In an interview with the Mehr News Agency here on
Saturday, October 6, Friedman said “the root of the
world’s problems is the existence of the Zionist regime.”
The chief rabbi was in Iran on an invitation from the
Islamic Republic.
Following is an excerpt of the interview:
Q: Would you please explain about your
community’s activities?
A: We are in a religious community, and
our activities are actually concentrated mainly and
truly on exercising the religion only, by being the
followers of Prophet Moses. We are actually forbidden
from having any activities of political nature. But also
similar to the Islamic Republic of Iran, our activities
are for human rights, for world peace, resulting from a
religious perspective.
Q: Don’t you think that Israel’s
behavior in the Middles East, especially its treatment
of the Muslims in the occupied territories, would pose
threats to Jews in other countries?
A: When we talk about Israel, the
catastrophe of Zionism is not only in their state, it is
the regime. The Zionist regime is not concentrated only
on the so called Israel, the Zionist regime is actually
in the most of the world. To march to Jerusalem, we mean
of course to physically be in Jerusalem, we have to wipe
off the Zionist regime.
The Zionist regime includes the governments all over the
world with Zionist Jewish communities. When we say
Jewish people we mean Jewish people following Moses
which we have around the world. Of course it is very
important to distinguish between Jewish people and those
Zionist people.
The behavior of some of the countries is very
irresponsible. For them there is no difference between
the Jews and the Zionists, and this can lead to danger.
It is different in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which
is going to the root of the problem, to find how it was
possible at all that such a regime came about. They went
for example to engage with the issue of Holocaust, to
have the world free from the Holocaust concept
propaganda which is used as a tool for committing crimes
against humanity.
There is a lot which has been done by the Islamic
Republic of Iran, and especially recently, I think it
was in a responsible way. Unfortunately we have to
condemn those Arab regimes who are tolerating Israel.
And it seems they are not dealing in a responsible way,
and are even trying to misinform the public that Zionism
is actually representing the Jewish people, in order to
protect their interests and to keep their regime, and
their population is silent.
Q: What about an abuse of Judaism by
Zionists?
A: Zionism is all about to humiliate
the faith in God. Not only the Jewish religion, but
faith in God in all religions, mainly Islam. They also
have a great interest in driving the Christians, the
Catholic church, away from their traditional religions.
They are uprooting the religion, trying to reduce
historical elements, and at the same time, when there
are critics or people who are able to independently
research such a theme, they will try everything to
arrest them, to harm them, eliminate them, and that is
their nature. For that purpose they have always used the
Holocaust concept as their tool and weapon to silence
people.
Jerusalem should be wiped off from the Zionists.
Q: What does your community do to
counter Israel or Zionism?
A: I think in the circumstances in
which I came here with my family to Tehran could in
practical terms state an example of the activities we
make against Zionism, condemning the crimes against
humanity.
But we have to deal with the problem by going to the
root of the problem. The root of the problem is that the
world is actually confronted with the Holocaust based on
lies. We will have to get rid of the Holocaust lies of
the Zionist regime, there is no question about this. All
the media is silent about all the crimes committed by
the Zionist regime by using the Holocaust concept.
Q: What’s your idea about Ahmadinejad’s
suggestion that the West should allocate a land to the
Zionists so that they can establish their own country
there?
A: The first thing which has to happen
is the immediate and unconditional return of the entire
Palestinian refugees to their own land. When I say
unconditional, I mean without having the precondition
that they have to recognize the Zionist regime. The
Palestinians have to receive their rights without
recognizing the Zionist regime. By recognizing the
Zionist regime we are having contradiction with the
Palestinians’ rights and the rights of the Islamic world.
We have to discuss not about the people who lived in
Palestine, but those who came from Poland, from Russia,
and other places. By using the Holocaust concepts they
came to the holy land to eliminate others. At the first
step, they should return to where they came from. I do
not understand really the logic or the position of the
Europeans or the Americans for opposing the approach and
initiative of President Ahmadinejad, suggesting that the
Zionists should return to Europe or to U.S. because
after all, the Europeans are sacrificing their whole
economy for those Jews, for the colleagues and
associates of those Israelis who are now in Palestine.
They are even sacrificing their own national security.
They are not willing to implement law and order against
Jews in their own state. So what is the problem for Jews
to come there? There is no problem.
As a consequence of the Second World War, in a very
unjustified way, at least a third of Poland nowadays and
at least 34 percent of the Zech Republic for example is
simply a German territory which they robbed off
unjustified, and they are not doing anything about that.
So there is no problem with giving the Zionist Jews some
territories.
Q: What do you think about President
Ahmadinejad’s speech at Columbia University, about
Holocaust?
A: The issues which President
Ahmadinejad stated and the issues that Iran’s leaders,
Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei, have mentioned,
those issues were known before, but we are living in a
world that is shut by the horrific Zionist media
domination. In fact he managed to break those taboos. He
had his mission there. Now the world is starting to
realize that the Zionist regime is not only concentrated
in the holy land. The root of the problems is actually
the Zionist regime elsewhere. The Zionist Jewish
community is extremely violent, they are even poisoning
the American society. The Zionist regime is leading
them. Even they have their own police in New York. A few
thousand Jews in New York are able to have their own
police.
Q: What is your opinion about Iran, and
about the U.S. propaganda calling Iran a terrorist state?
A: I think it is the best thing and you
should be proud that the Zionist media, inside the
United States, are against you. The more they are trying
to attack you, the more is because you are at a better
position. Do not be afraid of people who speak openly of
attacks, you should rather be afraid of those who speak
nice to you. No one in the world had expected the
Islamic Republic to make such achievements. The Iranian
people are far too clever to fall into such propaganda,
and I think they are clever enough to realize that this
propaganda is the exact reason to stand firmly, and they
do not expect to receive cheers from the evil.
I
think the Islamic Republic is the nation chosen by God
for justice and peace.
RMN/MS
END
MNA
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