Remarks by Malaysian PM "probably the most viciously antisemitic" by a world figure "in decades."

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs (AIJAC) today said it was appalled by the viciously antisemitic remarks made yesterday by Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

AIJAC Executive Director Dr. Colin Rubenstein said the remarks by the long-standing Malaysian Prime Minister accusing Jews of "ruling this world by proxy" and using that power to conspire against Muslims, "are only the latest in Mahathir’s long career, where antisemitism and racist conspiracies about Jews have consistently been present in one form or another. But his remarks at the Organisation of Islamic Conference reveal a man obsessed with blaming all the problems of the Muslim world on the Jews, and determined to incite Muslims against all Jews. We know the consequences of inflaming hatred, and with a Prime Minister having views like these, it can hardly be a coincidence that Malaysia was both one of the staging points for the Sept. 11 attacks, and a site in the development of the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist group which carried out the Bali bombing."

Dr Rubenstein added that, "These vile assertions were probably the most blatant and viciously antisemitic remarks made publicly by any major world figure in decades. This was not only incitement to racial hatred, it was arguably a warrant for Jewish genocide. Given the extremity of these remarks, it is now incumbent on all governments, including Australia’s, to declare Mahathir a diplomatic persona non grata and ensure the Malaysian Government both repudiates and apologises for the remarks of its Prime Minister."