Iran Holocaust Denial--Rewriting history to suit their political ends

After the Iranian envoy to the U.N. Human Rights Council wrote a letter questioning the historical truth of the Holocaust, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other U.N. leaders to "speak out forcefully" against Iran's Holocaust denial and to reaffirm the world body's commitment to Holocaust education and awareness.

"As we approach the second annual Holocaust commemoration day at the United Nations, it is vital for the leadership to speak out forcefully against the Holocaust denial and anti-Jewish incitement that is spreading in the Muslim world thanks in good measure to the Iranian regime," said Glen S. Lewy, ADL National Chair and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "The use of this hatred by a U.N. member state is deplorable and runs contrary to everything the U.N. stands for as a beacon against intolerance."

In a letter to U.N. Human Rights Council President Luis de Alba circulated in Geneva, Iranian Ambassador Alireza Moayeri defended his country's recent Holocaust denial conference as an "academic event" while arguing that there is a "legitimate question regarding the number of victims in the Holocaust," which he calls "a historical claim."  The Iranian Holocaust denial conference, held December 11-12 in Tehran, brought together some of the world's leading anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers, including the racist hatemonger David Duke, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan in the United States.

In letters to Secretary-General Ban and Louise Arbour, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, ADL noted that Iran's conduct violates General Assembly Resolution 60/7, which "rejects any denial of the Holocaust as an historical event, either in full or in part."

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.