Originally published 9/18/06:
This to me is fair evidence that Ahmadinejad of Iran did not say that Israel should be wiped off the map. I’ve posted on this before, but that was a mistranslation of the Farsi language he was speaking. Here in this new interview in Havana (probably at the meeting of the non-aligned nations) he was interviewed by Time Magazine and said the following:
TIME: You have been quoted as saying Israel should be wiped off the map. Was that merely rhetoric, or do you mean it?
AHMADINEJAD: People in the world are free to think the way they wish. We do not insist they should change their views. Our position toward the Palestinian question is clear: we say that a nation has been displaced from its own land. Palestinian people are killed in their own lands, by those who are not original inhabitants, and they have come from far areas of the world and have occupied those homes. Our suggestion is that the 5 million Palestinian refugees come back to their homes, and then the entire people on those lands hold a referendum and choose their own system of government. This is a democratic and popular way. Do you have any other suggestions?
TIME: Do you believe the Jewish people have a right to their own state?
AHMADINEJAD: We do not oppose it. In any country in which the people are ready to vote for the Jews to come to power, it is up to them. In our country, the Jews are living and they are represented in our Parliament. But Zionists are different from Jews.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1535827,00.html
Please tell me if you think this is not a voice of reason?
1 Response to “More proof that Ahmadinejad never said he wants Israel wiped off of the map”