Ahmadinejad's Mythology

For many Muslims, today was Qods Day, an occasion to express solidarity with Palestine and curse Israel -- as if they needed a special day to do the latter. Naturally, it was also an occasion for President Ahmadinejad of Iran to make a speech. This time around he made his position on the Holocaust a bit more clear than before -- at least as reported by Agence France-Presse.

Here's the crucial passage:

"The Iranian nation hates killing and considers Hitler and the executioners of the World War II as black and dark figures," he said.
"But the Iranian nation has a question and as long as there is no clear and reasonable response to this question, it will remain.
"They have made the Holocaust sacred and do not allow anyone to ask questions. Under the pretext of the Holocaust they are allowed to commit whatever crime they like," he added.

I take the first sentence as Ahmadinejad's acknowledgement that the event generally known as the Holocaust actually took place. Now jump to the end. This is what he means when he talks about a "myth" of the Holocaust; the idea that the event entitles Zionists to commit what the Iranian characterizes as "whatever crime they like." In other words, the "myth" is that the Holocaust is the justification for the existence of Israel.

As an aggrieved Muslim, Ahmadinejad should know that Zionists were settling Palestine long before Hitler took power in Germany. If he meant to suggest that Zionism only got going because of the Holocaust, he's just being silly. If he means to suggest that Zionism has gained international legitimacy because of the Holocaust, he's closer to the right track. His problem, of course, is that he thinks that by refuting the "myth" of the Holocaust, Israel will lose all legitimacy. Worse, he thinks that Jewish people will just pack their bags and head for some new homeland generously provided by the West. He suggests Canada or Alaska -- has he read Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union? Once we reach this point in the president's oration, we have to reiterate that he's a nut. Yes, I acknowledge that maybe the Arabs or Islam in general were treated unfairly when part of their patrimony was reserved for Jewish people, but there are millions of facts on the ground, and the idea that you can get rid of them without what some would call a Second Holocaust is, well, a myth.