...Persian foreign minister, Mouthpiece of Mullahs, good friend of John Kerry and similar exemplars of Merkin values...came under fire after using an antisemitic slur and jokingly wishing the United States would cease to exist in an interview earlier this month.
Zarif used the word "juhood" — a derogatory term for Jewish people in the Persian language — when asked about Tehran’s position toward Israel and the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict in an interview with an Iranian journalist Mehdi Nasiri which was posted online on December 9.
"I cannot imagine any circumstances under which we would officially recognize Israel ... What is our solution? [Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...
] has stated the solution. It is not throwing the juhood into the sea, or a military attack ... The supreme leader has said what the solution is ... Our solution is a popular referendum," Zarif said.
Zarif’s use of the word "juhood" sparked backlash after the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) posted parts of the interview with English subtitles.
In response, Zarif said his use of the word, which he acknowledged is of a derogatory nature, was misinterpreted.
"MEMRI has sunk to a new low in taking my pejorative usage of a word to accuse me of Antisemitism. I was mocking the allegation that Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for
spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
seeks to ’throw the Jews into the sea’ and reiterating our solution is a referendum with participation of ALL: Jews, Moslems, Christians," Zarif said on Twitter on Wednesday.
Iranian military officials regularly threaten to "annihilate" Israel. In 2018, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Brig. Gen. Hossein warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he should practice swimming in the Mediterranean, "because soon he will have no choice but to flee to the sea."
Zarif is "lying about Iran's positions on Jews and Israel," MEMRI said on Thursday in response. "The MEMRI archives are full of research proving that the Iranian regime and its leaders are antisemitic and call openly for the annihilation of Israel."
"After listening to Zarif’s reference to Jews as "Johood", I can unequivocally say that his use of the word in this context was antisemitic," Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born Jewish Israeli Middle East commentator, said on Twitter.
Zarif could have instead used words such as "Yahoodian" or "Kalimian" — words in the Persian language that are commonly used to refer to Jewish people — Javedanfar added. "But he did not. Shame on you @JZarif."
In another part of the same interview, Zarif jokingly said he wished the US would "leave planet earth," just as it did with the Iran nuclear deal, which also sparked criticism.