Iran, Irony and Ahmadinejad

By Barry Rubin

What could be more ironic! Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in Geneva on April 21 at a UN conference grandly named The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenohobia and Related Tolerance inciting hatred, xenophobia, genocide, and discrimination. He claimed that Jews and Israel used the rationale of a genocidal murder that didn’t happen as an excuse to commit a genocide (that really didn't happen) against Palestinians.

Let me chart that out for you. He said:

1. The genocide against the Jews didn’t happen.

2. Jews and Israel used this as an excuse to gain total power and

3. Committed genocide against the Palestinians.

Yet it just so happened that, for example, on April 3 (though it shouldn’t be hard to find more proximate events including sermons being given in Iranian mosques), Hamas was airing its mosque sermon of the week on its al-Aqsa television station.

Hamas, we should remember, is an Iranian client group which is heavily subsidized, promoted, armed, and trained by Iran. Of course, it’s political ideology is aligned with Iran (of course, Hamas is Sunni but you know what I mean).

As Ahmadinejad and his allies led a campaign against the Jews, the Hamas sermon stated:

“It is the Jews who are leading the vehement campaign against the Muslims today.” [MEMRI translations].

As Ahmadinejad seeks to gain hegemony in the Middle East and even in the world, his Hamas clients were using the same materials as the Nazis in accusing the Jews of doing so:

”The Protocols of the Elders of Zion…in this book, the Jews included their plan to besiege the whole world.”

And while Ahmadinejad is denying that anyone ever practiced genocide against the Jews, his allies are urging…genocide against the Jews:

"Allah Willing, The Moment Will Come When... Not a Single Jew or Zionist is Left on the Face of the Earth";

And while Ahmadinejad is claiming that the Jews and Israel committed genocide against the Palestinians—which never happened—a large proportion of the Palestinians with his help are seeking to carry out…genocide Against the Jews:

"Allah Willing, The Moment Will Come When... Not a Single Jew or Zionist is Left on the Face of the Earth."

And while Ahmadinejad and many others are demanding that it be made a crime to criticize—much less slander—a religion, they are criticizing and slandering a religion.

So as Ahmadinejad and Iran’s regime appear at a conference supposedly opposing hatred and genocide they are advocating…hatred and genocide.

Source of translations: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2080.htm