|
Controversial head of Jewish delegation to Iranian Holocaust Denial conference resurfaces in Vienna Pull quote: "I pray for Israel's destruction in peaceful ways."
By Gil ZoharContradictory reports continue to circulate about "Rabbi" Moshe Aryeh Friedman, the 30-something Viennese rabble-rouser who led a controversial six-man delegation to last month's Holocaust denial conference in Tehran. Was he arrested in Iran, or did he fear to return to Austria – where like in Germany Holocaust denial is a criminal offence? On December 11, 2006 Friedman participated in the two-day International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust held in Tehran, which was sponsored by Iran's Foreign Ministry Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) for the purpose of "reviewing the Holocaust". Speaking at a forum hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – who has previously said that the Holocaust was a "myth" created by the West and called for the destruction of Israel – Friedman was quoted as claiming that the Holocaust is "a successful fiction".
Following the much-publicized conference and the publication of photos of the Neturei Karta leader and Ahmadinejad embracing, Friedman disappeared.
It was only at the end of last week that the self-described chief rabbi of Vienna – who is considered a "kook" by many in Austria's established Jewish community – was able to return to his home in Vienna.
Three weeks after his mysterious disappearance in Tehran, Friedman denied in an interview with the Tel Aviv daily Haaretz that he had been arrested by the Iranian authorities. Instead he claimed that his absence had been planned. Friedman explained his trip to Tehran as reflecting his desire to "show my respect to the members of my family who died in the Holocaust."
Friedman prays three times a day for the disappearance of the State of Israel
He also said he - "in peaceful ways" - and that he would not deny Iran its right to develop nuclear power.
The Jewish and the ultra-Orthodox world is seething over the participation of the anti-Zionist delegation at last month's Tehran conference. The Internet has been flooded with information about three of the participants from New York, David Weiss, David Feldman and Yisroel Feldman, and with suggestions to harass them. In Brooklyn, the Satmar Orthodox group slammed the Neturei Karta. Friedman grew up in the Satmar community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn which has disassociated itself from him because of his radical views. He is under a ban which precludes him from worshipping in Orthodox synagogues throughout Europe and New York
In Manchester, there were demonstrations in front of the home of Aron Cohen, and its windows were broken; in Austria, too, the Jewish community hastened to disassociate itself from Friedman, whom it described as "posing for a number of years as the chief rabbi of Vienna." An open letter published by the umbrella organization of the Austrian Jewish community said Friedman, whom it characterized as a "kook," came to Vienna some years ago from Antwerp, Belgium and was never ordained as a rabbi. Friedman, for his part, claims that he is the scion of a rabbinic family going back to the days of the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian empire.
While often called by the title of rabbi in the media, Friedman has never received smicha (rabbinic ordination). This has led to a controversy and his status as a rabbi has been challenged by Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger – who placed a cherem (excommunication) on Friedman and the other Tehran delegates.
In contrast to his anti-Zionist colleagues who were present at the conference, Friedman makes no apologies for his participation. In a phone interview from his home, he said "This was the first time in history that such an open event has taken place - and not one that exploits for political purposes the suffering of my family to legitimize the holocaust that the Israelis are bringing on another people [the Palestinians]."
According to Friedman, the conference was a "celebration of freedom of expression," and "Iran set an example to the whole world."
But his position in Vienna is different than the one he expressed in Tehran, where he was quoted as saying the Holocaust was a "successful fiction," and that it is "legitimate to cast doubt on some of the statistics" with regard to it.
On January 6, Friedman claimed that he does not deny that six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their henchmen. His sudden change in position may be explained by his fear over being prosecuted in Austria, where publicly doubting the Holocaust is an indictable criminal offence. This concern might also explain why he was detained in Tehran until December 24, and why he spent - by his own admission - the last two weeks in Denmark, known for its liberal laws of freedom of expression.
Friedman claimed he was detained because he was invited by the Iranian regime to another conference, in Isfahan, and that he flew to Denmark to participate in "interfaith dialogue." However he refused to give any precise details about his location. He was also quick to deny a report that he had been imprisoned by the Iranian regime, and proudly touted his good relations with the country. "The Iranian foreign ministry hosted me in a 'palace' of 150 square meters, and I was allowed to meet with anyone I wanted," he said. "They treated me in a way that no was else was treated," he added.
Friedman does not hide his admiration for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "I had more than one meeting with his excellency, President Ahmadinejad," Friedman said. "The president first recognized me at the conference in Tehran and he was especially friendly. There may be only one picture in which we are photographed kissing, but in fact we kissed 20 or 30 times."
Friedman also claims that on his earlier trip to Iran, he visited the presidential compound and reached "the bedroom of Khomeini." Ahmadinejad, he said, "is from a good family. There aren't too many people who know him better than I do."
According to Friedman, the second reason for his trip was to present an international peace plan, by which Israel would cease to exist, Jews of Polish and Eastern European origin (and their whole families) would return to their place of birth, and Jewish of Iraqi origin would return to Iraq "the moment a functioning democracy is established there." Friedman said the Iranian president expressed support for his plan and promised "to give religious freedom to the Jewish minority that remains in Palestine." Friedman added that he "wanted to bring the situation back to what it was, before the establishment of Israel."
Friedman is no stranger to anti-Zionist activity and provocations. In the past he maintained good relations with the extreme right-wing party of Jorg Haider in Austria, met with Hamas ministers in Europe, and prayed for the health of Palestinian arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat while the latter was hospitalized in Paris.
In May 2006 he met with Atef Adwan of Hamas and an acting Palestinian Cabinet Minister in Stockholm, Sweden - where Adwan was attending a conference.
With regard to the present scandal, Friedman says he is "afraid of the reaction to our participation in the conference."
|
