Holocaust 'Review' (Denial) Conference Opens in Tehran with 67 Attendees

A two-day international conference to review the world's concept of the Holocaust opened in Tehran today with a speech by Iranian FM Manouchehr Mottaki. The director-general of the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Rassoul Moussavi, said that it was aimed at creating an appropriate scientific atmosphere for discussing historical events, including the Holocaust.

"Some people who had been asked to attend refused, saying it aims to deny the Holocaust. Others assumed the international conference was politically motivated and were reluctant to attend. Officials in charge of organizing the conference do not intend to deny or confirm it. What the IPIS considers its duty is to create a suitable atmosphere for discussing historical issues," he said.

The International Conference to Review the Holocaust Global Vision is reportedly being attended by 67 people from 30 countries. "Holocaust, a Modern Viewpoint," "Holocaust, Figures, Statistics and Realities," "Historical documents on the Holocaust," "Nazism, Holocaust and the Zionists" and "Holocaust: Consequences and the Global Vision" are among the speeches to be delivered.

UPDATE 12/11 @ 16:19: The Israeli Foreign Ministry has released a statement about the conference. Read it below the fold.

The Government of Israel strongly condemns the shameless initiative taken by the Iranian Government to convene an International Conference for the Denial of the Holocaust. The Holocaust has been ridiculed in Iran by a "Holocaust Caricatures Contest" and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who continuously calls for the destruction of Israel, has compared Auschwitz to Israel, thus falsifying past and present.

The statements and acts by the Iranian president are clearly counter-factual and stand in stark contradiction to history, as endorsed unanimously by the international community. By denying or questioning the Holocaust, the most extreme form of genocide to date, he is challenging the essence of the notion of universal human rights, which was developed by the international community after -- and because of -- the Shoah.

His further statements regarding his wish for the destruction of the State of Israel, a member-state of the UN, should be seen as threatening another genocide. Such positions, which contravene the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted by the General Assembly on December 9th 1948, endanger civilization and demand universal rejection.

As Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni stated: "The memory of the Holocaust is essential to the entire international community, and not only to Israel and the Jewish people. By denying the Holocaust, the president of Iran seeks to create legitimacy for his declared intention to destroy Israel and to spread his extremist doctrine, which contravene the values of the free world. The world must unite in clear word and deed in order to give true meaning to the words "never again."