Knesset Speaker Yoel (Yuli) Edelstein responded at the start of the Knesset plenum meeting to Iranian President Rouhani’s visit to Europe.
“Yesterday, we commemorated International Holocaust Memorial Day and today, the sentiments are not so simple. It seems, that aside from the sentiments regarding what happened 70 years ago, yesterday, it was made clear to all of us, that the Iranian President, who we thought was a cruel and insensitive man who denies the Holocaust… it seems that he is actually a very sensitive man, and in his honor, all of the Roman statues had to be covered so that his feelings would not be hurt. And if we thought that perhaps he is uncultured and does not respect science and culture, it seems as though on Holocaust Memorial Day he chose to speak at UNESCO, the UN’s science and culture organization.”
“I say this cynically, as I have nothing more to say about the hypocrisy. I have no words for the presidents of countries who, on International Holocaust Memorial Day host the Iranian President,” Edelstein added.