Yad Vashem launches Web site in Farsi to combat Holocaust denial

Saturday, January 27th 2007, 6:03 pm

By: News On 6

JERUSALEM (AP) _ Israel's Holocaust memorial has launched a version of its Web site in Farsi to educate the country's most bitter enemy _ Iran _ about the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews.

Iran has faced widespread condemnation for hosting a conference last month that questioned whether the Holocaust took place. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called the Holocaust a ``myth'' and said Israel should be ``wiped off the map.''

The Web site was unveiled this week to coincide with Saturday's U.N. annual Holocaust remembrance day, officials said. Saturday marked the 62nd anniversary of the Auschwitz death camp's liberation by the advancing Soviet army.

``Every year, nearly 20,000 people from Muslim countries, including Iran, visit the Yad Vashem Web site,'' said Avner Shalev, chairman of the Yad Vashem memorial. ``We believe that making credible, comprehensive information about the Holocaust available to Persian speakers can contribute to the fight against Holocaust denial.''

On Friday, Iran was the only country to reject a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning Holocaust denial.

The U.N. resolution did not single out any country, but Israel and the United States both suggested that Iran should take note, especially after last month's conference.

Yad Vashem's Farsi site has 20 historical chapters, including dozens of photos, arranged chronologically, from the Nazis' rise to power until the postwar trials of Nazi leaders. The site also includes a poem by Abramek Koplowicz, a Jewish boy murdered in Auschwitz at age 14.

Yad Vashem also has English, Hebrew and Russian versions of its Web site. Yad Vashem spokeswoman Estee Yaari said Saturday that an Arabic-language site was also being planned.