Iran's Khamenei praises French Holocaust-denier

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praises Holocaust-denier Roger Garaudy as brave and tireless.

DECEMBER 17, 2019 19:29

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (photo credit: AFP PHOTO / HO / KHAMENEI.IR) — Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

(photo credit: AFP PHOTO / HO / KHAMENEI.IR)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted his support for Roger Garaudy, a French philosopher who denies the Holocaust in his book Les Mythes Fondateurs de la Politique Israélienne (The Founding Myths of Modern Israel).

In 1998, after a trial, France banned the book. Following the French ban, Iran and the Muslim world began supporting him, and the Arabic version of the book became popular.

Khamenei begins his thread: “In his book, #RogerGaraudy, the French philosopher, expressed doubts about the number of #Holocaust victims. The French govt not only banned his book, but also brought Garaudy to trial. These are the claimants of advocating #FreedomOfSpeech.”

Attached to the first tweet is a picture of Garaudy, which says: “Anniversary of Roger Garaudy’s conviction at a court in Paris for questioning the Holocaust.”

In his book, #RogerGaraudy, the French philosopher, expressed doubts about the number of #Holocaust victims. The French govt not only banned his book, but also brought Garaudy to trial. These are the claimants of advocating #FreedomOfSpeech. pic.twitter.com/ErqmrrnC9V
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) December 16, 2019

“#RogerGaraudy has an accurate and precise prediction about the US regime, which we confirm, too,” Khamenei continued. “We also believe that the US is declining. A power built on the basis of coercion, interference in other countries’ affairs and domination over other nations won’t persist.”

Khamenei’s third and final tweet in the thread says: “Bravery and tirelessness of Roger #Garaudy in the work he initiated is praiseworthy. The fight he engaged in against the Zionists is a #DivineDuty for all those who respect the #Truth.”

In 2016, Khamenei’s website published a report of a meeting between the Ayatollah and Garaudy that took place on April 20, 1998, according to the report.

“The Zionists and the Nazis have a lot in common,” Khamenei.ir quoted Khamenei as saying. “The despicability of supporting Zionists is no less than that of supporting Nazi Germany or Hitler, however, the materialistic civilization of America and Europe has no explanation for this major contradiction.”

On December 3, France’s National Assembly passed a resolution calling on the government to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, declaring anti-Zionism to be a form of antisemitism.

“Anti-Zionist acts can at times hide antisemitic realities. Hate toward Israel due to its perception as a Jewish collective is akin to hatred toward the entire Jewish community,” the resolution said.

Earlier in 2019, after French Jewish philosopher Alain Finkelkraut was attacked, President Emmanuel Macron called anti-Zionism “one of the current forms of antisemitism.”
Lahav Harkov and Ariel Ben Solomon contributed to this report.