ON HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY, BAR IRAN’S PRESIDENT FROM ATTENDING WORLD CUP IN GERMANY

Lea mas en Español...


Scroll down to see updates on this story...

Today, as millions of people around the world commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day and remember the six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis during World  War II, there is one world leader committed to completing Adolf Hitler's vision.

Sixty-one years since the end of the Shoah, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is calling for Israel's annihilation, even as he constantly vilifies the Jewish people, and labels the Nazi Holocaust a "myth". 

This week, after learning of the reported planned attendance by Iran's President at the World Cup in Germany this June, an immediate protest was launched by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. We are now asking you to join with us to strengthen our campaign to bar Iran's President from being an honored guest at one of the world's most prestigious sporting events.  

The Iranian President (pictured left) is pursuing his dangerous and inflammatory campaign against Israel and the Jews, even as he rushes to nuclearize Iran. The international community must show that there are consequences for such policies.  Allowing Ahmadinejad to sit in the VIP section at the World Cup would conjure up bitter memories of the 1936 Olympic Games when leaders of the Third Reich sat in the VIP section in Berlin, a move that gained them stature and acceptance throughout the world.

Ironically, Iran's national soccer team will play in Nuremberg's stadium, just a stone's throw from the very first Nazi marches.  And, while Nuremberg's mayor hopes to prevent the visit, he is preparing the city for demonstrations in support of Ahmadinejad and for marches by neo-Nazis hoping to welcome a kindred spirit from Tehran.

Please join us in urging the President of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), Mr. Joseph S. Blatter, to bar President Ahmadinejad from attending the games unless and until he withdraws his statements denying the Nazi Holocaust and calling for the obliteration of the State of Israel.

Ahmadinejad's attendance would be a desecration of the memory of the Jews murdered by the Nazis, would make a mockery of their suffering, and would only further embolden his dangerous regime. 

Add your voice today to our urgent campaign now. By clicking here you will be sending a letter directly to Mr. Joseph Blatter demanding that action be taken.  After signing the petition please forward to your friends, family, and colleagues.

Please help support this urgent campaign. Your contribution will help continue our crucial work on your behalf.

•May 4, 2006
SENATE SEEKS SUPPORT IN BARRING IRANIAN PRESIDENT FROM WORLD CUP

A Senatorial effort seeking to bar Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from traveling to Germany to attend the June 9th World Cup soccer tournament is being led by Senantor Bill Nelson (D-FL).

A letter is being circulated to other Senators seeking additional signatures.

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is one of the lead signators to the ongoing
effort.

Please check back for updates to this story.

•May 5, 2006
WIESENTHAL CENTER REJECTS FIFA LETTER AS “DOUBLE STANDARD”

In wake of the controversy surrounding the possibility of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to this summer’s World Cup match in Germany, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has reiterated its call that FIFA take a clear stand to bar Ahmedinejad, saying that the organization’s policy to not engage in political affairs is inaccurate.

In a letter today to the Center, FIFA Legal Director Heinz Tännler stressed that the organization “is a non-political Association under Swiss Law with the objective to promote the game of football constantly and globally.”

Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, Founder and Dean and Associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center (respectively) replied to this letter, citing  a public statement made last month by FIFA Deputy Secretary General Jerome Champagne condemning Israel for attacking an empty soccer field used as a training ground by Palestinian terrorist groups, saying that it was “absolutely counter productive for peace…”

“Clearly, the above quote puts FIFA on record as making a political statement,” said Hier and Cooper.  “It is morally repugnant and certainly a double standard when FIFA can condemn Israel, but is silent and unwilling to say to Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that he is not welcome to attend the World Cup in Germany because he has called for the obliteration of the State of Israel and referred to the Holocaust as a myth.”

In today’s letter from FIFA, Tännler had also stated that the matter of a visit by Ahmadinejad belonged “solely to the responsibility of the German Government.” 

But a high ranking German diplomat told the Center that the Iranian President had not received an invitation from Germany and that there could be no visit without the direct involvement of FIFA, because it was their event.

The Wiesenthal Center urged Blatter to bear the full responsibility. “This is a moment of truth for FIFA and your silence will speak volumes,” concluded Rabbi Hier and Rabbi Cooper.