The conference opened with the Ayatollah's adviser saying “American officials are puppets of the Zionist lobby who are taking advantage of American ignorance.”
By MICHELLE MALKA GROSSMANThe New Horizons Conference in Tehran, Iran(photo credit: screenshot)
A conference denying the Holocaust and bashing Israel will take place this year in Tehran with a number of foreign guests, despite its cancellation by the Iranian government in 2013.The 2nd New Horizon Conference bills itself as a "conference of independent thinkers & film makers" while focusing on topics such as the “similarities [between] Nazism and Zionism, America and the Zionist crimes in the world, Hollywood and the Israel lobby … .”"A disturbing new element in this anti-Jewish gathering is the appearance on the guest list of a few high-visibility US anti-war and anti-Israel activists who claim their positions are not motivated by anti-Semitism," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.Mohsen Ghomi, official advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, opened the conference saying “American officials are puppets of the Zionist lobby who are taking advantage of American ignorance.”The three-day event is taking place as part of the 13th International Resistance Film Festival, which will present films on topics as varied as 'A revealing image of the US and Zionism crimes in the world', 'Regional and worldwide spread of the Islamic Awakening', 'A world free of terrorism and nuclear weapons', 'The role of Zionism and Wahhabism in desecration of Muslim beliefs and Prophets.'Among the people attending what is being called a hatefest, are Medea Benjamin, the co-founder anti-war organization CODEPINK, Mark Siljander, a former US representative from Michigan found guilty of ties to terror funding groups and anti-Semitic French "comedian" Dieudonne M’bala M’bala.One of those attending the conference was Wayne Madsen, described by the government-run Iranian news source Press TV as an "American investigative journalist," who said "Zionists" are controlling the American government, hearkening back to long-held anti-Semitic tropes. Last year, Iran's foreign ministry canceled the New Horizon Conference, in a move to demonstrate that the country is veering toward a new diplomatic direction under the leadership of new President Hassan Rouhani. It is unclear why the Iranian government decided to allow the conference to proceed this year.
