Ahmadinejad's courageous dream of a just and equal global society

WRITTEN BY AVIGAIL ABARBANEL (artwork by Alessio Marazzi)

I read or heard somewhere that Ahmadinejad's speech was denying the Holocaust. I just read the full text. There is no Holocaust denial in this speech at all. He is also labelled racist by Israel and of course he is not. He is not talking about the character of any people. He criticises Western governments for present and historical injustices against others and against their own people, and for greed and brutality. He is also talking about the inequality in the world community that gives countries like the US the right of veto in the UN Security Council, and the ability to get away with things like the attack on Iraq etc. He is trying to say that hypocrisy rules rather than justice, equality or freedom.

I don't know why everyone attacks this guy. He needs a little bit of editing perhaps, but his speech is right and good. I think it's fashionable to dislike him and dismiss him but his only crime is that he is not complying with the rules of 'politeness' in world diplomacy that mean that everyone ignores what isn't 'pleasant' or politically profitable to talk about, while in the meantime continuing to commit crimes against humanity and injustices everywhere. Ahmadinejad does not see himself bound by Western rules of political politeness and he has the courage to say what he thinks and what needs to be said, knowing full well that this makes him unpopular among world leaders. Wouldn't hurt if more leaders were prepared to speak more plainly and say things honestly.

Ahmadinejad talks about his dream of a just and equal global society. Is this wrong? When he talks about the destruction of Israel he is talking about an end to the exclusively Jewish state, which all anti-Zionists around the world including those from within Israel, are calling for as well. Israel likes to twist this around and say that he wants to destroy Israel or kill Jews. But that's not what he is saying. Funny that Israel with 200 nuclear weapons ready to deploy, and with a rogue government ready to attack civilians at any time, accuses others of developing nuclear weapons. Funny that an apartheid state accuses others of racism… But I guess there is nothing new under the sun. It's just that we want people in the mainstream media to sift through the material and show things as they really are, not as Israel or the US or even the Australian PM Rudd, say they are.

Ahmadinejad believes in god. Surely his understanding that god would want justice for everyone in the world regardless of nationality, should be shared by Jews and by Christians everywhere. Rudd and even Obama flaunt their religious beliefs and Israel's entire project is based on a belief in god (at least on the belief that god has given them the land). Anyone who believes in god should be able to easily identify with Ahmadinejad's just god and his vision of a healthy and just world community.

Anyway, in case you haven't read the speech here it is. I encourage journalists to print the speech so that readers can make up their own minds about it. It has been published in many sites, so it is available for people to read and judge for themselves. I don't want to see the the mainstream media just participating unwittingly in the hate campaign against Ahmadinejad that is based on Israeli propaganda needs rather than anything he is actually saying.

Avigail Abarbanel was born and raised in Israel. She is a professional psychotherapist and counsellor as well as human rights activist and director of the Canberra branch of Deir Yassin Remembered. Her site is:http://www.avigailabarbanel.me.uk/