Holocaust Denial Propaganda Confirms Tehran’s Commitment to Elevate Antisemitism to Statecraft

WIESENTHAL CENTER: HOLOCAUST DENIAL PROPAGANDA CONFIRMS TEHRAN’S
COMMITMENT TO ELEVATE ANTISEMITISM TO STATECRAFT

Center says announcement of Holocaust cartoon contest winners and upcoming Holocaust denial conference arepart of “insidious and grotesque” anti-Jewish campaign to solidify Iran’s leadership in the Muslim world

The Simon Wiesenthal Center called yesterday’s announcement of the winners of a Holocaust Cartoon contest inTehran another step in the Iranian regime’s “insidious and grotesque” campaign against the Jewish people.

“Tehran’s propaganda onslaught against the victims of the Holocaust and world Jewry continues unabated,” saidRabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center. “The Holocaust cartoon contest and next month’s conference of Holocaust deniers in Tehran confirm the Mullahs’commitment to elevate antisemitism to statecraft in order to solidify Iran’s leadership in the Muslim world both among Sunnis and Shi’as,” he added.

“The cynical motivation behind the cartoon ‘contest’ was underscored by the fact that the winning entryincorporates the Auschwitz death camp,” said Cooper. “So even as they deny the Holocaust, Iran’s propaganda machine uses the imagery of the Shoah to demonize the Jewishstate.”

“These developments, taken against the backdrop of genocidal threats made against the seven million citizens ofthe State of Israel, underscores the fact that we are confronted with those who deny the Holocaust ever occurred, and given the opportunity, would complete Hitler’s genocidalvision,” Rabbi Cooper concluded.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe.

For more information, please contact the Center's Public Relations Department, 310-553-9036.