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Last update - 18:21 19/04/2009
'Swiss leader's offer to meet Ahmadinejad compounds crime with a sin'
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Tags: Israel News, Jewish World 

The Swiss president's offer to meet Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of the "Durban 2" conference in Geneva is "wretched," Israel's former foreign minister told Army Radio on Sunday.

"This meeting that will take place compounds a crime with a sin," Silvan Shalom, who was recently appointed regional cooperation minister, told Army Radio. "The fact that Ahmadinejad is embraced by the Swiss president and others leads him to think that there is no reason to back down from his line of thinking."

Senior government officials on Saturday expressed anger toward Swiss President Hans Rudolf Merz over his scheduled meeting with Ahmadinejad in Geneva on Sunday.
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President Hans Rudolf Merz intends to meet the Iranian president prior to the politically charged United Nations Durban II anti-racism conference, which is being boycotted by Israel other countries for its anti-Israel and anti-Zionist bias.

Deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon says a planned meeting between Switzerland's president and his Iranian counterpart is pathetic.

Ayalon says the meeting "caught us by surprise." He told Army Radio that Merz's meeting "hurts him and Switzerland more than anything else."

A high-ranking Jerusalem official noted that Israel is both indignant and astonished at the plan to hold the meeting, especially since the Swiss president is known to be a friend of Israel.

"There's no reason to hold such a high-profile meeting with a pathological Holocaust denier such as Ahmadinejad," the official said.

"It is offensive to shake the hand of the Iranian president who fouls his mouth with horrific displays of anti-Semitism, preaches for Israel's destruction, and hangs men, women and children in the streets of Iran's cities," the official added.

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      1.   Swiss leader..Ahmadienjad 12:33  |  The Teacher/Instruct 19/04/09
      2.   S. Shalom`s "sin" is Israel`s wretched Settlements Enterprise 14:35  |  Ivar 19/04/09
      3.   What makes Ahmadinijad worse than Lieberman? 14:40  |  jens 19/04/09
      4.   Foreign leaders 14:56  |  Robert 19/04/09
      5.   Durban 14:59  |  Pablo Luis 19/04/09
      6.   Hey guys, what did you expect from the Swisses?! 15:03  |  Abecassis 19/04/09
      7.   Another reason to despise the Swiss 15:56  |  Lynn 19/04/09
      8.   So when the Government of the United Kingdom 16:40  |  Gordon Brown 19/04/09
      9.   Merz meeting Ahmadinejad 16:50  |  antsa 19/04/09
      10.   Indignant and Astonished 16:58  |  gly 19/04/09
      11.   merz 17:56  |  Raymond M.Eades 19/04/09
      12.   It is very natural for swiss psychology - financial profit 18:01  |  17 19/04/09
      13.   `Swiss leader`s 18:56  |  Ralph 19/04/09
      14.   Switzerland 19:12  |  Andreas 19/04/09
      15.   swiss and Iran 19:14  |  imad 19/04/09
      16.   Blame Russia 20:26  |  Arik Silverman 19/04/09
      17.   The jews of the world along with all who care about humanity ask 21:33  |  ks 19/04/09
      18.   This meeting has the blessing of the U.S.A administration. 21:47  |  justMe 19/04/09
      19.   Answer 21:48  |  Eza Khalo 19/04/09
      20.   @ Lynn 21:50  |  Sakura One 19/04/09
      21.   Ahmadinejad did not just finish 21:50  |  ManintheMiddle 19/04/09
      22.   # 20 Sakura One...yes, I do 22:34  |  Lynn 19/04/09
      23.   Get A Grip, Switzerland is Mediating 17:09  |  Persian Kitty 20/04/09
      24.   jens you don`t know? 18:09  |  Marek 20/04/09
      25.   Swiss leader`s offer to meet Ahmadinejad compounds crime with a s 22:59  |  Henri 20/04/09
      26.   There is no president in Switzerland 12:35  |  Thomas Meier 21/04/09
      27.   Boycotted because Zionism is considered racist? 03:26  |  David 29/07/09
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