Editing Holocaust denial (section)

==Middle East==
===General===
[[Gamal Abdel Nasser]], the President of Egypt, told a German newspaper in 1964 that "no person, not even the most simple one, takes seriously the lie of the six million Jews that were murdered [in the Holocaust]."<ref>{{cite book|last=Satloff|first=Robert|title=Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust's Long Reach Into Arab lands|publisher=PublicAffairs|year=2007|page=163|isbn=9781586485108}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Laqueur|first=Walter|title=The Changing Face of Antisemitism: From Ancient Times to the Present Day|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2006|page=[https://archive.org/details/changingfaceofan00laqu/page/141 141]|isbn=9780195304299|url=https://archive.org/details/changingfaceofan00laqu/page/141}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Robert S. Wistrich|title=Hitler's apocalypse: Jews and the Nazi legacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=acBtAAAAMAAJ|date=17 October 1985|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|isbn=978-0-297-78719-8|page=188|quote="President Nasser of Egypt in a notorious interview with the editor of the neo-Nazi Deutsche Soldaten und National Zeitung, published on 1 May 1964, insisted that No one, not even the simplest man in our country, takes seriously the lie about six million Jews who were murdered"}}</ref>

Denials of the Holocaust have been promoted by various Middle Eastern figures and media. Holocaust denial is sponsored by some Middle Eastern governments, including Iran<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6637685|title=Iran Further Isolates Itself with 'Holocaust Denial'|date=December 17, 2006|work=NPR.org|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=September 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901134402/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6637685|url-status=live}}</ref> and Syria.<ref name="JVLSyria">{{cite web|title=Syrian Holocaust Denial|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/syrian-holocaust-denial|website=jewishvirtuallibrary.org|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=December 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161217011440/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/syrdenial.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006 [[Robert Satloff]] writing in ''[[The Washington Post]]'', reported that "A respected Holocaust research institution recently reported that Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia all promote Holocaust denial and protect Holocaust deniers."<ref>{{Cite news|author=Robert Satloff|author-link=Robert Satloff|title=The Holocaust's Arab Heroes|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=B01|date=October 8, 2006|access-date=October 29, 2010|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100601417.html|archive-date=November 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121035318/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100601417.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Prominent figures from the Middle East have rarely made publicized visits to [[Auschwitz]]—[[Arab citizens of Israel|Israel's Arab community]] being the exception. In 2010, [[Hadash]] MK [[Mohammed Barakeh]] visited, following a previous visit of two other Arab-Israeli lawmakers, and a group of about 100 Arab-Israeli writers and clerics in 2003.<ref name="MK">{{cite news|date=January 26, 2010|url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/2.209/arab-mk-s-auschwitz-visit-draws-fire-from-jewish-arab-critics-1.262131|title=Arab MK's Auschwitz visit draws fire from Jewish, Arab critics|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=March 23, 2014|archive-date=October 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019074444/http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/2.209/arab-mk-s-auschwitz-visit-draws-fire-from-jewish-arab-critics-1.262131|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Palestine===
{{See also|Racism in the Palestinian territories}}

Individuals from the [[Palestinian Authority]], [[Hamas]], and a number of Palestinian groups have engaged in various aspects of Holocaust denial.<ref name="Karsh98">[[Efraim Karsh|Karsh, Efraim]]. ''Arafat's War: The Man and His Battle for Israeli Conquest''. New York: Grove Press, 2003. p. 98–99.</ref>

[[Hamas]] has promoted Holocaust denial;<ref>[https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1386&context=all_fac Defending Truth: Legal and Psychological Aspects of Holocaust Denial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428190244/https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1386&context=all_fac |date=April 28, 2019 }}, Kenneth Lasson, [[University of Baltimore School of Law]], 2007</ref> [[Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi]] held that the Holocaust never occurred, that [[Zionism|Zionists]] were behind the action of Nazis, and that Zionists funded Nazism.<ref name="wiesenthal"/>
A press release by Hamas in April 2000 decried "the so-called Holocaust, which is an alleged and invented story with no basis".<ref>[http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=1946 Washington Institute for Near East Policy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110175744/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=1946 |date=January 10, 2009 }}, 2000</ref> In August 2009, Hamas' [[Hamas–UNRWA Holocaust dispute|told UNRWA]] that it would "refuse" to allow Palestinian children to study the Holocaust, which it called "a lie invented by the Zionists" and referred to Holocaust education as a "war crime".<ref>Hadid, Diaa (September 1, 2009) [http://archive.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2009/09/01/hamas_leader_denies_holocaust/ "Hamas leader denies Holocaust"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523093127/http://archive.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2009/09/01/hamas_leader_denies_holocaust/ |date=May 23, 2019 }} [[Associated Press]] via ''[[Boston Globe]]''</ref> Hamas continued to hold this position in 2011, when the organization's Ministry for Refugee Affairs said that Holocaust education was "intended to poison the minds of our children."<ref>Oster, Marcy (March 1, 2011) [https://www.jta.org/2011/03/01/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/hamas-to-u-n-dont-teach-holocaust "Hamas to U.N.: Don’t teach Holocaust"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618125959/https://www.jta.org/2011/03/01/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/hamas-to-u-n-dont-teach-holocaust |date=June 18, 2018 }} ''[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]''</ref>

The thesis of the 1982 doctoral dissertation of [[Mahmoud Abbas]], a co-founder of [[Fatah]] and president of the [[Palestinian National Authority]], was "The Secret Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement".<ref>[http://hnn.us/articles/1414.html Was Abu Mazen a Holocaust Denier?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331052749/http://hnn.us/articles/1414.html |date=March 31, 2019 }} By Brynn Malone (History News Network)</ref><ref>[http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Area=sr&ID=SR01503 Abu Mazen: A Political Profile. Zionism and Holocaust Denial] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310213751/http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Area=sr&ID=SR01503 |date=March 10, 2007 }} by Yael Yehoshua ([[MEMRI]]) April 29, 2003</ref><ref name="wiesenthal">{{cite web|url=http://www.wiesenthal.com/atf/cf/%7Bdfd2aac1-2ade-428a-9263-35234229d8d8%7D/denial_report.pdf|title=Holocaust Denial's Assault on Memory: Precursor to twenty first century genocide?|publisher=Simon Wiesenthal Center|year=2007 |access-date=May 2, 2012|author=Dr. Harold Brackman, Aaron Breitbart |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206142427/http://www.wiesenthal.com/atf/cf/%7BDFD2AAC1-2ADE-428A-9263-35234229D8D8%7D/DENIAL_REPORT.PDF |archive-date=February 6, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In his 1983 book ''[[The Other Side: the Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism]]'' based on the dissertation, Abbas denied that six million Jews had died in the Holocaust; dismissing it as a "myth" and a "fantastic lie".<ref name="Abbas">{{cite web|url=http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1524/holocaust_denial_undermines_the_palestinian_cause|title=Holocaust denial undermines the Palestinian cause|publisher=The Commentator|date=August 14, 2012 |access-date=May 18, 2015|author=Jeremy Havardi |archive-date=January 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130174348/http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1524/holocaust_denial_undermines_the_palestinian_cause |url-status=dead}}</ref> At most, he wrote, 890,000 Jews were murdered by the Germans. Abbas claimed that the number of deaths has been exaggerated for political purposes. "It seems that the interest of the Zionist movement, however, is to inflate this figure [of Holocaust deaths] so that their gains will be greater. This led them to emphasize this figure [six million] in order to gain the solidarity of international public opinion with Zionism. Many scholars have debated the figure of six million and reached stunning conclusions—fixing the number of Jewish victims at only a few hundred thousand."{{R|wiesenthal}}<ref name="wymaninstitute.org">[http://www.wymaninstitute.org/articles/2003-03-denier.php A Holocaust-Denier as Prime Minister of "Palestine"?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110908080728/http://www.wymaninstitute.org/articles/2003-03-denier.php |date=September 8, 2011 }} by Dr. Rafael Medoff (The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies)</ref><ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/000032.html Abu Mazen and the Holocaust] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205035253/http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/000032.html |date=February 5, 2019 }} by Tom Gross</ref>

In his March 2006 interview with ''[[Haaretz]]'', Abbas stated, "I wrote in detail about the Holocaust and said I did not want to discuss numbers. I quoted an argument between historians in which various numbers of casualties were mentioned. One wrote there were 12&nbsp;million victims and another wrote there were 800,000. I have no desire to argue with the figures. The Holocaust was a terrible, unforgivable crime against the Jewish nation, a crime against humanity that cannot be accepted by humankind. The Holocaust was a terrible thing and nobody can claim I denied it."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-told-us-to-ignore-israeli-map-reservations-1.8840|title=U.S. told us to ignore Israeli map reservations|author=Akiva Eldar|newspaper=[[Haaretz]]|date=May 28, 2003|access-date=March 23, 2014|archive-date=January 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120164725/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-told-us-to-ignore-israeli-map-reservations-1.8840|url-status=live}}</ref> While acknowledging the existence of the Holocaust in 2006 and 2014,<ref name="Heinous">{{cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2014/04/27/palestinian-leader-abbas-admits-the-holocaust-was-heinous/|title=Palestinian leader Abbas admits the Holocaust was 'heinous'|newspaper=New York Post|date=April 27, 2014|access-date=May 18, 2015|archive-date=June 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622164937/https://nypost.com/2014/04/27/palestinian-leader-abbas-admits-the-holocaust-was-heinous/|url-status=live}}</ref> Abbas has defended the position that Zionists collaborated with the Nazis to perpetrate it. In 2012, Abbas told [[Al Mayadeen]], a Beirut TV station affiliated with Iran and Hezbollah, that he "challenges anyone who can deny that the Zionist movement had ties with the Nazis before World War II".<ref name="Link">{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/23/abbas-alleges-link-between-zionists-and-nazis.html|title=Abbas Alleges Link Between Zionists And Nazis|website=The Daily Beast|date=January 23, 2013|access-date=May 18, 2015|author=Myers, David N.|archive-date=May 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517195933/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/23/abbas-alleges-link-between-zionists-and-nazis.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Surveys conducted by [[Sammy Smooha]] of the [[University of Haifa]] found that the fraction of Israeli Arabs denying that millions of Jews were murdered by the Nazis increased from 28% in 2006 to 40% in 2008.<ref name=Smooha>{{cite web|author=Sammy Smooha|title=The 2008 Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel: Main Findings and Trends of Change|url=http://soc.haifa.ac.il/~s.smooha/uploads/editor_uploads/files/Index2008MainFindings_TrendsChangeEng.pdf|year=2009 |access-date=June 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140806134653/http://soc.haifa.ac.il/~s.smooha/uploads/editor_uploads/files/Index2008MainFindings_TrendsChangeEng.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Smooha commented:

<blockquote>In Arab eyes disbelief in the very happening of the Shoah is not hate of Jews (embedded in the denial of the Shoah in the West) but rather a form of protest. Arabs not believing in the event of Shoah intend to express strong objection to the portrayal of the Jews as the ultimate victim and to the underrating of the Palestinians as a victim. They deny Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state that the Shoah gives legitimacy to. Arab disbelief in the Shoah is a component of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, unlike the ideological and anti-Semitic denial of the Holocaust and the desire to escape guilt in the West.{{R|Smooha}}</blockquote>

Mohammed Dajani, a Palestinian professor at [[Al-Quds University]] and founding director of its American Studies Institute, took a group of students to visit the [[Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum|Auschwitz concentration camps]] in [[Poland]]. Following the trip, he faced strong opposition and pressure from within the university, ultimately leading to his resignation. Dajani later explained that critics believed the knowledge students might gain from the visit would contradict the prevailing collective narrative, with some viewing the Holocaust as a Zionist narrative intended to garner international support for Israel.  Still, he defended Holocaust education as essential for peace, stating:

{{Blockquote|text=Holocaust denial and distortion are historically incorrect, and factually wrong, and constitute a significant threat to morality and human dignity, and to the prospects of reconciliation and peace between Palestinians and Israelis.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Times of Israel]]|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-professor-who-took-students-to-auschwitz-holocaust-denial-imperils-peace|title=Palestinian professor who took students to Auschwitz: Holocaust denial imperils peace|date=17 September 2023}}</ref>}}

=== Syria ===
In a speech delivered at the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party]]'s central committee meeting in December 2023, the Ba'ath party secretary-general [[Bashar al-Assad]] claimed that there was "no evidence" of the killings of six million Jews during [[the Holocaust]]. Assad alleged that the Holocaust was "politicized" by [[Allied Powers (World War II)|Allied powers]] to facilitate the mass-deportation of [[European Jews]] to [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. Assad also accused the U.S. government of financially and militarily sponsoring the [[rise of Nazism]] during the [[Interwar period|inter-war period]].<ref name="Silkoff">{{Cite news |last=Silkoff |first=Shira |date=20 December 2023 |title=Syria's Assad claims Holocaust was a lie fabricated to justify creation of Israel |work=The Times of Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrias-assad-claims-holocaust-was-a-lie-fabricated-to-justify-creation-of-israel/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220150406/https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrias-assad-claims-holocaust-was-a-lie-fabricated-to-justify-creation-of-israel/ |archive-date=20 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="i24news">{{Cite news |date=20 December 2023 |title=Syrian President Assad denies Holocaust and accuses U.S. of funding Nazis in controversial speech |work=i24news |url=https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy/1703081866-syrian-president-assad-denies-holocaust-and-accuses-u-s-of-funding-nazis-in-controversial-speech |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220142407/https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy/1703081866-syrian-president-assad-denies-holocaust-and-accuses-u-s-of-funding-nazis-in-controversial-speech |archive-date=20 December 2023}}</ref> Higlighting the [[World War II casualties of the Soviet Union|deaths of 26 million Soviet citizens]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]], Assad said: "there was no specific method of torture or killing specific to the Jews. The [[Nazism|Nazis]] used the same methods everywhere."<ref name="Silkoff"/><ref name="i24news"/>

===Iran===
[[File:Supreme Leader of Iran Khamenei Denying Holocaust.webm|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[Supreme leader of Iran]] Khamenei has denied [[Holocaust]] on multiple occasions.]]
[[File:Rio does not welcome Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Protest in Brazil against former [[Iranian President]] [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]], criticizing [[International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust|his Holocaust denial]]]]
Former Iranian President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] frequently denied the Holocaust,<ref name="InternationalList1">Variously:
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4529198.stm "Holocaust comments spark outrage"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112061120/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4529198.stm |date=November 12, 2021 }}, BBC News, Accessed December 14, 2005.
*Esfandiari, Golnaz. [http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/12/6f3acbdf-d5f9-4ba1-8c9d-278c700ae2ea.html "Iran: President's Latest Comments About Israel Spark Further Condemnation"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820094906/http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/12/6f3acbdf-d5f9-4ba1-8c9d-278c700ae2ea.html |date=August 20, 2008 }}. Radio Free Europe. Accessed January 28, 2008.
*[http://www.ncccusa.org/news/051216Ahmadinejad.html "NCC Condemns Ahmadinejad's Holocaust Statement"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417214619/http://www.ncccusa.org/news/051216Ahmadinejad.html |date=April 17, 2009 }}. [[National Council of Churches]]. Accessed December 16, 2007.
*[http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/27/ahmadinejad.reaction/index.html "Annan: 'Dismay' over Iranian comments on Israel"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207130247/http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/27/ahmadinejad.reaction/index.html |date=December 7, 2008 }}. CNN. Accessed September 27, 2007.
*[http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/14/iran.israel/ "Iranian leader: Holocaust a 'myth'"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051216125829/http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/14/iran.israel/ |date=December 16, 2005 }}. [[CNN]]. December 14, 2006.</ref> formally 'questioning' the reliability of the historical evidence,<ref name="Spiegel">[http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/spiegel-interview-with-iran-s-president-ahmadinejad-we-are-determined-a-418660.html "Spiegel Interview with Iran's President Ahmadinejad: 'We Are Determined'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512214220/https://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/spiegel-interview-with-iran-s-president-ahmadinejad-we-are-determined-a-418660.html |date=May 12, 2019 }}, ''Der Spiegel'' (May 30, 2006). Retrieved 07sep2013.</ref> although he on occasion confirmed belief in it.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071011100923/http://www.theisraelproject.org/atf/cf/%7B84DC5887-741E-4056-8D91-A389164BC94E%7D/20070924AHMADINEJADCOLUMBIATRANSCRIPT.DOC Transcript of his speech on September 24, 2007.] "However, I believe the Holocaust, from what we read, happened during World War II after 1930 in the 1940s."</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=773638342167920349|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629105844/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=773638342167920349|url-status=dead|title=Video of his speech on September 24, 2007. Timecode 22:28 to 22:37.|archivedate=June 29, 2011}}</ref> In a December 2005 speech, Ahmadinejad said that a legend was fabricated and had been promoted to protect Israel. He said:

{{blockquote|They have fabricated a legend, under the name of the Massacre of the Jews, and they hold it higher than God himself, religion itself and the prophets themselves.... If somebody in their country questions God, nobody says anything, but if somebody denies the myth of the massacre of Jews, the Zionist loudspeakers and the governments in the pay of Zionism will start to scream.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/archive/2005/12/200849154418141136.html|title=Ahmadinejad: Holocaust a myth|work=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]|access-date=July 9, 2008|archive-date=September 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923231908/http://english.aljazeera.net/archive/2005/12/200849154418141136.html|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The remarks immediately provoked international controversy as well as swift condemnation from government officials in Israel, Europe, and the United States. All six political parties in the German parliament signed a joint resolution condemning Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120730021205/http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=52&story_id=26268&name=German+parliament+slams+Ahmadinejad+remarks German parliament slams Ahmadinejad remarks], ''Expatica'', December 16, 2005.</ref> In contrast, [[Hamas]] political leader [[Khaled Mashal]] described Ahmadinejad's comments as "courageous" and stated, "Muslim people will defend Iran because it voices what they have in their hearts, in particular the Palestinian people."<ref>Al Jazeera,{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=17093|title=Hamas springs to Iran's defense |access-date=August 14, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206115859/http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=17093 |archive-date=December 6, 2007}}</ref> In the United States, the [[Muslim Public Affairs Council]] condemned Ahmadinejad's remarks.<ref name=mpac>{{cite news|title=MPAC Rebukes Iranian President's Comments|url=http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=231 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617083103/http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=231 |archive-date=June 17, 2008 |access-date=January 31, 2012|date=December 8, 2005}}</ref> In 2005, the Egyptian [[Muslim Brotherhood]] leader, [[Mohammed Mahdi Akef]], denounced what he called "the myth of the Holocaust" in defending Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4554986.stm Egyptian Islamists deny Holocaust] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906201530/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4554986.stm |date=September 6, 2017 }}, December 23, 2005.</ref>

On December 11, 2006, the Iranian state-sponsored "[[International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust]]" began to widespread condemnation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/11/iran.holocaust/index.html|title=Iran hosts Holocaust conference|access-date=December 27, 2006|date=December 11, 2006|publisher=CNN|archive-date=February 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201002703/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/11/iran.holocaust/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The conference, called for and held at the behest of Ahmadinejad,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.246551760&par=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060310075441/http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.246551760&par=0|title=Iran: Holocaust Conference Soon in Tehran|date=January 5, 2006 |archive-date=March 10, 2006|publisher=Adnkronos International (AKI) |access-date=August 17, 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref> was widely described as a "Holocaust denial conference" or a "meeting of Holocaust deniers",<ref>*[http://washingtontimes.com/world/20061213-120143-8384r.htm "Holocaust denial outrages Europe"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061225063527/http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20061213-120143-8384r.htm |date=December 25, 2006 }}, ''[[The Washington Times]]'', December 13, 2006.
*[http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=c4b5cf88-207a-487d-b785-b97e119099d8 "Holocaust deniers gather in Iran"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011091846/http://canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=c4b5cf88-207a-487d-b785-b97e119099d8 |date=October 11, 2007 }}, ''[[Edmonton Journal]]'', December 13, 2006.
*[https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-holocaust13dec13,1,5920414.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=1&cset=true "Holocaust deniers rebuked"]. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', December 13, 2006.
*[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061213.wxholocaustprof13/BNStory/International/home "Canadian prof attends Tehran's gathering of Holocaust deniers"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070121004453/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061213.wxholocaustprof13/BNStory/International/home |date=January 21, 2007 }}, ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', December 13, 2006.
*"The conference for Holocaust deniers hosted by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a transparent polemical stunt." [https://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2006/12/13/irans_great_pretender/ "Iran's great pretender"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211047/http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2006/12/13/irans_great_pretender/ |date=March 3, 2016 }}, ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', December 13, 2006.
*"What's the perfect way to top off a Holocaust denial conference featuring input from the likes of such scholars as former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke?" [https://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-iran13dec13,0,2528243.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail "Holocaust denial can be dangerous"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070111102008/http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-iran13dec13,0,2528243.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail |date=January 11, 2007 }}, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', December 13, 2006.
*[http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=341711&sid=WOR "Across Europe, outrage over meeting of holocaust deniers"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223174719/http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=341711&sid=WOR |date=December 23, 2007 }}, ''[[Zee News]]'', December 13, 2006.
*{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20061217133330/http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2006/12/12/2769773-cp.html "World reacts with outrage over meeting of Holocaust deniers in Iran"]}}, ''[[Calgary Sun]]'', December 13, 2006.
*[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4396632.html "Holocaust deniers' meeting spurs outrage"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061219093121/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4396632.html |date=December 19, 2006 }}, ''[[Houston Chronicle]]'', December 12, 2006.
*[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/12/europe/EU_GEN_Europe_Holocaust_Denial.php "Across Europe, outrage over meeting of Holocaust deniers in Iran"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214071812/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/12/europe/EU_GEN_Europe_Holocaust_Denial.php |date=December 14, 2006 }}, ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'', December 12, 2006.
*[https://www.theguardian.com/israel/Story/0,,1970042,00.html "Holocaust deniers gather in Iran for 'scientific' conference"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220161206/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/dec/12/iran.israel |date=February 20, 2021 }}, ''[[The Guardian]]'', December 12, 2006.
*[http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2067598.ece "Revisionist fringe gathers for Iran's Holocaust denial jamboree"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108183925/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2067598.ece |date=January 8, 2007 }}, ''[[The Independent]]'', December 12, 2006.
*[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=auGTWx2QrILM&refer=home "Holocaust Denied at Iran Forum to 'Research' Nazis"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613163056/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087 |date=June 13, 2010 }}, ''[[Bloomberg Television]]'', December 11, 2006.
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/11/world/middleeast/11cnd-iran.html "Holocaust Deniers and Skeptics Gather in Iran"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210055610/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/11/world/middleeast/11cnd-iran.html |date=December 10, 2020 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 11, 2006.
*"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking at a Tehran conference denying the existence of the Holocaust, said Israel will disappear like the Soviet Union." [http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20061212-072558-3819r "Iran students rebel over Holocaust denial"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016065421/http://upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20061212-072558-3819r |date=October 16, 2007 }}, ''[[United Press International]]'', December 12, 2006.</ref> though Iran denied it was a Holocaust denial conference.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,453691,00.html|title=Berlin Counters Holocaust Conference|access-date=December 27, 2006|date=December 11, 2006|work=Der Spiegel|archive-date=April 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406141032/https://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,453691,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A few months before it opened, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi stated: "The Holocaust is not a sacred issue that one can't touch. I have visited the Nazi camps in Eastern Europe. I think it is exaggerated."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Iran to Host Autumn Conference on Holocaust|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/iran-to-host-autumn-conference-on-holocaust|date=September 3, 2006 |access-date=September 11, 2006|publisher=Fox News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060930174449/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,212003,00.html |archive-date=September 30, 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, in an interview with CNN, newly elected Iranian President [[Hassan Rouhani]] condemned the Holocaust, stating: "I can tell you that any crime that happens in history against humanity, including the crime the Nazis created towards the Jews as well as non-Jews is reprehensible and condemnable. Whatever criminality they committed against the Jews, we condemn."<ref name="Saeed Kamali Dehghan">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/iran-rouhani-recognises-holocaust|title=Iranian president Hassan Rouhani recognises 'reprehensible' Holocaust|author=Saeed Kamali Dehghan|work=The Guardian|date=September 25, 2013|access-date=December 11, 2016|archive-date=May 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528221855/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/iran-rouhani-recognises-holocaust|url-status=live}}</ref> Iranian media later accused CNN of fabricating Rouhani's comments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Report-CNN-fabricated-Rouhani-Holocaust-interview-remarks-327171|title=Iranian press accuses CNN of 'fabricating' Rouhani Holocaust remarks|work=The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com|date=September 26, 2013|access-date=June 30, 2014|archive-date=March 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302203415/https://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Report-CNN-fabricated-Rouhani-Holocaust-interview-remarks-327171|url-status=live}}</ref>

In his official 2013 [[Nowruz]] address, [[Supreme Leader of Iran]] Grand Ayatollah [[Ali Khamenei]] questioned the veracity of the Holocaust, remarking that "The Holocaust is an event whose reality is uncertain and if it has happened, it's uncertain how it has happened."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir/status/446928689943420928|title=Khamenei.ir|work=Twitter|access-date=March 23, 2014|archive-date=June 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611091736/https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir/status/446928689943420928|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://backchannel.al-monitor.com/index.php/2014/03/8006/in-iran-new-years-address-khamenei-questions-holocaust/|title=In Iran new year's address, Khamenei questions Holocaust|work=al-monitor.com |access-date=March 23, 2014 |archive-date=March 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324233740/http://backchannel.al-monitor.com/index.php/2014/03/8006/in-iran-new-years-address-khamenei-questions-holocaust/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> This was consistent with Khamenei's previous comments regarding the Holocaust.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/davidblair/100239211/what-does-irans-supreme-leader-really-think-about-the-holocaust/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002100418/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/davidblair/100239211/what-does-irans-supreme-leader-really-think-about-the-holocaust/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 2, 2013|title=What does Iran's Supreme Leader really think about the Holocaust?|work=News – Telegraph Blogs}}</ref>

In 2015, the House of Cartoon and the Sarcheshmeh Cultural Complex in Iran organized the [[International Holocaust Cartoon Competition|Second International Holocaust Cartoon Competition]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/Iran-Holocaust-denial-timeline.pdf |title=Timeline: Holocaust Denial and Distortion from Iranian Government and Official Media Resources (1998–2016) |date=September 12, 2016 |website=[[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]] |access-date=June 9, 2019 |archive-date=March 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315012458/https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/Iran-Holocaust-denial-timeline.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> a competition in which artists were encouraged to submit [[cartoons]] on the theme of Holocaust denial. The winner of the contest will receive $12,000. ''[[Hamshahri]]'', a popular Iranian newspaper, held a [[International Holocaust Cartoon Competition|similar contest]] in 2006.<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4621731,00.html "Iran to host Holocaust denial cartoon competition."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629102634/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4621731,00.html |date=June 29, 2018 }} ''[[Ynetnews]]''. February 1, 2015. February 1, 2015.</ref>

===Turkey===
In Turkey, in 1996, the Islamic preacher [[Adnan Oktar]] under the pen name of Harun Yahya, distributed thousands of copies of a book which was originally published the previous year, entitled ''Soykırım Yalanı'' ("The Genocide Lie", referring to the Holocaust) and mailed unsolicited texts to American and European schools and colleges.<ref>Michael Hopkins, [http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/organizations/harunyahya.html "Harun Yahya and Holocaust Revisionism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124202225/http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/organizations/harunyahya.html |date=January 24, 2019 }}, The TalkOrigins Archive [Posted: draft: December 7, 2003].</ref> The publication of ''Soykırım Yalanı'' sparked much public debate.<ref name="axt">{{cite web|url=http://www.axt.org.uk/antisem/archive/archive1/turkey/turkey.htm|title=Turkey|date=1996|work=axt.org.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519190843/http://www.axt.org.uk/antisem/archive/archive1/turkey/turkey.htm |archive-date=May 19, 2012}}</ref> This book claims, "what is presented as Holocaust is the death of some Jews due to the typhus plague during the war and the famine towards the end of the war caused by the defeat of the Germans."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://members.fortunecity.com/vural/bks/HOLOCAUST.HTML|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208201358/http://members.fortunecity.com/vural/bks/HOLOCAUST.HTML|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 8, 2008|title=The Holocaust Deception|date=December 8, 2008}}</ref> In March 1996, a Turkish painter and intellectual, [[Bedri Baykam]], published a strongly worded critique of the book in the Ankara daily newspaper ''Siyah-Beyaz'' ("Black and White"). A legal suit for slander was brought against him. During the trial in September, Baykam exposed the real author of the book as Adnan Oktar.{{R|axt}} The suit was withdrawn in March 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.axt.org.uk/antisem/archive/archive2/turkey/turkey.htm#Parties|title=Turkey|work=axt.org.uk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519184740/http://www.axt.org.uk/antisem/archive/archive2/turkey/turkey.htm#Parties|archive-date=May 19, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|first=Laurie|last=Udesky|title=American Jewish organization sees emergence of 'Holocaust denial' in Turkey|work=[[Turkish Daily News]] |archive-date=November 3, 2007|date=March 27, 1997|url=http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/archives.php?id=2371 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103085344/http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/archives.php?id=2371}} [http://tdnarchives.blogspot.com/1997/03/american-jewish-organization-sees.html Alt URL]{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=== Israel ===
Israel's Prime Minister, [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], at a speech to the [[World Zionist Congress]] in 2015, [[Benjamin_Netanyahu#Fourth_term|claimed Adolf Hitler did not want to exterminate Jews]] but only wanted to expel them from Europe, and the extermination of the Jews was the idea of [[Haj Amin al-Husseini]], the [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Netanyahu Holocaust remarks: Israeli PM criticised |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34594563 |work=BBC |date=21 October 2015 |quote=But in a speech at the World Zionist Congress, external in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu gave a different account. "Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews at the time - he wanted to expel the Jews," the Israeli prime minister said. "And Haj Amin al-Husseini went to Hitler and said: 'If you expel them, they'll all come here.' "'So what should I do with them?' he [Hitler] asked. He [Husseini] said: 'Burn them.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=HELLER |first1=ARON |title=Netanyahu causes uproar by linking Palestinians to Holocaust |url=https://apnews.com/general-news-61ead35a427a408e9d93d43f41cfa064 |work=AP |date=October 21, 2015}}</ref> Scholars denied this claim, including [[Moshe Zimmermann]] who said that it reinforced the opinions of the far-right and Holocaust deniers. Zimmerman stated that "Any attempt to deflect the burden from Hitler to others is a form of Holocaust denial". Netanyahu later told reporters that he was not letting Hitler off the hook for the Holocaust and that the Mufti's role should not be ignored.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beaumont |first1=Peter |last2=Reed |first2=Betsy |title= Outrage over Holocaust comments intensifies as Netanyahu meets Kerry |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/22/holocaust-comments-binyamin-netanyahu-john-kerry-berlin |work=The Guardian |date=22 Oct 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Heller |first1=Aron |title=Scholars slam Netanyahu for suggesting WW II-era Palestinian leader inspired Holocaust |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/scholars-slam-netanyahu-for-suggesting-ww-ii-era-palestinian-leader-inspired-holocaust-1.3282286 |work=BBC |agency=The Associated Press |date=Oct 21, 2015}}</ref>