TEHRAN, Iran Jews arent our enemies, said Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif when asked by IransTasnimnews agencyabouthis statements on the Holocaust on a social-media websitein a conversation that originated with his tweet of "Happy Rosh Hashanah" on Sept. 5.The foreign minister, whose name means in Persian elegant or "delicate," tried to be very delicate in his choice of words. He was clear in condemning the killing of Jews by Nazis, as we condemn the killing of Palestinians by the Zionists.
Zarif explained his countrys differentiation between Zionism and Judaism with, Judaism is a divine religion that we respect in accordance with the teachings of our religion and our country's constitution. He added,"In the Islamic Republic of Iran Jewish compatriots are a recognized minority and in the parliament they have an active parliamentary member."
Zionists are a minority with the Jews," he said. "They are exploiting the suffering of the Jews to justify their crimes against the Palestinians. We wont allow them to propagate that Iran hates the Jews and that it's a country that wants war. Zarif concluded, The Zionists for 60 years used the Holocaust as a pretext for all the crimes against the Palestinians, the world should have a say on this so that the Palestinians wont suffer for another 60 years in the name of the Holocaust.
Earlier, Zarif tweeted from his new Twitter account, Happy Rosh Hashanah.Al-Monitors Laura Rozenreported that the tweet led to astunning Twitter exchange with Christine Pelosi(@sfpelosi), the daughter of ranking House Democrat Nancy Pelosi, about former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads Holocaust denial. Zarifs reply: Iran never denied it. The man who was perceived to be denying it is now gone. Happy New Year.
Interesting#RoshHashanahexchange on#twittertoday ... How's your 5774 so far?pic.twitter.com/GTOEEokYRb
sfpelosi (@sfpelosi)September 5, 2013
Holocaust denial was for years one of the controversies that surrounded Ahmadinejad, who repeatedly claimed that the Holocaust never happened. The former president even said that one of his main achievements was Holocaust denial.
That was a taboo topic that no one in the West allowed to be heard, Ahmadinejad said in afarewell speechon July 7, adding, We put it forward at the global level. That broke the spine of the Western capitalist regime.
But what does Zarifs statement mean for politics?
For sure, that doesnt meant Iran is going to get closer to Israel, or observe it as a legitimate entity in the region, a source in Tehran toldAl-Monitor.Liberating Palestine is one of the main pillars of Irans Islamic revolution, and it has been supporting Palestinian and Lebanese groups fighting Israel for this cause.
Thats why Zarif was keen to highlight the differences between Judaism and Zionism, telling everyone that even if Iran's position toward the Holocaust has changed, this doesnt mean Israel is not an enemy.
Iran is working hard to defuse all possible political landmines inherited from Ahmadinejads era. President Rouhani and his team, including Zarif, are making efforts to keep the standoff with the West and any other possible foes in the region within the political frame.
Any disagreement in politics can be solved by a certain consensus, said the source, who added, Taking the confrontation to ideology and beliefs will make any possible solution difficult.
The official Iranian rhetoric shifted toward moderation since the arrival of President Rouhani, explained our source. Iran wants good relations with everyone. We want everyone to respect our red lines, andwere also going to respect others' red lines. Despite the fact that the whole region is on fire, we look forward to being the firefighters here.
Ali Hashemis an Arab journalist serving asAl Mayadeennews network's chief correspondent. Until March 2012, he was Al Jazeera's war correspondent, and prior to that he was a senior journalist at the BBC. He has written for several Arab newspapers, including the Lebanese dailyAs Safir,the Egyptian dailiesAl-Masry al-YoumandAldostor, and the Jordanian dailyAlghad.He has also contributed toTheGuardian.On Twitter:@alihashem_tv
By Al Monitor
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