The Anti-Defamation League is once again calling Louis Farrakhan a bigot - after a speech in which Farrakhan said he doesn't care if people call him an anti-Semite.
Louis Farrakhan.
Photo: AP
Speaking at a Nation of Islam conference in Illinois on March 1, Farrakhan sharply criticized Jews for expecting Muslims to stand against terrorist suicide bombers "while the Palestinians are being slaughtered," and accused Congress of being beholden to "the Israeli lobby."
Farrakhan also raised doubts about the "veracity" of the numbers of Jews killed in the Holocaust and questioned European laws against Holocaust denial.
"I hate anti-Semitism... Please don't call me an anti-Semite, but you can if you want to, if it makes you happy," Farrakhan told the audience, according to excerpts released by the ADL.
"After his near-silence on Jews over the last several years, we thought Minister Farrakhan had put his long history of anti-Semitism and racism behind him, or at least had held his views in check," said the ADL's director, Abraham Foxman.
"Apparently, that was wishful thinking," Foxman said. "Once again he is clearly comfortable with putting his bigotry on display, unfettered and unhidden for his supporters and the world to see."
Calls to the Nation of Islam headquarters seeking comment were unanswered Tuesday.
