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December 10, 2005

AP Whitewashes Iranian President’s Holocaust Denial

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s suggestion that the Holocaust never happened was widely reported by the news media. Almost all outlets quoting Ahmadinejad noted that he said at a Dec. 8 press conference:

Some European countries insist on saying that Hitler killed millions of innocent Jews in furnaces and they insist on it to the extent that if anyone proves something contrary to that they condemn that person and throw them in jail. Although we don't accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, our question for the Europeans is: 'Is the killing of innocent Jewish people by Hitler the reason for their support to the occupiers of Jerusalem?'

If the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe - like in Germany, Austria or other countries - to the Zionists...

The Washington Post, Reuters, the Guardian, the Independent, the Times of London, the New York Times and others, many of them quoting the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, relayed Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denying quote.

The Associated Press, however, despite dispatching multiple reports on Ahmadinejad’s speech and the subsequent international outcry, never reported that Ahmadinejad said he “[does not] accept this claim�? about Hitler’s genocide.

In reports by AP’s Salah Nasrawi, the passage simply disappeared:

"Some European countries insist on saying that during World War II, Hitler burned millions of Jews and put them in concentration camps," Ahmadinejad said. "Any historian, commentator or scientist who doubts that is taken to prison or gets condemned."

"Let's assume what the Europeans say is true ... Let's give some land to the Zionists in Europe or in Germany or Austria," he said. "They faced injustice in Europe, so why do the repercussions fall on the Palestinians?"

Other unsigned AP dispatches summarized the offensive comments as follows:

Saying that "some European countries insist on saying that during World War II, Hitler burnt millions of Jews," Ahmadinejad suggested "let's give some land to the Zionists in Europe or in Germany or Austria so they can have their government there."

Becuase the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, CNN.com and countless others relied on AP’s story about Ahmadinejad’s comments, hundreds of thousands of readers (or more) did not get the full story.

Posted by GI at December 10, 2005 12:31 AM

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