The Politics of (Re)Location

Western press and media give extensive coverage to the utterances of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, particularly his denial of the Jewish massacres during World War II.

Ahmadi, on the other hand, has always focused on a different aspect of the same issue:

Iran is trying to improve its relationship with the West, as I understand it. It is clear that there was a Holocaust. Why would you say there was no Holocaust? Do you feel there should be no Jewish state—no Israel?

What I am saying is extremely clear. It is an academic approach to a crucial subject and also one based on humanitarian considerations. What I am saying here is that in past history many events have happened, and in World War II many crimes were committed. Over 60 million people were killed and even more were displaced. So we have several specific questions with regard to the events of World War II, and I believe we cannot find the answers to these questions through the propaganda that is promoted by the media. In the end, the questions need convincing answers. The first question that I have to try and understand is why in the midst of all that happened in World War II, the Holocaust is emphasized more than any other [event]?

Let’s say that Stalin’s crimes were equally great.

The second question is why do Western politicians focus on this issue so much? The third question is how does that event connect with issues that we see around us in the world today? Was this a historical event that happened in isolation without impacting the present conditions? The next question we should ask ourselves is if the event did take place, where did it happen, who were the perpetrators, what was the role of the Palestinian people? What crime have they committed to deserve what they have received as a result? Why exactly should the Palestinian people be victimized? Are you aware that over 5 million Palestinians have been displaced and have had refugee status? What role did they play in the Holocaust? Why is the Holocaust used as a pretext to occupy the land of other people? Why should the Palestinian people give their lives up for it? You are probably aware that there have been embargoes on the people of Gaza.

- The Iranian president on nuclear ambitions and Holocaust denials, Newsweek, Oct 5, 2009

All this is old hat. As early as Sep 2007, when Ahmadi spoke at Columbia University, he made the same point (with the same conditional around the Holocaust).

What I found new was a first person account by Norwegian-British children’s author Roald Dhal, of his experiences as a World War II pilot, in his autobiographical work Going Solo.

When fighting in Palestine, he is asked to check out a new secret airstrip. When he lands at that airstrip, he is welcomed by a tall bearded man who speaks with a strong German accent:

‘You seem surprised to find us here,’ the man said.

‘I am,’ I said. ‘I wasn’t expecting to find anyone.’

‘We are everywhere,’ the man said. ‘We are all over the country.’

‘Forgive me,’ I said, ‘but I don’t understand. Who do you mean by we?’

‘Jewish refugees.’

I really didn’t know what he was talking about. I had been living in East Africa for the past two years and in those times the British colonies were parochial and isolated. The local newspaper, which was all we got to read, had not mentioned anything about Hitler’s persecution of the Jews in 1938 and 1939. Nor did I have the faintest idea that the greatest mass murder in the history of the world was actually taking place in Germany at that moment.

‘Is this your land?’ I asked him.

‘Not yet,’ he said.

‘You mean you are hoping to buy it?’

He looked at me in silence for a while. Then he said, ‘The land is at present owned by a Palestinian farmer but he has given us permission to live here. He has also allowed us some fields so that we can grow our own food.’

‘So where do you go from here?’ I asked him. ‘You and all your orphans?’

‘We don’t go anywhere,’ he said, smiling through his black beard. ‘We stay here.’

‘Then you will all become Palestinians,’ I said. ‘Or perhaps you are that already.’

He smiled again, presumably at the naivety of my questions.

‘No,’ the man said, ‘I do not think we will become Palestinians.’

‘Then what will you do?’

‘You are a young man who is flying aeroplanes,’ he said ‘and I do not expect you to understand our problems.’

‘What problems?’ I asked him…

‘You have a country to live in and it is called England,’ he said. ‘Therefore, you have no problems.’

‘No problems!’ I cried. ‘England is fighting for her life all by herself against virtually the whole of Europe! We’re even fighting the Vichy French and that’s why we’re in Palestine right now! Oh, we have problems all right!’ I was getting rather worked up. I resented the fact that this man sitting in his fig grove said that I had no problems when I was getting shot at every single day. ‘I’ve got problems myself,’ I said, ‘in just trying to stay alive.’

‘That’s a very small problem,’ the man said. ‘Ours is much bigger.’

…

I still have a very clear picture of the inside of that hut and of the bearded man with the bright fiery eyes who kept talking to me in riddles. ‘We need a homeland,’ the man was saying. ‘We need a country of our own. Even the Zulus have Zululand. But we have nothing.’

‘You mean the Jews have no country?’

‘That’s exactly what I mean,’ he said. ‘It’s time we had one.’

‘But how in the world are you going to get yourselves a country?’ I asked him. ‘They are all occupied. Norway belongs to the Norwegians and Nicaragua belongs to the Nicaraguans. It’s the same all over.’

‘We shall see,’ the man said sipping his coffee…

‘You could have Germany,’ I said brightly. ‘When we have beaten Hitler then perhaps England would give you Germany.’

‘We don’t want Germany,’ the man said.

‘Then which country do you have in mind?’ I asked him, displaying more ignorance than ever.

‘If you want something badly enough,’ he said, ‘and if you need something badly enough, you can always get it.’ He stood up and slapped me on the back.

‘You have a lot to learn,’ he said, ‘But you are a good boy. You are fighting for freedom. So am I.’

- Going Solo, Roald Dhal

One of the most amazing pieces of disingenuous writing I have ever come across, and of course far superior to what Ahmadinejad is capable of!