Tom and Jerry [the cartoon characters] and the Jewish conspiracy -- I kid you not, this is for real

You can't make this stuff up.

According to a report by MEMRI, the Cultural Advisor to Iranian Education Ministry gave a lecture on Tom and Jerry [remember the cartoon characters of our youth?] and described them as "A Jewish Conspiracy to Improve the Image of Mice, Because Jews Were Termed Mice."

[WARNING: If you are eating something while reading this stop. You will choak with laughter and then disgust.]

Last week Iran's Channel 4 reported on a lecture by Professor Hasan Bolkhari that was given at an Iranian film seminar. Bolkharis is both a member of the Film Council of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and cultural advisor to the Iranian Education Ministry.

In his lecture he said regarding "Tom and Jerry":

The Jewish Walt Disney Company gained international fame with this cartoon.... This cartoon maintains its status because of the cute antics of the cat and mouse - especially the mouse.

[Note: Did anyone tell him that Walt Disney was an antisemite? The guy must be turning in his grave to hear the company described as the Jewish..]

"Some say that the main reason for making this very appealing cartoon was to erase a certain derogatory term that was revalent in Europe."

[...]

"If you study European history, you will see who was the main power in hoarding money and wealth, in the 19th century. In
most cases, it is the Jews. Perhaps that was one of the reasons which caused Hitler to begin the antisemitic trend, and then the extensive propaganda about the crematoria began... Some of this is true. We do not deny all of it.

[Note: He had to get in a bit of Holocaust denial. But see how he says "some of this is true." This, I predict, is the new Iranian way of trying not to look like complete idiots. They now will say we "don't deny everything, we just question some things abou the Holocaust." Maybe Irving guilty plea made them do that.... Maybe they had enough sense to realize that they were becoming the laughing stock of the world.]

"Watch Schindler's List. Every Jew was forced to wear yellow star on his clothing. The Jews were degraded and termed 'dirty mice.' Tom and Jerry was made in order to change the Europeans' perception of mice. One of terms used was 'dirty mice.'

"Mice are very cunning...and dirty."

[...]

"No ethnic group or people operates in such a clandestine manner as the Jews."

[...]

Hitler had behind-the-scenes connections with the Protocols [of the Elders of Zion ]. Tom and Jerry was made in order to display the exact opposite image.

[...]
The mouse is very clever and smart. Everything he does is so cute. He kicks the poor cat's ass. Yet this cruelty does not make you despise the mouse. He looks so nice, and he is so clever... This is exactly why some say it was meant to erase this image of mice from the minds of European children, and to show that the mouse is not dirty and has these traits.

Note: For all you folks who think education can cure animus, please note that Hasan Bolkhari (b. 1962) holds a Ph.D in Islamic Philosophy and, among other things, teaches philosophy of art at Tabatabaei and Al-Zahra Universities in Iran.