The subtle message of this article: Not all Jews think that Ahmedinejad is crazy. There may BE a difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism

Just for the record: weazl does believe that a Holocaust occurred, but does believe that one should continue to look for the evidence to assess the actual number of people killed. Weazl does believe that the suffering and manipulation of events taking place in Europe was designed to result in the creation of a Jewish state (read Ralph Schoenman's Hidden History of Zionism, or Edwin Black's The Transfer Agreement) and the manipulation of the myth of Jewish suffering has been used to extort many millions of dollars from European countries. Read Norman Finkelstein's The Holocaust Industry. Weazl believes that one SHOULD conduct additional research on this issue, and Europe's prohibition on "Holocaust Denial" is an affront both to free speech and academic inquiry. The hypocrisy is revealed by the absense of legislation regarding the slaughter of other people such as the Roma, Slavs, Gays, Blacks, and people with disabilities, among others.

So weazl thinks it is quite hypocritical to promulgate legislation regarding the historical experience of ONE group wrapped around and air of indifference about the plight of others (and weazl doesn't believe in suppressing speech anyway). So weazl actually thinks that this Holocaust meeting is a step in the right direction, even if some other people might advance a different agenda other than academic and intellectual responsibility, accuracy and freedom. Anyway, a bit of a disclaimer before carrying on to the story:


Iran President: Israel Will Be Wiped Out

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, shakes hands with anti-Zionism Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, at the start of his meeting with participants of a conference on the Holocaust, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2006. Participants at a conference questioning whether the Holocaust took place praised Iran's hard-line president on Tuesday, saying the gathering gives them the chance to air theories casting doubt on the Nazi genocide that are banned in parts of Europe. Ahmadinejad initiated the two-day gathering, which began on Monday, in an attempt to bolster his image as a leader standing up to Israel, Europe and the United States - an image he has used to whip up support at home and abroad.

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
The Associated Press
Tuesday, December 12, 2006; 4:37 PM

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's hard-line president said Tuesday that Israel will one day be "wiped out" as the Soviet Union was, drawing applause from participants in a conference casting doubt on the Holocaust.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments were likely to further fuel the outcry prompted by the two-day gathering, which has gathered some of Europe's and the United States' best-known Holocaust deniers.

Anger over the conference could further isolate Iran as the West considers sanctions in the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program.

But Ahmadinejad appeared to revel in his meeting Tuesday with conference delegates, shaking hands with American participants and sitting near six anti-Israel Jewish participants, dressed in black ultra-Orthodox coats and hats.

"The Zionist regime will be wiped out soon the same way the Soviet Union was, and humanity will achieve freedom," Ahmadinejad said during Tuesday's meeting in his offices, according to the official IRNA news agency.

He called for elections among "Jews, Christians and Muslims so the population of Palestine can select their government and destiny for themselves in a democratic manner."

Ahmadinejad has used anti-Israeli rhetoric and cast doubt on the Holocaust to rally anti-Western supporters at home and abroad, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. Several times he has referred to the Holocaust as a "myth" used to impose the state of Israel on the Arab world.

"The Holocaust is the device used as the pillar of Zionist imperialism, Zionist aggression, Zionist terror and Zionist murder," David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader and former state representative in Louisiana, told The Associated Press.

Ahmadinejad announced the conference would set up a "fact-finding commission" to determine whether the Holocaust happened or not. The commission will "help end a 60-year-old dispute," he said.

The Tehran conference was touted by participants and organizers as an exercise in academic freedom and a chance to openly consider whether 6 million Jews really died in the Holocaust, away from Western taboos and the restrictions imposed on scholars in Europe, where some countries have made it a crime to deny the Nazi genocide during World War II.

It gathered 67 writers and researchers from 30 countries, most of whom argue that either the Holocaust did not happen or that it was vastly exaggerated. Many have been jailed or fined in France, Germany or Austria, where it is illegal to deny the Holocaust.

Participants milled around a model of the Auschwitz concentration camp brought by one speaker, Australian Frederick Toben, who uses the mock-up in lectures contending that the camp was too small to kill mass numbers of Jews. More than 1 million people are estimated to have been killed there.

Rabbi Moshe David Weiss, one of six members attending from the group Jews United Against Zionism, told delegates, "We don't want to deny the killing of Jews in World War II, but Zionists have given much higher figures for how many people were killed."

"They have used the Holocaust as a device to justify their oppression," he said. His group rejects the creation of Israel on the grounds that it violates Jewish religious law.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that the conference was "shocking beyond belief" and "a symbol of sectarianism and hatred."

In Washington, the White House condemned Iran for convening a conference it called "an affront to the entire civilized world."

Original article posted here.