The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum slammed a Tehran-based contest that invites contributors to create cartoons questioning the historical truth of the Holocaust.

The Second Holocaust International Cartoon and Caricature Contest, which is under the supervision of Iran’s supreme leader, “continues a dangerous pattern of government-sponsored or sanctioned demonization of Jews,” the Washington museum said in a statement. The contest is being organized by the House of Cartoons and the Sarcheshmeh Cultural Complex.

“This comes from a country whose influential leaders use genocidal language against Israel and employ inflammatory speech to incite violence,” the statement said.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The contest is seeking caricatures of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Adolf Hitler.

Winning submissions from the first contest in 2006 denied and minimized the genocide committed against the Jews. Cartoonists from Brazil, France, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Morocco and Syria submitted entries, according to the statement.

Museum officials called on world leaders “to join us in denouncing this unacceptable event and all forms of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount