Holocaust was a historical reality, then what is the reason for the Palestinians having to pay the cost of the Nazis' crimes?"
The conference, Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision, was initiated by Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, who has described the killing of six million Jews in Nazi Germany as a "myth" and called for Israel to be wiped off the map. His remarks have caused grave international alarm at a time that Iran is feared to be developing nuclear weapons.
In an address broadcast to the nation yesterday, Mr Ahmadinejad questioned why the West would not allow "any investigation" into the Holocaust. He is expected to address the meeting today.
Earlier in the day the president faced the first protest since winning elections 18 months ago. Students lit a firework and burned his photograph in the audience as he delivered a speech at the Amir Kabir technical university.
advertisementUp to 60 protesters chanted "death to the dictator", the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The president's supporters in the audience then shouted back, before his speech continued. There were no reports of arrests.
Israel, the United States and a leader of Iran's own 25,000-strong Jewish community condemned the Teheran meeting, which is believed to be the first of its kind sponsored by a state. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, called it a "sick phenomenon that shows the depth of the hatred of the fundamentalist Iranian regime".
"The enlightened world must condemn this conference and the one who has convened it in the most determined manner," he said en route to Berlin to attend a conference where historians affirmed the accuracy of Nazi genocide data.
Among the participants in the Teheran conference were six members of Jews United Against Zionism, who were dressed in the traditional long black coats and hats of Orthodox Jews. Some wore badges with Israel's flag crossed out.
One of two rabbis in the contingent was Ahron Cohen, from London. He said: "We came here to put the Orthodox Jewish viewpoint. We certainly say there was a Holocaust... but in no way can it be used as a justification for perpetrating unjust acts against the Palestinians." Rabbi Cohen is a member of Neturei Karta (Guardians of the City), a small global anti-Zionist movement which holds that the state of Israel cannot exist until the coming of the Messiah.
Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: "They are a fringe, but a fringe that detractors of Israel are making much of. The conference sits with Iran's agenda of demonising Israel, and linking Israel's existence to nothing more than a guilt trip of the Western powers."
The Iranians claimed that 67 foreigners visited from 30 countries. They included the American David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader, and the French writer Georges Thiel, who has been convicted in France for spreading revisionist theories about the mass extermination of Jews.
Many Iranians have admitted being embarrassed about the meeting, which followed Iran's decision to hold a competition for cartoons about the Holocaust in October. There are also elements within the Teheran establishment that are aware that it will only increase Iran's international isolation when it is also at odds with the United Nations over its nuclear programme.
The Teheran conference was attended by six members of Jews United Against Zionism. Some wore badges that had Israel’s flag crossed out
In opening remarks, Manouchehr Mottaki said: "If the official version of the Holocaust is thrown into doubt, then the identity and nature of Israel will be thrown into doubt. If... it is proved that the Holocaust was a historical reality, then what is the reason for the Palestinians having to pay the cost of the Nazis' crimes?"
The conference, Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision, was initiated by Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, who has described the killing of six million Jews in Nazi Germany as a "myth" and called for Israel to be wiped off the map. His remarks have caused grave international alarm at a time that Iran is feared to be developing nuclear weapons.
In an address broadcast to the nation yesterday, Mr Ahmadinejad questioned why the West would not allow "any investigation" into the Holocaust. He is expected to address the meeting today.
Earlier in the day the president faced the first protest since winning elections 18 months ago. Students lit a firework and burned his photograph in the audience as he delivered a speech at the Amir Kabir technical university.
advertisementUp to 60 protesters chanted "death to the dictator", the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The president's supporters in the audience then shouted back, before his speech continued. There were no reports of arrests.
Israel, the United States and a leader of Iran's own 25,000-strong Jewish community condemned the Teheran meeting, which is believed to be the first of its kind sponsored by a state. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, called it a "sick phenomenon that shows the depth of the hatred of the fundamentalist Iranian regime".
"The enlightened world must condemn this conference and the one who has convened it in the most determined manner," he said en route to Berlin to attend a conference where historians affirmed the accuracy of Nazi genocide data.
Among the participants in the Teheran conference were six members of Jews United Against Zionism, who were dressed in the traditional long black coats and hats of Orthodox Jews. Some wore badges with Israel's flag crossed out.
One of two rabbis in the contingent was Ahron Cohen, from London. He said: "We came here to put the Orthodox Jewish viewpoint. We certainly say there was a Holocaust... but in no way can it be used as a justification for perpetrating unjust acts against the Palestinians." Rabbi Cohen is a member of Neturei Karta (Guardians of the City), a small global anti-Zionist movement which holds that the state of Israel cannot exist until the coming of the Messiah.
Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: "They are a fringe, but a fringe that detractors of Israel are making much of. The conference sits with Iran's agenda of demonising Israel, and linking Israel's existence to nothing more than a guilt trip of the Western powers."
The Iranians claimed that 67 foreigners visited from 30 countries. They included the American David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader, and the French writer Georges Thiel, who has been convicted in France for spreading revisionist theories about the mass extermination of Jews.
Many Iranians have admitted being embarrassed about the meeting, which followed Iran's decision to hold a competition for cartoons about the Holocaust in October. There are also elements within the Teheran establishment that are aware that it will only increase Iran's international isolation when it is also at odds with the United Nations over its nuclear programme.
