(JTA) — The Jewish member of Iran’s parliament called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an “insane vampire” for saying that Iran seeks the annihilation of the Jews, just as ancient Persia did in the Purim story.
“Netanyahu is an insane vampire drowned in crimes from head to toe, and the recent remarks made by the racist Israeli prime minister is not surprising to me,” Siamak Mareh Sedq, who represents the Jews of Iran in the government, said Tuesday during an open session of parliament, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.
Mareh Sedq also asserted that in contradiction to Netanyahu’s statements against Iran, anti-Semitism and racism have never been witnessed in the Iranian culture.
On Saturday night, the start of the Purim holiday, Netanyahu visited an Israeli synagogue, where he told children celebrating Purim that Iran seeks to kill the Jews just as the Persians did.
Mareh Sedq followed his nation’s foreign minister in castigating Netanyahu.
“To sell bigoted lies against a nation which has saved Jews 3 times, Netanyahu resorting to fake history & falsifying Torah. Force of habit,” Mohammed Javad Zarif tweeted in English on Sunday.
“The Book of Esther tells of how Xerxes I saved Jews from a plot hatched by Haman the Agagite, which is marked on this very day,” Zarif also wrote, referring to the Persian king known in the Purim story as Ahaseurus.
Earlier Sunday, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Ali Larijani, also attacked Netanyahu’s statement, saying that “apparently, [Netanyahu] is neither acquainted with history, nor has read the Torah,” according to Fars.
Netanyahu “has distorted the Iranians’ pre-Islam historical era and attempted to misrepresent events,” Larijani said. “Of course, nothing more than presenting such lies is expected from a wicked Zionist.”
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