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Bertrand Delanoe said he was appalled by the display of more than 200 entries from Iran's International Holocaust Cartoons Contest, which organizers say aims to challenge Western taboos about discussing the mass killings of European Jews.
Thank goodness. This exhibit is a travesty.
In case you havent seen the article, the mayor of Paris recently spoke out against the Holocaust cartoon show being exhibited in Tehran
Paris mayor condemns Tehran Holocaust cartoon show
Thu Aug 17, 2006 3:13 PM BST
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PARIS (Reuters) - Paris's mayor on Thursday condemned a Tehran exhibition of cartoons on the Holocaust, saying the display mocked the Nazi killing of 6 million Jews.
Bertrand Delanoe said he was appalled by the display of more than 200 entries from Iran's International Holocaust Cartoons Contest, which organisers say aims to challenge Western taboos about discussing the mass killings of European Jews.
Iran's president has called the Holocaust a "myth".
Delanoe condemned the exhibition in a letter to Iran's ambassador, saying the event "intended to mock the tragedy of the Shoah and to trivialise a new anti-Semitic bid under the false pretext of art and freedom of speech".
"At a time when violence and war should lead everyone towards a willingness for dialogue, appeasement and tolerance, such a step serves, on the contrary, motivations dominated by hatred," the Socialist mayor said.
Delanoe called on Iran to let "the paths of reason and respect of others" prevail.
France is home to western Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities.
It is a crime in European countries such as France, Germany and Austria to deny the Holocaust.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad drew widespread international condemnation for dismissing the Holocaust as a "myth" and saying the issue should be open to debate.
Iran's best-selling newspaper, Hamshahri, in February launched a competition for the best cartoon about the Holocaust in retaliation for the September publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in Danish and other European newspapers.
Those images of the Prophet sparked attacks on European embassies in Muslim nations, including missions in Iran.
