President Ahmadinejad has attempted to clarify his remarks about the Holocaust, but nobody seems to be listening. It's unfortunate that we have devoted to much attention to the word "myth" and not to his message. Since he spoke in Farsi, it's certain that he didn't use that word, and whatever he used could probably have been as easily translated as "legend." With that phrase, his position would have been easier to understand.
Those paying attention to both the original statement and the clarifications will note that Ahmadinejad is not saying that the Holocaust didn't happen. He used a word which was translated as "myth," but he is simply saying that it's been given a holy status above discussion. That's true. It may not be a bad thing, but it's true.
However, what he is strongly objecting to is the conclusion drawn from the Holocaust that the Jewish people deserved a homeland that would be carved out of Muslim lands, as a result of something inflicted on them by Europeans. That is the unexamined premise behind American, and to a lesser extent European, support for Israel.
Suppose for a minute that the Aztecs had lived a little farther north before being overwhelmed by the Spanish, and that after centuries of wandering, they had ended up in China. And that the Chinese, to compensate them for all their mistreatment in China, had decided that they should get Texas as a homeland. Would the Texans have been empathetic and understanding to the repatriated Aztecs? Have Muslims been empatetic and understanding to Israel? Are we surprised?
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