Wiesenthal Center Urges EU And Russia To Back President Bush's Promise To Defend Israel From Any Iranian Threat

March 20, 2006

WIESENTHAL CENTER URGES EUROPEAN UNION AND RUSSIA  TO BACK PRESIDENT BUSH’S PROMISE TO DEFEND ISRAEL FROM ANY IRANIAN THREAT

The Simon Wiesenthal Center commended the unequivocal commitment of U.S. President Bush to use military might, if necessary, to protect Israel from any Iranian threats.  “The threat from Iran is…their stated objective to destroy our strong ally Israel….It’s a threat to world peace.  I made it clear, and I’ll make it clear again, that we will use military might to protect our ally Israel,” President Bush said today.

“The Iranian regime is using antisemitism and Holocaust denial as statecraft, both domestically and throughout the Muslim world,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.  “As it coincides with Tehran’s continuing efforts to become a nuclear power, we welcome the fact that President Bush has drawn a ‘red line’ and urge the European Union and Russia also signal Tehran to back off of its war of words and threats against the Jewish State,” he 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, the OAS, and the  Council of Europe. 

For more information, please contact the Center’s Public Relations Department, 310-553-9036, or go to www.wiesenthal.com