Iran Not Calling for ‘Disappearance’ of Jews, Just for Destruction of Jewish State, Khamenei Cynically Claims

Iran financially and militarily backs terror groups Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.

By United with Israel Staff

We cannot help but roll our eyes when Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claims that the “disappearance” of Israel does not mean the destruction of the Jewish people.

“Calling for the elimination of the State of Israel does not mean the elimination of the Jewish people … it means that the people of Palestine – be they Muslim, Christian or Jewish – should choose their own government,” Khamenei said in a speech on Friday at the International Conference on Islamic Unity in Tehran, Reuters reported.

Indeed, his claim that he is not prejudiced against Jews is similar to that of the promoters of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which has been shown to be anti-Semitic.

In June 2016, 31 countries voted to adopt a new working definition of anti-Semitism that includes anti-Zionism, a move hailed by human rights activists as an important milestone in countering hatred. The definition notes that “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as anti-Semitic.” But accusations of dual loyalty and the use of double standards against the Jewish state, as well as tenets of anti-Zionism like the denial of Jewish rights to self-determination, are considered manifestations of anti-Semitism.

French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, was among many world leaders who recognize this phenomenon. At a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Nazi deportation of Jews from Paris in 2017, he vowed,  “We will not surrender to anti-Zionism, because it is a reinvention of anti-Semitism.”

Khamenei’s statement on Friday was not the first time he claimed he was not anti-Semitic but merely intent on destroying the “Zionist regime.” For instance, in the summer of 2015, the New York Post reported on the publication of a book he had authored called Palestine, consisting of 416 pages that outline a plan to wipe out the Jewish state. Khamenei insisted that his strategy for the destruction of Israel is not based on anti-Semitism, which he described as a European phenomenon.

Khamenei’s murderous actions speak louder than his words, as Iran financially and militarily backs terror groups Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. Thousands of Jewish Israelis have been murdered in cold blood by these Iranian proxies.