OU CONDEMNS PRESENCE OF INDIVIDUALS DRESSED AS CHAREDI JEWS AT IRAN HOLOCAUST DENIAL CONFERENCE
Orthodox Union President Stephen J. Savitsky and Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb today issued the following statement:
The Orthodox Union condemns the actions of the individuals dressed in the garb of Charedi Jews, who were widely publicized in a photograph registering for the Holocaust denial conference in Iran. There, they joined ranks with vicious anti-Semites such as Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the force behind the conference, and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
The world, both Jewish and non-Jewish, must understand that these individuals represent no one but themselves, have no constituency but themselves, have no following in the Jewish community, and are a disgrace to Judaism.
Ahmadinejad is certain to use their presence as anti-Israel propaganda – “If these pious Jews deny the Holocaust, then it surely didn’t happen.”
We can only hope that the world is smart enough to recognize that the presence of these individuals is proof only that Ahmadinejad will stoop as low as necessary to demonstrate his hatred of the Jewish people and Israel, and that no matter how low he stoops, there is always some enemy of Israel he will find — even if that enemy happens to be Jewish.