Ahmadinejad’s Christmas Speech Raises Ruckus
Britain's Channel 4 has a tradition of featuring an alternative Christmas message as a kind of counterpoint to Queen Elizabeth's customary speech, and this year's speaker -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- is sparking outrage.
Britain’s Channel 4 has a tradition of featuring an alternative Christmas message as a kind of counterpoint to Queen Elizabeth’s customary speech, and this year’s speaker — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — is sparking outrage.
Your support is crucial...BBC:
In it, Mr Ahmadinejad congratulated the people of Britain on the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ.
He said that problems in society were rooted in the rejection of the message of the prophets of God, including Jesus.
And he criticised the “indifference of some governments and powers” towards the teachings of “the divine prophets”.
However, a Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: “President Ahmadinejad has during his time in office made a series of appalling anti-Semitic statements.
“The British media are rightly free to make their own editorial choices, but this invitation will cause offence and bemusement not just at home but amongst friendly countries abroad.”
Labour MP Louise Ellman, chairwoman of the Labour Jewish Movement, said: “I condemn Channel 4’s decision to give an unchallenged platform to a dangerous fanatic who denies the Holocaust, while preparing for another, and claims homosexuality does not exist while his regime hangs gay young men from cranes in the street.
“Who will deliver next year’s alternative Christmas message? Will it be David Irving or Robert Mugabe?”
As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.
Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality beneath the headlines — without compromise.
Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.
Editorial Cartoons
Ear to the Ground
New surveys point to antisemitism in the workplace.
For more than a century Zionists and, later, Israelis have pursued a project to seize and ethnically cleanse Palestinian land.
Mainstream outlets have tried to depict the Vermont senator and his campaign as bigoted. They should take a long, hard look in the mirror.
The World Holocaust Forum focuses on commemorating the Holocaust and combating a global spike in anti-Jewish violence.
Rutgers Law School professor Sahar Aziz explains how the Vermont senator's critics have weaponized his support for the Palestinian people.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.