Iran is called out after organizers in the country hold a Holocaust cartoon contest
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called out Iran after the country allowed organizers to hold a second Holocaust cartoon contest.
Those who participated in the contest are allowed to draw images depicting those of the Jewish faith in an unpleasant light.
Some of the images shown were of a Jewish soldier walking outside a mosque and a swastika. In a press release , Bokova commented that “Such an initiative which aims at a mockery of the genocide of the Jewish people, a tragic page of humanity’s history, can only foster hatred and incite to violence, racism, and danger.”
She continued by noting that UNESCO’s goal is to support freedom of speech that helps to expand one’s knowledge and understanding of others but that the contests depiction of Jews is in direct conflict with UNESCO’s goals and principles.
Bokova is quoted as saying, “This contest goes against the universal values of tolerance and respect, and runs counter to the action led by UNESCO to promote Holocaust education, to fight anti-Semitism and denial.”
Like Bokova, Netanyahu wasn’t too please about the contest. On Sunday, he tweeted, “Iran hosts Holocaust denial cartoon contest while preparing another Holocaust. Shameful. Don’t stay quiet about it.”
The contest organizer, Musuod Shojai Tabatabaei , denies that the purpose of the contest is to minimize the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust.
Tabatabaei instead says he sees the Holocaust in broader terms. For him, the Holocaust is genocide of many people; which he believes can be applied to any group.
Tabatabaei, however, applies the word Holocaust to one group, the Palestinians. The Associated Press quoted Tabatabaei as saying, “We have never been after denying of the Holocaust or ridiculing its victims…Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust were subject to oppression by Nazis. Holocaust means mass killing. We are witnessing the biggest killings by the Zionist regime in Gaze and Palestine.”
According to the Associated Press, Iran denies any involvement in the contest. The Associated Press cited a comment Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made to the New York Magazine in which he said “that is not controlled by the Iranian government. Nor is it endorsed by the Iranian government.”
Those who participated in the contest are allowed to draw images depicting those of the Jewish faith in an unpleasant light.
Some of the images shown were of a Jewish soldier walking outside a mosque and a swastika. In a press release , Bokova commented that “Such an initiative which aims at a mockery of the genocide of the Jewish people, a tragic page of humanity’s history, can only foster hatred and incite to violence, racism, and danger.”
She continued by noting that UNESCO’s goal is to support freedom of speech that helps to expand one’s knowledge and understanding of others but that the contests depiction of Jews is in direct conflict with UNESCO’s goals and principles.
Bokova is quoted as saying, “This contest goes against the universal values of tolerance and respect, and runs counter to the action led by UNESCO to promote Holocaust education, to fight anti-Semitism and denial.”
Like Bokova, Netanyahu wasn’t too please about the contest. On Sunday, he tweeted, “Iran hosts Holocaust denial cartoon contest while preparing another Holocaust. Shameful. Don’t stay quiet about it.”
The contest organizer, Musuod Shojai Tabatabaei , denies that the purpose of the contest is to minimize the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust.
Tabatabaei instead says he sees the Holocaust in broader terms. For him, the Holocaust is genocide of many people; which he believes can be applied to any group.
Tabatabaei, however, applies the word Holocaust to one group, the Palestinians. The Associated Press quoted Tabatabaei as saying, “We have never been after denying of the Holocaust or ridiculing its victims…Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust were subject to oppression by Nazis. Holocaust means mass killing. We are witnessing the biggest killings by the Zionist regime in Gaze and Palestine.”
According to the Associated Press, Iran denies any involvement in the contest. The Associated Press cited a comment Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made to the New York Magazine in which he said “that is not controlled by the Iranian government. Nor is it endorsed by the Iranian government.”
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