Rothman Blasts Iranian Broadcast of Anti-Semitic TV Series and Builds Bipartisan Coalition to Condemn It
Rothman Blasts Iranian Broadcast of Anti-Semitic TV Series and Builds Bipartisan Coalition to Condemn It
January 19, 2005
Authors Letter To Director of Iranian Interests Section; Gets 14 House Colleagues To Join In Effort
Washington, DC - Congressman Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn) is leading a bipartisan group of House Members in calling on the Director of the Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which acts as Iran's diplomatic representative in the U.S., to immediately condemn the anti-Semitic and scurrilous dramatic television series entitled "Zahra's Blue Eyes." Rothman and his colleagues sent a letter this week to Director Ali Jazini after learning that this weekly Iranian series offered a libelous and highly inflammatory depiction of members of the Israeli government stealing the eyes and other organs of Palestinian children and transplanting them into Israeli officials.
"These inappropriate depictions of Jews are unacceptable and should be denounced by the Iranian government," Rothman and 14 of his House colleagues wrote to Jazini. "We urge you to forcefully condemn this television series and its hateful message of anti-Semitism and intolerance."
"Zahra's Blue Eyes" was originally aired by Iran's Sahar 1 television station on December 13, 2004. It broadcasts every Monday and was filmed in Persian but subsequently dubbed into Arabic. The series falsely portrays Israeli officials as feigning medical interest in the health of Palestinian children so that they could steal their eyes and illegally harvest their organs. One of the episodes even made outlandish references to Israelis importing 'artificial fetuses,' harvesting 'thirty-two beating hearts' for private use, and to the ancient and libelous canard that Jews desire to control all of the oil producing lands in the Middle East to gain influence in the world.
"The Middle East is currently in a critical period as the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority take steps to return to the Road Map and finally adopt a peaceful, two-state solution to the conflict," Rothman and his colleagues wrote. "The indoctrination of Iranian citizens to hostility, bigotry, and prejudice against Jews and the State of Israel at this important time threatens the stability of regional relations in the Middle East."
http://www.house.gov/rothman/news_releases/rel_011905.htm