Was he arrested in Iran, or was he attending another conference there, or did he fear to return to Austria – where, like in Germany, Holocaust denial is a criminal offense?
On December 11, 2006 Friedman participated in the two-day International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust held in Tehran. It was sponsored by Iran's Foreign Ministry Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) for the purpose of "reviewing the Holocaust." Speaking at a forum hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – who has said that the Holocaust was a "myth" created by the West and called for the destruction of Israel – Friedman was quoted by media in attendance as claiming that the Holocaust is "a successful fiction."
Following the much-publicized conference and the publication of photos of the Neturei Karta leader and Ahmadinejad embracing, Friedman disappeared.
It was only at the end of last week that the self-described chief rabbi of Vienna – who is considered a "kook" by many in Austria's established Jewish community – was able to return to his home in Vienna.
Friedman denied, in an interview with the daily Haaretz, that he had been arrested by the Iranian authorities. Instead he claimed he was delayed because he was invited by the Iranian regime to another conference, in Isfahan, and that he then flew to Denmark to participate in "interfaith dialogue." However, he refused to give precise details about his location.
He also said he prays three times a day for the disappearance of the State of Israel - "in peaceful ways" - and that he would not deny Iran its right to develop nuclear power.
The Jewish and the ultra-Orthodox world is seething over the participation of the anti-Zionist delegation at last month's Tehran conference. In Brooklyn, the Satmar Orthodox group slammed the Neturei Karta. Friedman grew up in the Satmar community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which has disassociated itself from him because of his radical views. He is under a ban which precludes him from worshipping in Orthodox synagogues throughout Europe and New York
In Manchester, demonstrations were held in front of the home of Aron Cohen, an associate of Friedman, and its windows were broken. In Austria, too, the Jewish community hastened to disassociate itself from Friedman, whom it described as "posing for a number of years as the chief rabbi of Vienna." An open letter published by the umbrella organization of the Austrian Jewish community said Friedman, "a kook," came to Vienna some years ago from Antwerp, Belgium and was never ordained as a rabbi. Friedman, for his part, claims that he is the scion of a rabbinic family going back to the days of the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian empire.
While often called by the title of rabbi in the media, Friedman has never received smicha (rabbinic ordination). His status as a rabbi has been challenged by Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, who placed a cherem (excommunication) on Friedman and the other Tehran delegates.
In contrast to some of his anti-Zionist colleagues who were present at the conference, Friedman makes no apologies for his participation. In a phone interview from his home, he said, "This was the first time in history that such an open event has taken place - and not one that exploits for political purposes the suffering of my family to legitimize the holocaust that the Israelis are bringing on another people [the Arabs of Judea and Samaria]."
According to Friedman, the conference was a "celebration of freedom of expression," and "Iran set an example to the whole world."
Friedman explained his trip to Tehran as reflecting his desire to "show my respect to the members of my family who died in the Holocaust."
But speaking from Vienna, his position is different than the one he expressed in Tehran, where he was quoted as saying that it is "legitimate to cast doubt on some of the statistics" with regard to the Holocaust. From Vienna, Friedman claimed that he does not deny that six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their henchmen. In Austria, publicly doubting the Holocaust is an indictable criminal offence.
Friedman does not hide his admiration for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "I had more than one meeting with his excellency, President Ahmadinejad," Friedman said. "The president first recognized me at the conference in Tehran, and he was especially friendly. There may be only one picture in which we are photographed kissing, but in fact we kissed 20 or 30 times."
"The Iranian foreign ministry hosted me in a 'palace' of 150 square meters, and I was allowed to meet with anyone I wanted," he said. "They treated me in a way that no was else was treated."
Friedman also claims that on his earlier trip to Iran, he visited the presidential compound and reached "the bedroom of Khomeini." Ahmadinejad, he said, "is from a good family. There aren't too many people who know him better than I do."
According to Friedman, the second reason for his trip was to present an international peace plan, by which Israel would cease to exist, Jews of Polish and Eastern European origin (and their families) would return to their place of birth, and Jews of Iraqi origin would return to Iraq "the moment a functioning democracy is established there." Friedman said the Iranian president expressed support for his plan and promised "to give religious freedom to the Jewish minority that remains in Palestine." Friedman added that he "wanted to bring the situation back to what it was, before the establishment of Israel."
Friedman is no stranger to anti-Zionist activity. In the past he maintained good relations with the extreme right-wing party of Jorg Haider in Austria, met with Hamas ministers in Europe, and prayed for the health of arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat while the latter was hospitalized in Paris.
With regard to the present scandal, Friedman says he is "afraid of the reaction to our participation in the conference."
On December 11, 2006 Friedman participated in the two-day International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust held in Tehran. It was sponsored by Iran's Foreign Ministry Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) for the purpose of "reviewing the Holocaust." Speaking at a forum hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – who has said that the Holocaust was a "myth" created by the West and called for the destruction of Israel – Friedman was quoted by media in attendance as claiming that the Holocaust is "a successful fiction."
Following the much-publicized conference and the publication of photos of the Neturei Karta leader and Ahmadinejad embracing, Friedman disappeared.
It was only at the end of last week that the self-described chief rabbi of Vienna – who is considered a "kook" by many in Austria's established Jewish community – was able to return to his home in Vienna.
Friedman denied, in an interview with the daily Haaretz, that he had been arrested by the Iranian authorities. Instead he claimed he was delayed because he was invited by the Iranian regime to another conference, in Isfahan, and that he then flew to Denmark to participate in "interfaith dialogue." However, he refused to give precise details about his location.
He also said he prays three times a day for the disappearance of the State of Israel - "in peaceful ways" - and that he would not deny Iran its right to develop nuclear power.
The Jewish and the ultra-Orthodox world is seething over the participation of the anti-Zionist delegation at last month's Tehran conference. In Brooklyn, the Satmar Orthodox group slammed the Neturei Karta. Friedman grew up in the Satmar community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which has disassociated itself from him because of his radical views. He is under a ban which precludes him from worshipping in Orthodox synagogues throughout Europe and New York
In Manchester, demonstrations were held in front of the home of Aron Cohen, an associate of Friedman, and its windows were broken. In Austria, too, the Jewish community hastened to disassociate itself from Friedman, whom it described as "posing for a number of years as the chief rabbi of Vienna." An open letter published by the umbrella organization of the Austrian Jewish community said Friedman, "a kook," came to Vienna some years ago from Antwerp, Belgium and was never ordained as a rabbi. Friedman, for his part, claims that he is the scion of a rabbinic family going back to the days of the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian empire.
While often called by the title of rabbi in the media, Friedman has never received smicha (rabbinic ordination). His status as a rabbi has been challenged by Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, who placed a cherem (excommunication) on Friedman and the other Tehran delegates.
In contrast to some of his anti-Zionist colleagues who were present at the conference, Friedman makes no apologies for his participation. In a phone interview from his home, he said, "This was the first time in history that such an open event has taken place - and not one that exploits for political purposes the suffering of my family to legitimize the holocaust that the Israelis are bringing on another people [the Arabs of Judea and Samaria]."
According to Friedman, the conference was a "celebration of freedom of expression," and "Iran set an example to the whole world."
Friedman explained his trip to Tehran as reflecting his desire to "show my respect to the members of my family who died in the Holocaust."
But speaking from Vienna, his position is different than the one he expressed in Tehran, where he was quoted as saying that it is "legitimate to cast doubt on some of the statistics" with regard to the Holocaust. From Vienna, Friedman claimed that he does not deny that six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their henchmen. In Austria, publicly doubting the Holocaust is an indictable criminal offence.
Friedman does not hide his admiration for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "I had more than one meeting with his excellency, President Ahmadinejad," Friedman said. "The president first recognized me at the conference in Tehran, and he was especially friendly. There may be only one picture in which we are photographed kissing, but in fact we kissed 20 or 30 times."
"The Iranian foreign ministry hosted me in a 'palace' of 150 square meters, and I was allowed to meet with anyone I wanted," he said. "They treated me in a way that no was else was treated."
Friedman also claims that on his earlier trip to Iran, he visited the presidential compound and reached "the bedroom of Khomeini." Ahmadinejad, he said, "is from a good family. There aren't too many people who know him better than I do."
According to Friedman, the second reason for his trip was to present an international peace plan, by which Israel would cease to exist, Jews of Polish and Eastern European origin (and their families) would return to their place of birth, and Jews of Iraqi origin would return to Iraq "the moment a functioning democracy is established there." Friedman said the Iranian president expressed support for his plan and promised "to give religious freedom to the Jewish minority that remains in Palestine." Friedman added that he "wanted to bring the situation back to what it was, before the establishment of Israel."
Friedman is no stranger to anti-Zionist activity. In the past he maintained good relations with the extreme right-wing party of Jorg Haider in Austria, met with Hamas ministers in Europe, and prayed for the health of arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat while the latter was hospitalized in Paris.
With regard to the present scandal, Friedman says he is "afraid of the reaction to our participation in the conference."
