With Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinajad repeatedly denying the Holocaust in the last few years, the majority of Iran’s Muslim population who are under the age of 35 are increasingly surfing the Internet for more in depth information on the Shoah. Various national and international Jewish organizations should be applauded for being quick to offer detailed and accurate information on the Holocaust in Persian language for these young impressionable Iranians in Iran. The Internet has been one of the key media outlets where western governments and organizations have had success outreaching to young people living in Iran who are opposed to their regime.
I recently interviewed Frank Nikbkaht, an Iranian Jewish activist and head of the L.A.-based “Committee for Minority Rights in Iran”, who said that Ahmadinajad’s ridiculous statements about the Holocaust have been a blessing in disguse for Holocaust awareness advocates. “From the beginning I said even on TV, that Ahmadinajad’s statements about the Holocaust were good for us because the new generation in Iran who did not know anything about it, are now hearing about the Holocaust and some are researching it on the Internet,” said Nikbakht. “This is the first time there has been a visible interest by millions of curious young Iranian Muslims in the issue of the Holocaust in a positive and sympathetic way—a result that is exactly the opposite of Ahmadinejad’s intent”.
The following are just a few Jewish sites in Persian language regarding the Shoah:
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/fa/
Yad Vashem’s Website: http://www1.yadvashem.org/parsit_web/paras_home.html
In April Yad Vashem reported that this site which was launched in January in 2007 has 25,100 visits, including 12,170 from inside Iran,
The “Living History Project” was launched by Sweden’s Prime Minister Goran Persson: http://www.levandehistoria.org/documents/boken/persiska.pdf
The Simon Wiesenthal Center provides 36 Questions And Answers About Holocaust:
http://www.wiesenthal.com/atf/cf/%7BDFD2AAC1-2ADE-428A-9263-35234229D8D8%7D/36QUESTIONSINFARSI.PDF
AskMusa.org is also a remarkable site in Persian language launched by the Wiesenthal Center to provide Iranians with an interactive ability to ask questions about the Shoah: http://farsi.askmusa.org/site/c.bnJEKRNqFkG/b.2803739/k.BF41/Home.htm
Hamdami.com recently launched by the Israeli Foreign Ministry offer Persian language information and interactive options to learn about the Holocaust:
Perhaps the most powerful online information source I’ve seen this year regarding the Holocaust has come from Grammy award winning Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari and Israeli rap/hip-hop star Kobi “Subliminal” Shimoni. They co-produced a hip-hop music video expressing their sentiments on the Shoah. Enjoy this fantastic video:
