International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust explained

The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust was a two-day conference in Tehran, Iran that opened on 11 December 2006. Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the conference sought "neither to deny nor prove the Holocaust... [but] to provide an appropriate scientific atmosphere for scholars to offer their opinions in freedom about a historical issue". Participants included David Duke, Moshe Aryeh Friedman, Robert Faurisson, Fredrick Töben, Michèle Renouf, Ahmed Rami and Yisroel Dovid Weiss of Neturei Karta.

The conference was widely described as a "Holocaust denial conference" or a "meeting of Holocaust deniers."[1]

The conference provoked strong criticism.[2] The Vatican condemned it, the US administration of George W. Bush called it an "affront to the entire civilized world," and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair described it as "shocking beyond belief."[3] Historians of the Holocaust attended a separate conference in Berlin organized in protest against the assembly in Iran, calling it "an attempt to cloak anti-Semitism in scholarly language."[4]

Background

The idea for the conference was inspired by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had been criticized since coming to power in 2005 for referring to the Holocaust as a "myth" and calling Israel a "tumor". The event opened on December 11, 2006, and was organized and hosted by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs's Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS).

Manouchehr Mottaki, then foreign minister of the Ahmadinejad government, said the purpose of the conference was not to reject or accept the historical reality of the Holocaust.[5] Instead, along with other Iranian officials, he stated that the conference was intended to "create an opportunity for thinkers who cannot express their views freely in Europe about the Holocaust".[6] Its objective was to create "suitable scientific research so that the hidden and unhidden angles of this most important political issue of the 20th century becomes more transparent."[7]

According to Mottaki: "If the official version of the Holocaust is thrown into doubt, then the identity and nature of Israel will be thrown into doubt. And if, during this review, 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?"

Attendees

There were 67 attendees from 30 countries, according to the Iranian foreign ministry.[8]

American David Duke, a former State Representative of the US state of Louisiana and ex-Ku Klux Klan leader, attended the conference. Politician Georges Theil, a member of the French National Front who was convicted under France's Holocaust denial laws, attended, as did the German-Australian Fredrick Töben, founder and head of the Adelaide Institute who had been imprisoned in Germany for three months in 1999 for Holocaust denial.[9] Robert Faurisson, a convicted Holocaust denier from France also attended,[10] as well as Ahmed Rami, a Swedish-Moroccan Holocaust denier who was imprisoned in Sweden for inciting racial hatred.[11] Psychologist Bendikt Frings, a leading member of the German National Democratic Party (NPD), was invited by Iranian Deputy Minister of Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Ali Ramin; Frings said that he had waited for such a conference "all my childhood".[12] [13] The NPD is often considered the most significant Neo-Nazi party in Germany.[14] [15]

Michèle Renouf, an Australian-born British defender of Holocaust denial author David Irving also attended. At the conference, Renouf claimed that the "terrible things" that happened to the Jews in World War II were brought upon by Jewish leaders.[16]

Among the participants at the conference were six members of the anti-Zionist Jewish organisation Neturei Karta, including Aharon Cohen,[17] [18] who said he had come to the conference to express the Orthodox Jewish viewpoint. Cohen also said that while the Holocaust indisputably happened, "in no way can it be used as a justification for perpetrating unjust acts against the Palestinians."

Shiraz Dossa, a professor of Political Science at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada, presented a paper at the conference and was castigated for his participation by the Canadian media and his university.[19]

During a presentation, Jan Bernhoff, a computer teacher from Sweden, claimed that only 300,000 Jews had been killed as opposed to six million.[20]

Israeli Arab lawyer permission rescinded

Israeli Arab lawyer Khaled Kasab Mahameed was invited to attend the conference by the Iranian government, who rescinded his permission after it was discovered that he holds Israeli citizenship.[21] Iran does not grant visas to Israelis. According to Ha'aretz, Mahameed intended "to tell the conference that the Holocaust did happen and that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's position of Holocaust denial is wrong". He stated:

Everything that happened must be internalized and the facts must not be denied... It is the obligation of all Arabs and all Muslims to understand the significance of the Holocaust. If their goal is to understand their adversary, they must understand the Holocaust... The naqba [disaster] the Palestinians experienced in 1948 is small compared to the Holocaust, but the political implications of the Holocaust have made its terrors a burden on the Palestinian people alone... The Holocaust has all the reasons for the creation of the Arab-Israeli conflict, but also has potential to bring peace."[22]

Conference events

The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying: "The Zionist regime will be wiped out soon the same way the Soviet Union was, and humanity will achieve freedom [and] elections should be held among Jews, Christians and Muslims so the population of Palestine can select their government and destiny for themselves in a democratic manner."[23]

Papers delivered by participants from countries ranging from Austria to Indonesia included "A Challenge to the Official Holocaust Story," and "Holocaust, the Achilles Heel of a Primordial Jewish Trojan."[24]

David Duke gave a speech in which he said: "In Europe you can freely question, ridicule and deny Jesus Christ. The same is true for the prophet Muhammad, and nothing will happen to you. But offer a single question of the smallest part of the Holocaust and you face prison."[9]

Fredrick Töben told the conference: "Minds are being switched off to the Holocaust dogma as it is being sold as a historical fact and yet we are not able to question it. This is mental rape."[25]

Aharon Cohen told the conference: "There is no doubt whatsoever, that during World War II there developed a terrible and catastrophic policy and action of genocide perpetrated by Nazi Germany against the Jewish people, confirmed by innumerable eyewitness survivors and fully documented again and again...The figure of six million is regularly quoted. One may wish to dispute this actual figure, but the crime was just as dreadful whether the millions of victims numbered six million, five million or four million. The method of murder is also irrelevant, whether it was by gas chamber, firing squads or whatever. The evil was the same. It would be a terrible affront to the memory of those who perished to belittle the guilt of the crime in any way.[18]

Richard Krege maintained his suggestion of diesel exhaust gas chambers to be an "outright lie," and showed a model of the Treblinka extermination camp to illustrate this.[24] He claimed that up to 10,000 people died in the camp, but of disease, instead of planned extermination.[24] He said, "There is no scientific proof to show that this place was an extermination camp. All that exists are the words of some people."[24]

Conclusions

According to IRNA, the conference participants agreed to start a world foundation for Holocaust studies with Mohammad-Ali Ramin as its Secretary General. The stated purpose of the foundation was to "find out the truth about the Holocaust." More immediate tasks included preparing for the next Holocaust conference and composing the foundation's letter of association. The main office would initially be located in Tehran, though Ramin said it will eventually move to Berlin, "once proper grounds are prepared".[26]

Reactions

Iran

Iran's sole Jewish member of parliament Maurice Motamed said: "Holding this conference after having a competition of cartoons about the Holocaust has put a lot of pressure on Jews all over the world;" and that "The conference has upset Iran's 25,000-strong Jewish community."[27]

Though reformist demonstrations had been rare since Ahmadinejad took office, a few dozen students burnt pictures of him and chanted "death to the dictator" as Ahmadinejad gave a speech at Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran on 12 December 2006.[25] One student activist said the protest was against the "shameful" Holocaust conference, and added that Ahmadinejad had "brought to our country Nazis and racists from around the world."[25] Ahmadinejad responded by saying: "Everyone should know that Ahmadinejad is prepared to be burnt in the path of true freedom, independence and justice."[25]

However, Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, Secretary-General of the International Congress to Support the Palestinian Intifada, expressed support for the conference, saying that the "Western and Zionist media have always been aggrandizing the dimensions of the reality of Holocaust, mixing a bit of truth with a lot of lies".[28]

International

Supranational bodies
States
Religious leaders

Non-governmental

Thirty four of the world's leading policy institutes released a statement on 15 December that they would break off all relations with Iran's Institute for Political and International Studies. Signatories included the directors of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London; the Aspen Institute in Berlin; the German Marshall Fund in Washington; the Geneva Centre for Security Policy; the Center for International Studies and Research in Paris; the United States Studies Centre in Sydney, Australia; and the Center for International Relations in Warsaw.[45] The conference was condemned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).[46]

Ayaan Hirsi Ali called on Western leaders to wake up to the reality of the situation. She stated: "For the majority of Muslims in the world the Holocaust is not a major historical event they deny; they simply do not know because they were never informed. Worse, most of us are groomed to wish for a Holocaust of Jews."[47] She said that she never learned anything about the Holocaust while she was studying in Saudi Arabia and Kenya. She called for action from charities: "Western and Christian charities in the third world should take it upon themselves to inform Muslims and non-Muslims alike, in the areas where they are active, about the Holocaust."[47]

A number of Arab journalists in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom criticized the conference, arguing that it included unqualified non-historian speakers, spread the hate and propaganda of an extremist Iranian government, defended the heinous crimes of the Nazis, damaged Iran diplomatically at a time when its foreign relations were difficult, and reflected a lack of human and cultural sensitivity.[48]

Counter-conferences

See also

Notes and References

  1. [Amir Taheri]
  2. Web site: Comment is free - The Guardian.
  3. News: Conference in Iran on Holocaust begins. Boston.com. 12 December 2006. Barnard. Anne.
  4. Web site: Iran hosts Holocaust conference (Al Jazeera). 2006-12-13.
  5. News: Berlin Counters Holocaust Conference: "This Is What Happened" . Der Spiegel. 11 December 2006 . 26 October 2013.
  6. Web site: Department of Research and Education - MFA I. R. IRAN . 28 May 2009. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070128081129/http://www.ipis.ir/English/ . 28 January 2007.
  7. News: Holocaust Deniers and Skeptics Gather in Iran. Nazila. Fathi. The New York Times. 11 December 2006. 12 December 2006.
  8. Web site: Israel slams Iran Holocaust conference . Etgar . Lefkovits . The Jerusalem Post . 11 December 2006 . 12 December 2006.
  9. Web site: Nizkor.org. 13 December 2006. 4 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110604143511/http://www.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/people/f/ftp.py?people%2Ff%2F%2Ffaurisson.robert%2Fholocaust-denial-today. dead.
  10. Web site: Föreläsning i Stockholm om judefrågan . sv . . 25 November 2006. 13 December 2006. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080709044353/http://www.nsfront.info/txt/EEyuZFuZpZEtFUchJn.shtml . 9 July 2008.
  11. News: Letters To The Editor . . Nazila . Fathi . 12 December 2006.
  12. Web site: The Political Craft of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | Part 2: The Great Balancing Act - Tehran Bureau. . 29 November 2010. 26 October 2013.
  13. Web site: Neo-Nazi NPD party takes hold in municipal vote in Saxony . . 9 June 2008 . 26 October 2013.
  14. Web site: Austrian Times - News - Finanzen und Wirtschaft in Österreich. www.austriantimes.at. 28 May 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110531201818/http://www.austriantimes.at/index.php?id=12379. 31 May 2011. dead.
  15. News: Holocaust deniers gather in Iran for 'scientific' conference . London . . Robert . Tait . 12 December 2006.
  16. News: Iran stirs up hatred with Holocaust conference. https://web.archive.org/web/20061213090655/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2006%2F12%2F12%2Fwiran12.xml. dead. 13 December 2006. Alex. Spillius. 12 December 2006. 12 December 2006. London. The Daily Telegraph.
  17. Web site: Orthodox Jewish Attitude to the 'Holocaust'. Aharon. Cohen. Neturei Karta USA. 12 December 2006. 12 December 2006.
  18. News: Canadian prof's presence at Iran forum 'abhorrent': university. CBC News. 13 December 2006.
  19. Web site: Swedish teacher at Holocaust denial conference - The Local . Thelocal.se . 26 October 2013.
  20. Web site: Iran bars Israeli Arab from Shoah forum. Etgar. Lefkovits. Jerusalem Post. 10 December 2006. 12 December 2006.
  21. Web site: Founder of Holocaust museum in Nazareth invited to Tehran. Yoav. Stern. Haaretz. 17 November 2006. 12 December 2006.
  22. Web site: Satellite News and latest stories | the Jerusalem Post.
  23. Web site: Iran defiant as anger mounts over Holocaust forum. 12 December 2006. 15 December 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231317/http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20061212-105225-2773r. 26 September 2007. dead.
  24. News: Leader gets lesson on free speech at Iran uni. Michael. Theodoulou. The Australian. 13 December 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20081011012233/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20919335-12332,00.html. 11 October 2008. dead.
  25. Web site: World foundation for holocaust studies set up in Tehran . 16 December 2006. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930230003/http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0612141586200734.htm . 30 September 2007.
  26. News: Iran opens conference questioning the Holocaust. Hafezi, Parisa. Reuters. 12 November 2006. 13 December 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20070331061726/http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews. 31 March 2007. dead.
  27. Web site: Iran's Appalling Holocaust Conference. The Editors.
  28. Web site: Tehran Conference-public consequences . 14 December 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20070109043348/http://www.adelaideinstitute.org/2006December/contents_prog_consequences1.htm . 9 January 2007. dead .
  29. News: Iranian PM snubs Annan over nuclear program . . 3 September 2006.
  30. Web site: Perscommunication Federal Government of Belgium. Federal Government of Belgium. 12 December 2006. 12 December 2006. 11 March 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070311000427/http://www.nieuwsbank.nl/inp/2006/12/13/F082.htm. dead.
  31. Web site: Official Report: Number 096 (Official Version). Canadian House of Commons. 12 December 2006. 13 December 2006. 25 May 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110525201350/http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=2598624&File=0&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Pub=hansard&Ses=1. dead.
  32. Web site: Philippe Douste-Blazy on Holocaust conference and UN Security Council resolution on sanctions - France in the United Kingdom - La France au Royaume-Uni . Ambafrance-uk.org . 14 December 2006. 26 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202109/http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Philippe-Douste-Blazy-condemns,8235 . 29 October 2013. dead .
  33. Web site: UN General Assembly unanimously designates January 27 as Holocaust Remembrance Day . Mfa.gov.il . 26 October 2013.
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  35. News: Iran conference attendee: Holocaust an enormous lie. ynet. 11 December 2006.
  36. Web site: Mexico rejection letter.
  37. Web site: Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning the International Conference on the Holocaust, Teheran, 11–12 December 2006. 15 December 2006.
  38. Web site: Svar på skriftlig fråga 2006/07:354 . 1 February 2009. 20 December 2006. . sv . Den iranska regimens uttalanden om Israel och ifrågasättandet av Förintelsen är helt oacceptabla, liksom Irans ifrågasättande av staten Israels rätt att existera..
  39. Web site: Foreign ministry condemns Iran conference. Swissinfo. 12 December 2006. 15 December 2006. 6 December 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071206071455/http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/detail/Foreign_ministry_condemns_Iran_conference.html?siteSect=105&sid=7344720&cKey=1165987544000. dead.
  40. News: Iran's Holocaust conference 'shocking beyond belief': Blair. CBC News. 12 December 2006. 12 December 2006.
  41. Web site: Daily Press Briefing, 8 December 2006 . 13 December 2006.
  42. "Dateline World Jewry", April 2007, World Jewish Congress
  43. News: 14 December 2006. Boycott Jews who attended Iran conference, top rabbi urges. CBC News. 14 December 2006.
  44. Bennhold, Katrin. "Ties Cut With Iran Institute Over Holocaust," The New York Times, December 16, 2006.
  45. Web site: CAIR Condemns Iranian Holocaust Denial Conference. 13 December 2006.
  46. Web site: Hirsi Ali Takes on Tehran: Confronting Holocaust Denial . Ayaan . Hirsi Ali . Der Spiegel . 15 December 2006. 17 December 2006. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061217151811/http://www.spiegel.de/international/0%2C1518%2C454926%2C00.html . 17 December 2006 .
  47. Web site: Criticism of Tehran Holocaust Denial Conference in Arab and Iranian Media . Memri.org . 26 October 2013.
  48. News: Berlin Counters Holocaust Conference. Anna. Reimann. Der Spiegel. 11 December 2006. 12 December 2006.
  49. Web site: Yad Vashem and Germany organize counter-conferences. 13 December 2006. 16 December 2006.
  50. Web site: The Holocaust in Transnational Memory. 16 December 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20070101073833/http://www.bpb.de/files/NN75Y0.pdf. 1 January 2007. dead.
  51. Web site: Decrying Holocaust denial parley in Iran. 12 December 2006. 16 December 2006.
  52. Web site: The Role of Holocaust Denial in the Ideology and Strategy of The Iranian Government. 15 December 2006. 16 December 2006.
  53. Robin McDowell, "Jewish Holocaust survivor appeals for tolerance at conference in Muslim Indonesia",The San Diego Union-Tribune (Associated Press), June 12, 2007.
  54. Web site: LibForAll Foundation - Holocaust-affirming conference opens in Indonesia . Libforall.org . 26 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204016/http://www.libforall.org/news-bali-AFP.html . 29 October 2013. dead .