The Jews are “the filthiest and greatest of criminals, who [only] appear to be human,” said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a speech last week.
Speaking to a huge crowd in the central Iranian city of Shahrekord, Ahmadinejad declared that the West had gathered together the Jews and “organized and armed them—on artificial and false pretexts, fabricating information and inventing stories. They gave [the Jews] propaganda and military backing so that they would occupy the lands of Palestine and uproot the Palestinian nation.”
Ahmadinejad’s latest comments only served to reiterate his blatantly anti-Semitic worldview. He has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, called for the destruction of Israel, and referred to Zionists as the most “detested” people on Earth.
Ahmadinejad also stated that he wished to “liberate” Americans from their oppressive government.
“I hereby announce that from this point forward one of the Iranian nation's main aspirations will be to deliver the American people from [its] undemocratic and bullying government,” he said.
Ahmadinejad’s speech followed the United Nations Security Council’s imposition of a fourth round of sanctions on Iran, as the country refuses to halt its nuclear program. The West is concerned about Iran’s uranium enrichment plans, which can be used in the development of nuclear weapons.
Nobel Peace laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel responded to Ahmadinejad’s remarks during a speech at a dinner for Chabad Lubavitch in Michigan on Monday evening. He demanded world leaders take a more active role in restraining the dictator.
“We should arrest Ahmadinejad when he comes to the world,” Wiesel said. “Just as Pinochet was arrested a few years ago, he should be arrested and brought to The Hague and be indicted for incitement of crimes against humanity."
