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| Netanyahu lashes out at Iran for 'mocking' Holocaust in cartoon contest | Netanyahu lashes out at Iran for 'mocking' Holocaust in cartoon contest |
| (4 months later) | |
| Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu lashed out at Iran on Sunday for staging a Holocaust-themed cartoon contest that mocked the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews during the second world war. The Islamic Republic was busy planning for another one, he said. | Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu lashed out at Iran on Sunday for staging a Holocaust-themed cartoon contest that mocked the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews during the second world war. The Islamic Republic was busy planning for another one, he said. |
| A US state department spokesman, traveling with secretary of state John Kerry in Saudi Arabia, expressed US concern about the contest, saying it should be “condemned by the authorities and civil society leaders rather than encouraged”. | A US state department spokesman, traveling with secretary of state John Kerry in Saudi Arabia, expressed US concern about the contest, saying it should be “condemned by the authorities and civil society leaders rather than encouraged”. |
| Iran has long backed armed groups committed to Israel’s destruction and its leaders have called for it to be wiped off the map. Israel fears that Iran’s nuclear program is designed to threaten its very existence. | Iran has long backed armed groups committed to Israel’s destruction and its leaders have called for it to be wiped off the map. Israel fears that Iran’s nuclear program is designed to threaten its very existence. |
| But Netanyahu said Israel opposed not only Iran’s belligerent policies, but its values. | But Netanyahu said Israel opposed not only Iran’s belligerent policies, but its values. |
| “It denies the Holocaust, it mocks the Holocaust and it is also preparing another Holocaust,” Netanyahu said at his weekly cabinet meeting. “I think that every country in the world must stand up and fully condemn this.” | “It denies the Holocaust, it mocks the Holocaust and it is also preparing another Holocaust,” Netanyahu said at his weekly cabinet meeting. “I think that every country in the world must stand up and fully condemn this.” |
| State department spokesman Mark Toner said the US was concerned the cartoon contest could “be used as a platform for Holocaust denial and revisionism and egregiously antisemitic speech, as it has in the past”. | State department spokesman Mark Toner said the US was concerned the cartoon contest could “be used as a platform for Holocaust denial and revisionism and egregiously antisemitic speech, as it has in the past”. |
| “Such offensive speech should be condemned by the authorities and civil society leaders rather than encouraged,” Toner said. “We denounce any Holocaust denial and trivialization as inflammatory and abhorrent. It is insulting to the memory of the millions of people who died in the Holocaust.” | “Such offensive speech should be condemned by the authorities and civil society leaders rather than encouraged,” Toner said. “We denounce any Holocaust denial and trivialization as inflammatory and abhorrent. It is insulting to the memory of the millions of people who died in the Holocaust.” |
| The denial or questioning of the genocide is widespread in the Middle East, where many regard it as a pretext Israel used for its creation and to excuse its actions toward the Palestinians. | The denial or questioning of the genocide is widespread in the Middle East, where many regard it as a pretext Israel used for its creation and to excuse its actions toward the Palestinians. |
| “Holocaust means mass killing,” said contest organizer Masuod Shojai Tabatabaei. “We are witnessing the biggest killings by the Zionist regime in Gaza and Palestine.” | “Holocaust means mass killing,” said contest organizer Masuod Shojai Tabatabaei. “We are witnessing the biggest killings by the Zionist regime in Gaza and Palestine.” |
| He said the purpose of the Tehran event was not to deny the Holocaust but rather to criticize alleged western double standards regarding free expression – and particularly as a response to depictions of the Prophet Muhammad by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and others. | He said the purpose of the Tehran event was not to deny the Holocaust but rather to criticize alleged western double standards regarding free expression – and particularly as a response to depictions of the Prophet Muhammad by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and others. |
| The exhibit featured some 150 works from 50 countries, with many portraying Israel as using the Holocaust to distract from the suffering of the Palestinians, and others comparing Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. | The exhibit featured some 150 works from 50 countries, with many portraying Israel as using the Holocaust to distract from the suffering of the Palestinians, and others comparing Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. |
| Others depicted Palestinian prisoners standing behind concentration camp-style barbed wire fences and a Jerusalem mosque behind a gate bearing the motto “Arbeit Macht Frei”, which appeared at the entrance to the Auschwitz death camp. | Others depicted Palestinian prisoners standing behind concentration camp-style barbed wire fences and a Jerusalem mosque behind a gate bearing the motto “Arbeit Macht Frei”, which appeared at the entrance to the Auschwitz death camp. |
| The contest was organized by non-governmental bodies with strong support from Iran’s hardliners. A previous contest in 2006 got a boost from then president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a hardliner who referred to the Holocaust as a “myth” and repeatedly predicted Israel’s demise. | The contest was organized by non-governmental bodies with strong support from Iran’s hardliners. A previous contest in 2006 got a boost from then president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a hardliner who referred to the Holocaust as a “myth” and repeatedly predicted Israel’s demise. |
| • This article was amended on 16 May 2016 to correct the name of the state department spokesman Mark Toner. | • This article was amended on 16 May 2016 to correct the name of the state department spokesman Mark Toner. |