Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon. (AP/Dan Balilty)





Israel is demanding that the UN condemn Iran for its anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Iran plans to host another cartoon contest in June and has allocated a cash prize of $50,000 for the “best cartoon on the Holocaust.” This contest typifies Iran’s Holocaust denial and its efforts to ridicule or use it for anti-Israel propaganda.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon demanded on Wednesday that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon condemn Iran for its international cartoon contest that features and promotes Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism.

“This is an anti-Semitic act that exemplifies pure evil. Holocaust denial is the strongest expression of anti-Semitism, which legitimizes murder,” Danon wrote in a letter to Ban.

“The Iranians are trying to desecrate the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and the United Nations must stand by Israel and condemn this heinous act,” Danon wrote.

Iran plans to host its 11th Tehran International Cartoon Biennial in June at the Palestine Museum of Contemporary Art, and has allocated a cash prize of $50,000 for the “best cartoon on the Holocaust,” four times the cash award offered in the April 2015 contest.

Participants are reportedly hailing from 50 countries

tabatabayee

Massoud Shojayee Tabatabayee, secretary of the International Holocaust Cartoon Contest. (Fars News)

Three other cartoonists will also receive cash prizes of 12,000, 8,000 and 5,000 dollars respectively, the secretary of the biennial, Massoud Shojayee Tabatabayee, told the Persian MNA.

“We do not mean to approve or deny the Holocaust, however, the main question is that why is there no permission to talk about the Holocaust despite their (the West) belief in freedom of speech,” Shojayee Tabatabayee is quoted as saying by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Shojai-Tabatabai also said that a contest focusing on the portrait of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been arranged on the sidelines of the competition.

Iran, as state policy, denies the Holocaust, claiming it is a Zionist ruse to gain control of “Palestine.” This contest typifies Iran’s Holocaust denial and its efforts to ridicule or use it for anti-Israel propaganda.