Anti-semitism and holocaust denial in the Iranian media

An increase in antisemitism and expressions of Holocaust denial has been recently observed in the Iranian media, including several television drama series'.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry-affiliated Tehran Times published an op-ed by columnist Hossein Amiri titled 'Lies of the Holocaust Industry,' released to coincide with the international commemoration of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp on January 27. The op-ed denied that the Holocaust took place, claiming that such large-scale use of gas would have been impossible, and that the Allies and Zionist leaders "formulated strange conceptions about the killing of Jews at Nazi camps" and "conjured up images of gas chambers." It accused Israel and Europe of exploiting the Holocaust to justify the Palestinians' suffering, and claimed that the "issue of the Holocaust is only being highlighted to cover up Israel's crimes in Palestine."

Over the past month, the official Iranian news agency MEHR has published a series of antisemitic articles, including interviews with two leading European Holocaust deniers. On December 29, 2004, Dr. Fredrick Toben of the Adelaide Institute in Australia claimed that " the state of Israel is founded on the 'Holocaust' lie " and that "exposing this lie" would help " dismantle the Zionist entity. " In his interview on December 18, 2004, French Professor Robert Faurisson spoke about the " alleged 'Holocaust' of the Jews."

A review of the movie 'Exodus' by Mojtaba Habibi, in which he accused the Jews of collaboration with the Nazis and of orchestrating a grand scheme of world domination together with Joseph Stalin, was also recently published by MEHR, on December 29, 2004.

Claiming that the Jews are "exploiting a great historic lie called 'the Holocaust'" in order to expand their influence in Europe another article published by MEHR discussed the French ban of Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV channel.

Professor Heshmatollah Qanbari characterized the Jews as a "subversive element in human history" and as " satanic " and " anti-human " in another interview, broadcast on Iran's Channel 1 TV on November 11, 2004. The Jews, according to Qanbari, are " dangerous to both Christians and Muslims, " as well as to monotheism in general. Qanbari characterized the Jews as the source of " all corrupt traits in humanity " and said that throughout history they have exhibited expansionist tendencies, coveting and usurping other nations.

Several antisemitic TV drama series' are currently being aired on Iranian TV. Two of them, "Zahra's Blue Eyes" and "The People of the Cave", are Iranian-produced, and a third, 'Al-Shatat,' although Syrian-produced, is also supported by Iran in that it was originally broadcast by Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV channel worldwide. [1]

In 'Zahra's Blue Eyes,' airing weekly on the Iranian Sahar TV channel, the "Zionists" are graphically portrayed as kidnapping little Palestinian children and harvesting their organs. Traditional antisemitic stereotypes are interwoven in the series, such as Jewish racial superiority, as well as anti-Israeli political propaganda.

Sahar TV is currently broadcasting the historical drama series, 'The People of the Cave.' In a recent episode, the Jews are portrayed as maliciously abusing Christ on the cross and as bribing the Romans to turn a blind eye.

'Al-Shatat,' originally broadcast by Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV channel, is currently being aired on the Iranian Sahar TV channel. It portrays the Jews as controlling the world through a secret global government and as being responsible for all the ills of the world, through political, economic, and sexual conspiracies, war-mongering, and political assassinations. Blood Libels – such as the slaughtering of a Christian child for ritual Passover needs – are graphically depicted, as are gruesome executions of transgressing Jews and of non-Jews alike.

The following are excerpts from these examples of recent antisemitism in the Iranian media: [2]

Iranian Columnist: 'The Nazi Concentration Camps were … Like Any Other Detention Camps in Other Wars… The Declaration that 6 million Jews were Killed in WWII is an Exaggeration'

In an op-ed titled 'Lies of the Holocaust Industry,' published by the Iranian Foreign Ministry-affiliated Tehran Times, columnist Hossein Amiri claims that the Holocaust never took place, basing his beliefs on "revisionist historians" who have "proven" that the eradication of the Jews would have taken more than the six years of the war and that "ethnic cleansing through the use of the poison gas Zyklon-B, as the Zionists claim, was not possible at the time." The op-ed downgrades the Holocaust by stating that any war – not only WWII – "leads to many problems and disasters," and that the Nazi concentration camps were no worse than any detention camp: "Undoubtedly, the Nazi concentration camps were not holiday resorts and imposed various difficulties on the prisoners, just like any other detention camps in other wars." The inmates, according to Tehran Times, "died of hunger, illness, and other causes."

The article accuses Israel and Europe of exploiting the Holocaust to justify the Palestinians' suffering, and claims that the "issue of the Holocaust is only being highlighted to cover up Israel's crimes in Palestine." According to Tehran Times, the Zionists are trying to revitalize the issue of the Holocaust because it has become discredited in world public opinion. To this end, they use the global media, the Internet, and the Hollywood film industry, in which the Jews, according to the op-ed, play a significant role. The following are excerpts from the column:

"Subjecting an ethnic group or nation to torture under any pretext is quite unacceptable, but it is worse when the suffering is abused, and it is the worst when a group tries to exaggerate the event for political purposes.

"By exaggerating the suffering of the Jews during World War II, Zionist groups and the Israeli regime are taking advantage of the situation by raising the issue at international organizations in order to neutralize any opposition to their diabolical plots.

"No one is trying to ignore the suffering of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis, but the suffering of a religious/ethnic group should not cause the world to forget the suffering of another nation or allow those who suffered persecution to do the same injustice to another nation.

"Every year on January 27 the media gives wide coverage to the so-called Holocaust, and Tel Aviv rebukes the world for the historic suffering that they claim they experienced in the past.

"Today the Holocaust has very complicated connotations. The exaggeration of this phenomenon can be interpreted as the Europeans' attempt to salve their guilty consciences by handing over the lands of the Palestinian nation to a people to whom the Europeans believe they have done an injustice.

"After the end of the war in 1945, the Allies, along with Zionist leaders, began formulating strange conceptions about the killing of Jews at Nazi camps which a modern man can hardly accept. By conjuring up images of gas chambers, they are attempting to convey the idea that the Jews have undergone indescribable torture and that the world's conscience should be awakened to this issue so that the Jews are not subjected to injustice again.

"In pursuit of this goal, the West, spearheaded by Britain and the United States, began sowing seeds for the seizure of Palestine and condemned the Palestinians to pay for a crime that the Westerners themselves had committed. Thus, this nation, which claims to have been the perennial victim of violence and torture over the course of history, is now doing the same thing to the Palestinians.

"It was not long before a group of revisionist historians in the West began to question the claim that six million Jews were butchered by the Nazis, and even asked whether the slaughter of six million Jews during World War Two was possible or not.

"The revisionist historians have proven in two decades of study that if Hitler had carried out a systematic program to eradicate the Jews, it would have taken more time than the six years that the war lasted. They have also proven that such an act of ethnic cleansing through the use of the poison gas Zyklon-B, as the Zionists claim, was not possible at the time.

"Norman J. Finkelstein, a Jewish professor at New York University critical of Zionist policies, has called the claim the 'Holocaust Industry,' which is only meant to boost support for the government of Israel.

"Over the past several decades and since the event was questioned, Zionist propagandists have tried to substantiate this claim through various means.

"The Zionists are trying to revitalize an issue which has become discredited in the eyes of world public opinion by using the press, radio, television, the Internet, and, most importantly of all, cinema and the great filmmaking industry in Hollywood, since most of the significant players of this influential industry are Jews.

"It can be said that any war, and particularly one that affects the world, will always lead to many problems and disasters, and World War II is no exception.

"Undoubtedly, the Nazi concentration camps were not holiday resorts and imposed various difficulties on the prisoners, just like any other detention camps in other wars.

"Many people in these camps, including innocent men, women, and children, died of hunger, illness, and other causes.

"The victims were from different nations and ethnic groups, including the Jews, who also lost many people, but the Jews were not the only victims of the war, and a greater number of innocent people from other ethnic groups also lost their lives.

"The issue of the Holocaust and the anniversaries held for the event are only meant to promote the repressive policies of the Zionists.

"The Jews suffered as a result of Hitler's expansionism, just like other innocent victims, but should not be granted special privileges over the others.

"The declaration that six million Jews were killed in World War II is an exaggeration of the truth. Furthermore, the suffering and pains of a nation cannot justify their crimes against other nations.

"The issue of the Holocaust is only being highlighted to cover up Israel's crimes in Palestine." [3]

Iranian Movie Review: 'The Zionist Leadership Handed Jews Over to POW Detention Camps, Thus Collaborating Extensively with the Nazis'

MEHR recently published review of the movie "Exodus" by Mojtaba Habibi, in which he accused the Jews of collaboration with the Nazis and of orchestrating a grand scheme of world domination together with Joseph Stalin. He maintained that the Zionists signed various secret agreements with world powers in conspiracies to dominate the world and to subjugate the Arabs. The following are excerpts:

"… The movie 'Exodus' is a statement of defense, which demonstrates that the Communists of Russia and of Eastern Europe control all the banks, the military industries, and the diamond, gold, and oil markets… They are known as 'Ashkenazi' [Jews], they constitute the oppressive regime of Jerusalem, and they enjoy all the privileges of world Zionism. As opposed to them, there are the 'Sephardi' Jews – those Jews who are not from Russia, Europe, or America. They are generally from the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, and are considered to be second-class citizens. But this movie depicts this reality in humanitarian shades, and ostensibly denies such racism…

"During WWII, the Zionist leadership handed oppressed Jews over to the prisoner-of-war detention camps, and thus collaborated extensively with the Nazis…

"Documents [uncovered] in the den of spies [i.e., the U.S. embassy in Tehran, when it was seized in 1979] and the book ' Facts of Israeli Society ' state that: 'In order to comprehend that the 1973 war was in fact part of the conspiracy and grand deception of Israel and the USSR, you must know about the Golda Meir–Stalin–Kaganowicz alliance. Golda Meir was born in Russia… In 1949 she was appointed the first Israeli ambassador to the USSR. Ambassador Golda Meir (a Bolshevik Jewish woman), who represented Israel, met with two representatives of the USSR. The first was Kaganowicz (a Bolshevik Jew), and the second was Stalin (who married a Bolshevik Jewish woman). They signed a secret alliance, according to which … Israel was allowed to infiltrate the world of Judaism, particularly in the U.S., so that the Western forces would adopt a pro-Israel policy vis-à-vis the Arabs. The USSR's role in the alliance was the following: 1) the Soviets would adopt a pro-Arab policy, which would serve as a cover for fulfilling [the Soviet] aims of assisting the Arabs, but not [assisting the Arabs] enough so as to enable them to defeat Israel. 2) The Soviets could open the gates of pro-Soviet countries in order to enable Jewish emigration to Israel. If that were not sufficient, the USSR/Russia would open its own gates to enable Jewish emigration to Israel…

"There are agreements similar to the above, which were signed between the Zionists and the U.S., France, England, China, and others, which demonstrate the [Zionists'] infiltration through the use of various plots on a global level throughout history." [4]

"The Jews Are Exploiting a Great Historic Lie Called 'The Holocaust'"

Another example of Holocaust denial can be observed in a recent article published by MEHR. The article, titled 'A Legal Ruling – Or the First Link in the Row of Dominos?,' focuses on the decision to ban broadcasting by Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV in France and the U.S. administration's decision to follow suit in the U.S. The following are excerpts from the article:

"… In recent centuries, the Jews have expanded their influence in the centers of power, particularly in Europe, through the exploitation of a great historic lie called 'the Holocaust.' The Jews maintain that the roots of any opposition to them in Europe lie in racial issues, and that this opposition is likely to lead to a process similar to measures by Hitler and to an additional massacre of them.

"Using this fraud, the Jews have managed to pass, in many European countries, a law called the 'Hatred Law,' according to which all opposition and criticism of them, or handling and examination of their claims, is perceived as a racist measure against them aimed at expanding hatred of Jews (antisemitism) – and anyone who breaks this law can expect to be treated on the criminal level.

"… The true goal in passing this law was to equate criticizing the Jews with criticizing Israel. In recent years, they have managed to approach this goal, condemning any criticism of Israel and presented it as a racist and antisemitic measure.

"In recent years, we have been witness to many examples of measures of this kind, in the framework of which the Jews responded violently to their critics in France. The scope of these clashes was still greater in France's academic circles, due to criticism [of Israel] by some lecturers and researchers. This caused the expulsion of several lecturers from [French] universities.

"The measures that they [i.e. the Jews] have used and are using against Al-Manar TV can be explained in the framework of this law. Using this fraud [i.e. the Holocaust], they managed to force upon the French government the view that this channel's [i.e. Al-Manar's ] programming and anti-Israel steps are likely to expand provocation against Jews among the Muslim population.

"The argument that Muslims' steps against and hatred of Israel stem from steps by Al-Manar TV and that these are likely to lead to hatred of France's Jews has served the Jews as a basis for shutting down the channel.

"The ban on the operation of Al-Manar TV in France has come about as a result of efforts by the Zionist lobby there. Nevertheless, we must not ignore the point that a strong group belonging to the global power center – that is, America – vigorously supported this demand by France's Jews…

"The social activity of France's Jews greatly preceded that of America's Jews. However, America's Jews enjoy better means and status than do their French co-religionists. The Jews of America see themselves as obligated to the Jews of France. This is due to the help they have received throughout history from France's Jews in the sphere of participation in civil activity and in the sphere of infiltrating the centers of power.

"Apparently, Russia's Jews will also express sentiments similar to those of their American coreligionists, who have taught them the methods for looting Russia's resources…

"And now, as could have been anticipated, the Jews have begun to act also in America, and have moved the second domino in the row on the game board, under the heading of 'the court order banning the activity of Al-Manar TV in America.'" [5]

Australian Holocaust Denier in to Iranian Media: 'The State of Israel is Founded on the Holocaust Lie'

In an interview with MEHR, Dr. Fredrick Toben of the Adelaide Institute in Australia discussed U.S. policy towards Iran and the nuclear issue, and said that " the state of Israel is founded on the 'Holocaust' lie" and that "exposing this lie" will help "dismantle the Zionist entity." The following are excerpts from the interview:

Question: "Do you think the U.S. administration is honest in its approach toward the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction?"

Toben: "No, the U.S. is not honest in its approach because the current U.S. government is influenced by world Zionist considerations to retain the survival of the European colonial, apartheid, Zionist, racist entity of Israel, and so anything will be done to save the survival of that state…"

Question: "Israel is a nuclear threat to the Middle Eastern region, does not respect international law, and faces no opposition from the U.S., while it applies pressure on other countries which try to gain access to nuclear technology meant for peaceful purposes. Do you think this double-standard policy is a major factor in the Middle East conflict?"

Toben: "Of course the double standard is a major factor that continues to produce instability in the region. But we must recall that the U.S. can not work alone in this region, and it seems to find collaborators quite easily. We have already seen how Israel is busy in Iraq gaining control of vital points.

"This fact will also operate in Iran – and that is why Revisionists are astounded that no Arabic-speaking regime, except recently Egypt, has openly pushed for adopting a 'Holocaust' expose. It is this information that will help to dismantle the Zionist entity because the state of Israel is founded on the 'Holocaust' lie. Revisionists have all the information to hand that would eliminate the rationale on which Israel is based." [6]

French Holocaust Denier: "The Big Lie of the Alleged 'Holocaust,' in which Unfortunately They Seem to Believe"

French Holocaust denier Professor Robert Faurisson, a former lecturer at Lyon University, was interviewed by MEHR. The following are excerpts:

Faurisson: "In France, Jewish power is even stronger than in the USA. In France it is our lobby number 1. Nobody dares to speak out against those people because of their alleged 'Holocaust'…"

MEHR: "… Actually, France doesn't respect the rights of its citizens, as it has banned the hijab (Islamic headscarf) in public schools. How do you assess that?"

Faurisson: "Because Jews, in a certain way, are used to treating the French as they treat Palestinians. The difference is that Palestinians refuse to obey the Jews, whereas the French obey the Jews, once more because of the Big Lie of the alleged 'Holocaust,' in which unfortunately they seem to believe.

"The alleged 'Holocaust' of the Jews is the sword and the shield of the Jewish tyranny all over the world. Destroy it." [7]

'All Corrupt Traits in Humanity Originated in the Jews; Zionism's Satanic and Impure Ideology May Take Over the World'

Antisemitic statements were made by Iranian university professor Heshmatollah Qanbari in an interview on Iran's Channel 1 TV, in which he surveyed the "evil nature" of the Jews throughout history, basing his beliefs on "historical truth" according to the Koran, under the guise of a scientific analysis.

Qanbari claimed that Jews throughout history were a "subversive element" in human society and an "anti-human movement," which is "dangerous to both Christians and Muslims," and monotheism in general. The Jews, according to Qanbari, are the source of "all corrupt traits in humanity," and throughout history they have exhibited expansionist tendencies, coveting and usurping other nations. Global domination is also one of their aims, according to Qanbari, who says that most of Europe is under Jewish control today. Qanbari also warned that the Zionists' "racist" and "satanic ideology may take over the world." The following are excerpts from the interview:

Qanbari: "The anti-monotheistic movement of the Israelites was clandestine, thus concealing the essence of its plan from the public and presenting only part of the picture to the people."

Interviewer: "Yes."

Qanbari: "I'm not talking politics. These are historical truths. These are events that indeed took place in human history. We conclude from history that the issue of the Israelites and Jews who rule occupied Palestine today is basically an anti-human movement. "

Interviewer: "Yes."

Qanbari: "They are as dangerous to Christians as they are to Muslims. We are talking about the danger presented by the non-monotheistic, deviant, and guilty Israelites and Jews throughout history.

"No group – even the idol worshippers and Jahiliyya – was attacked so harshly in Islam as the Jews. It is a [Koranic] instruction. After all, the Koran is an eternal, comprehensive, and divine book, and now we examine this from an Islamic perspective. Why does the Koran – the eternal book – speak so angrily about a group that is supposedly monotheistic?

"The Koran is the word of divine inspiration, and there must be a powerful reason for its attack on this group. Sir, from the dawn of their creation they have adopted an utterly racist ideology.

"In their second law, the Israelites say that their God is Jehovah. They wrote that Jehovah assigned the worship of the stars to all the peoples but He chose the people of Israel for Himself. This is a fine point. It means that they see Him as a God who has no right to be the God of other living creatures. This is a God specifically for this group. The others have another God. This very important polytheistic ideology was overruled by the first of Moses' ten commandments.

"All corrupt traits in humanity originated in this group. All corruption. Ten years after [Muhammad] began his mission, in other words in 620 CE, a war broke out between [Sassanian] Yazdgird and the people of Syria, and the Roman Empire. In this war a large group of Romans was captured by Yazdgird, I mean Khosow Parviz. One of the things that they [the Jews] did was as follows: They bought the Roman Christian captives from the Sassanian king, and they slaughtered 90,000 Christians on the spot.

"They infiltrated everywhere they went covertly and deceitfully. Palestine is not the first place they went to. They went to Italy, Jordan, Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula… Wherever they went, they spread corruption and took over the economy.

"Anyone who knows the truth surely has no choice but to confront them for the sake of the continuation of humanity and the survival of God's way. This is a very small group that does nothing but spread strife and corruption. Today, a large portion of Europe is under their control. They collect taxes for no reason. If they grow stronger, their destructive treatment of the Christians will surpass their treatment of the Muslims. Global Jerusalem Day is the global day of humanity and monotheistic identity of mankind. You mean that the Israeli Zionists didn't merely occupy land; the matter has become complicated. This is a satanic and impure ideology that may take over the world…"

Interviewer: "And it is dangerous to all religions…"

Qanbari: "And it intends to do so." [8]

'Zahra's Blue Eyes' - A Weekly Soap Opera in which Israeli Officials Gouge Out Palestinian Children's Eyes to Implant in Israelis

Iran's Sahar 1 TV channel is currently airing a weekly series titled "Zahra's Blue Eyes," or "For You, Palestine." The series, which premiered on December 13, 2004 and is broadcast every Monday, is set in Israel and the West Bank. It was filmed in Persian, but subsequently dubbed into Arabic. [9]

The plot involves an Israeli candidate for Prime Minister, Yitzhak Cohen, who is also the military commander of the West Bank. The show contains graphic scenes of surgery and images of a hospitalized Palestinian girl whose eyes have been removed, with bandages covering the sockets.

Israel is presented as flaunting its "racial superiority." Cohen, a sinister manipulator, says: "We are the best of the races in the world. Our land should extend from the Euphrates to the Nile. The oil lies between the Euphrates and the Nile."

Israel is portrayed as a leading country in the field of medical transplants and cloning human organs, which has a stock of dozens of human hearts and artificial fetuses. Cohen is looking among the children of a Palestinian refugee camp for the perfect candidate to provide various body parts for his deformed son. The Palestinian refugee children are presented as a stockpile of numbers on the Israelis' lists in their search for the optimal human organs to be used to "rebuild" Cohen's deformed son.

The Israelis in the series orchestrate a grand scheme of deception, in which they kidnap a young Palestinian girl whose eyes were found to be suitable, and present an intricate lie to her relatives and to the entire refugee camp, informing them that she requires hospitalization in order to prevent the spread of a fictitious contagious eye-disease. The Israelis are depicted as masters in manipulation and deception and as violent, abusive, materialistic and greedy.

Each episode contains a short characterization of the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the Palestinian angle, in which the Zionists are depicted as occupiers and usurpers. The main Palestinian protagonists are the young girl, Zahra, and her old grandfather, Abd Al-Rahman. Thus, the Palestinians are presented as helpless and vulnerable, without the presence of a "father figure" or a guardian.

The plight of Palestine is generally expressed by one of the older and authoritative figures, such as the grandfather or the nurse, who teaches the children about their history and their plundered land. Thus, for example, in episode 5, the grandfather tells Zahra: "Here we were born, and here we must die. They took our country by force, and conquered our lands." In the latest episode, number 7, Zahra's plight arouses the Palestinian masses to rebel against the Zionist usurpers. Zahra's brother Isma'il vows to avenge her by committing a martyrdom operation. Thus, the helpless little girl, Zahra, symbolizes the oppressed Palestine. When she is blinded, she becomes a witness and a testimony to the plight of Palestine, enabling the young generation to see their course of action with clarity. The series provides a justification of Palestinian martyrdom operations against Israelis.

'Adonya' - An Historical Drama Series on Jews in the Early Christian Era

A new historical drama series, titled 'The People of the Cave' [ ashab-e kahf ], airing on Sahar TV, depicts the early Christian era from an Islamic perspective. The seventh episode, which was broadcast on December 30, 2004, shows the crucifixion of some of Jesus' followers by the Romans. In a scene reminiscent of the crucifixion of Jesus, the series shows Jews who are passing by the crucifixion site stopping to abuse the crucified Christian preacher Adonya, by gleefully and maliciously throwing stones at him as he is nailed to the cross. A Roman soldier tries to stop them, but the Jews bribe him and continue to abuse Adonya. In portraying them as Jews, the actors talk like cartoons, and wear as their clothing traditional "Jewish" religious garb (a tallith, which in fact is used only during prayer). [10]

'Al-Shatat' Drama Series: Conspiracies, Ritual Murder, and Executions - Courtesy of the Jews

Currently being broadcast on the Iranian Sahar TV channel is the antisemitic drama series 'Al-Shatat,' which was originally aired on Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV station. 'Al-Shatat's' blatantly antisemitic features were the main cause for the banning of Al-Manar TV in France. The current rerun is a slightly modified version, in which some of the more gruesome features in the original were cut. The series still propagates the view that the Jews have sought to control the world for many centuries via a secret global Jewish government. According to the series plotline, this secret government has been led, since the 19th century, by the Rothschild family. [11]

Under this government's leadership, the Jews were directly responsible for the following: starting the Russo-Japanese war; assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo; starting WWI; starting WWII; the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; helping Hitler annihilate the Jews of Europe; helping the Nazis annihilate 800,000 Hungarian Jews in exchange for the release of 2,000 wealthy German Jews; toppling the Ottoman sultan; deposing Czar Nicholas II; starting the Kishinev pogroms; ritually murdering a Christian child in Rumania and using his blood for matzos; torturing and murdering a Jew who married a Christian; murdering Czar Alexander III in Russia; causing the English stock market to collapse following the Battle of Waterloo and again during WWI, in order to make millions of pounds (for the Rothschilds); spying for Germany against France (Dreyfus); inventing chemical weapons (Chaim Weizmann) and selling them to both the Germans and the English; refusing to accept elderly Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis into Palestine; murdering 100 people in Egypt during military training prior to WWI; deposing British prime minister Lord Asquith; sinking a boatload of Jewish refugees en route to the U.S.; murdering emigrating Jews who tried to turn back to Europe; murdering many other characters in the series in a variety of ways; and numerous other catastrophes and criminal deeds. [12]

[1] The airing of ' Al-Shatat ' and the ensuing uproar in the French Jewish community was one of the main reasons for the recent ban on Al-Manar TV in France.

[2] The Iranian media has also broadcast a Persian translation of the antisemitic Egyptian series 'Knight Without a Horse,' which is based on 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.'

[3] Tehran Times (Iran), January 26, 2005. http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=1/26/2005&Cat=14&Num=1

[4] MEHR Iranian News Agency, December 29, 2004, www.mehrnews.com/fa/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsID=143479

[5] MEHR News Agency (Iranian), December 22, 2004, http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=141246

[6] MEHR News Agency (Iranian), December 29, 2004.

[7] MEHR News Agency (Iranian), December 18, 2004.

[8] Iran Channel 1, November 11, 2004. To view the clip or transcript, visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=383

[9] For the "Zahra's Blue Eyes" opening sequence, visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=421

For episode 1, visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=420

For episode 2,visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=431

For episode 3, visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=442

For episode 4, visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=458

For episode 5, visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=479

For episode 6, visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=496

For episode 7, visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=508

[10] To view the clip, visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=461

[11] For a recent episode, visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=491. For an overview of the series as broadcast on Al-Manar TV in 2003, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 627, December 12, 2003, 'Al-Shatat: The Syrian-Produced Ramadan 2003 TV Special'; http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP62703

[12] The series was produced with the assistance of the Syrian government.