The leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Tuesday blasted Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi over his recent comments denying the Holocaust.
Raisi, in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday, refused to acknowledge that the Holocaust happened, saying it should “be investigated”.
“Look… Historical events should be investigated by researchers and historians. There are some signs that it happened. If so, they should allow it to be investigated and researched,” he said in the interview.
In a statement on Tuesday, Dianne Lob, Chair, and William Daroff, CEO, of the Conference of Presidents condemned Raisi’s remarks.
“We are outraged, but unfortunately hardly surprised, by Iranian President Raisi’s dishonest and dangerous call for ‘research’ to determine the truth of the Holocaust,” they said.
“We condemn President Raisi’s flagrant attempt to distort and minimize the impact of the Holocaust, particularly egregious as Jewish communities around the world begin to prepare for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.”
“Raisi’s deceitful questioning and factual distortions of the historical record of the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of six million Jews, demonstrates his deep-seated antisemitism and is all the more troubling given the Iranian regime’s extremist, hegemonic, and nuclear aspirations,” added the Jewish leaders.
“The international community cannot welcome a regime that, along with its IRGC and other Iran-backed militant proxies have the innocent blood of Americans, Israelis, and many others on their hands. We call on lawmakers and responsible members of the international community to rebuke President Raisi’s threatening remarks. World leaders must speak strongly and loudly against hate speech and antisemitism, whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head. If Raisi is permitted to speak this week at the United Nations General Assembly, it will have achieved a new low in the hallowed halls of the international body,” the statement concluded.
Raisi’s comments were condemned by Israeli officials, including Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan.
"Shocking to hear Iranian President Raisi's remarks calling into question whether the Holocaust happened. I call on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to deny that denier a world stage to spread antisemitism and hatred. The UN will reach a new low if they give the Butcher of Tehran a platform," tweeted Erdan.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid, meanwhile, also took to Twitter to express his dismay at the Iranian leader's statement. Posting images of Jewish women and children taken to the slaughter by Nazi SS guards and referencing Raisi's statement that there may be "some signs" that the Holocaust "really happened", Lapid simply wrote, "Some signs."