Wiesenthal Center To General Assembly World Leaders: “Double Standard To Ignore Iran President’s Slander Of The Holocaust’

September 19, 2006

WIESENTHAL CENTER TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY WORLD LEADERS: “DOUBLE STANDARD TO IGNORE IRAN PRESIDENT’S SLANDER OF THE HOLOCAUST’

The Simon Wiesenthal Center today called on world leaders to make reference to the Holocaust in their remarks when they speak to the General Assembly as a means of strongly rebuking Iranian President Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly called the Holocaust a “myth.”

“It is ironic that when Pope Benedict XVI made remarks that were offensive to Moslems, the Moslem world not only called on the Vatican for an apology, but initiated violent demonstrations around the world. Yet, to date, no Moslem leader has demanded an apology from Ahmadinejad for his slander of the Holocaust - the watershed event of the 20th century,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Wiesenthal Center.

“For European leaders, whose countries were overrun by the Nazis, to sit in stony silence in the presence of a man who mocks their own history, desecrates the memory of the millions who were murdered,” Hier concluded.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 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.