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Diego Maradona: I want to meet Ahmadinejad. (Reuters)
Last update - 18:48 26/12/2007
Argentine Jews slam Maradona for praising Iran, Ahmadinejad
By Haaretz Service and Reuters
Tags: Iran 

Argentine Jewish newspaper Iton Gadol has received hundreds of emails slamming soccer legend Diego Maradona for his comments in praise of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Agentine Jewish news service reported Wednesday.

According to the report, the newspaper asked readers to write in with their responses after Maradona, 47, expressed a desire to meet the Iranian leader, and declared himself a supporter of the "Iranian people, with all my heart."

"I have already met [Venezualan President Hugo] Chavez and [Cuban leader] Fidel [Castro]. Now I only have to meet your president. I want to meet Ahmadinejad," he told Iran's top diplomat in Argentina, Mohsen Baharvand, in a video broadcast by local media on Monday.
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The former soccer star gave the diplomat a signed soccer shirt, after a game Saturday in the televised Showbol tournament of mini-matches.

Maradona is an admirer of Castro and he said this month he wanted a tattoo of Chavez.

The Iranian government is accused by Argentina of involvement in two terror attacks in Buenos Aires - one targeting the Israeli Embassy in 1992, in which 29 people were killed, and the second at the AMIA Jewish center, in 1994, that killed 85 people. Hundreds were wounded in both attacks.

One reader, identified as "Saul S.", branded the former captain of the national soccer team as "anti-Semitic" for having praised the Iranian government.

"Maradona is Argentinean but he is not Argentina," said another e-mail.

The report also quotes "Jorge. S.", who identified himself as a representative of the B'nai Brith organization, as telling the newspaper that Maradona had aimed to "promote himself by appearing next to the most disgusting scum of international politics."

Argentina has a Jewish community of some 200,000. The attack on the Jewish center was the country's deadliest bombing
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  1.   Maradona, Argentinas, Mad Hatter. 15:25  |  Stephen. 26/12/07
  2.   Someone obviously mistook his head for a soccer ball! 15:29  |  Murray of Montreal 26/12/07
  3.   Anti semitism 15:32  |  Chris 26/12/07
  4.   Strong as a bull and just as smart 15:33  |  Darth Zaider (Ed) 26/12/07
  5.   Now Not argentine!? 16:01  |  Fallujah 26/12/07
  6.   Maradona should meet Ahmadinejad 16:02  |  Fred Bainhauer 26/12/07
  7.   Fallujah 16:23  |  Steve 26/12/07
  8.   Didn`t Maradona visit Israel a few years back? 16:26  |  Sherman 26/12/07
  9.   #3 Chris; Is stupidity hereditary or simply environmental? 16:28  |  Murray of Montreal 26/12/07
  10.   Fallujah - something else 16:29  |  Steve 26/12/07
  11.   Monopoly on everthing 16:33  |  John 26/12/07
  12.   I wonder... 16:34  |  Krystal 26/12/07
  13.   Chris and Anti-Semitism: #3 16:42  |  Tex 26/12/07
  14.   Tex, how pathetic you are 16:51  |  Mark B. 26/12/07
  15.   Mara-DUH-na 16:59  |  Rafael 26/12/07
  16.   Don`t fight ;( 17:09  |  Sarah 26/12/07
  17.   Our National Hero! 17:26  |  Leandro 26/12/07
  18.   Maradona is pathetic 18:00  |  Daniel 26/12/07
  19.   Hand of God 18:02  |  Nice bloke 26/12/07
  20.   did i miss something? madonna is in Argentina 18:07  |  huh? 26/12/07
  21.   #3 Chris the Semite 18:08  |  Henryk 26/12/07
  22.   Even most Iranians don`t love Ahmadinejad 18:40  |  anti-racist 26/12/07
  23.   Maradona 18:42  |  Manny 26/12/07
  24.   The real Maradona 18:56  |  Arik 26/12/07
  25.   To Chris and Mark B 19:10  |  Arik 26/12/07
  26.   Mark B. - Tex is telling the truth..Nothing pathetic about it.... 19:36  |  mk 26/12/07
  27.   maradona 19:49  |  ari 26/12/07
  28.   Drug addict 20:16  |  A K 26/12/07
  29.   the hand of God and cocaine 20:21  |  hebro 26/12/07
  30.   Diego and Fidel = drug rehab 20:41  |  Peace Lover 26/12/07
  31.   Chris: the racist 20:45  |  Mike 26/12/07
  32.   Soccer player? 21:00  |  Claudio 26/12/07
  33.   POOR MARADONA, HE ALWAYS HAD A 21:05  |  Robert 26/12/07
  34.   MARADONA 21:19  |  Roberto 26/12/07
  35.   Che 21:21  |  Horus 26/12/07
  36.   #3 Chris 21:59  |  H 26/12/07
  37.   Mike #31 22:01  |  Fred F 26/12/07
  38.   This is not anti-semitsim 22:05  |  rich 26/12/07
  39.   Why get so upset? 22:06  |  Conroy 26/12/07
  40.   Chris in NJ 22:07  |  rich 26/12/07
  41.   Dont worry!.Mr M is so fat that if he sits on Mr A ,then... 22:16  |  Alan 26/12/07
  42.   Let hunchback and heroin-junkie meet his hero, 22:17  |  Absolute Sweden 26/12/07
  43.   Wonderful! 22:52  |  Barrio 26/12/07
  44.   anti-racist,#39 00:13  |  Gila 27/12/07
  45.   Maradona is a loser. Pele is the all-time king 00:44  |  One who knows 27/12/07
  46.   Maradona 01:27  |  Connie 27/12/07
  47.   Serious Question for Gila 01:35  |  hebro 27/12/07
  48.   maradona el loco 01:35  |  sophie 27/12/07
  49.   #3x chris 01:49  |  danny 27/12/07
  50.   # 3 Christ IS RIGHT 01:58  |  nobodysacred 27/12/07
  51.   nobodyscared #47: Here Comes the Impossible 02:12  |  Brad 27/12/07
  52.   maradona 02:12  |  khalil 27/12/07
  53.   MARADONA Everything is personal 02:50  |  JLB 27/12/07
  54.   Creepy character assasination by religion 03:10  |  Tim 27/12/07
  55.   Olmert = Ahmedinijad 03:15  |  Rabbi Steve 27/12/07
  56.   Prejudice (Steve) 03:25  |  Mohammed 27/12/07
  57.   wow, jews are acting crazy here... 03:35  |  POP 27/12/07
  58.   whats important? 03:37  |  daniel 27/12/07
  59.   "CHRIS" that`s your current excuse.What was it before that? 03:39  |  PETER SM 27/12/07
  60.   To Steve 03:40  |  FalluJah 27/12/07
  61.   "Maradona-admirer of Castro- wanted a tattoo of Chavez." 03:49  |  PETER SM 27/12/07
  62.   Another insane diablo just pop out of no where!! 05:18  |  cristo 27/12/07
  63.   Diego Armando is with us! 07:44  |  Iran#1 27/12/07
  64.   wow.. 10:22  |  k 27/12/07
  65.   Maradona 14:47  |  Argentinian 27/12/07
  66.   Num 65 15:26  |  FalluJah 27/12/07
  67.   #20 huh? "Who cares?" 15:33  |  Nik "Banned" Miller 27/12/07
  68.   To all you Fools 18:23  |  Aaron 27/12/07
  69.   Maradona is still a cheater, liar and a clown 18:34  |  Marwan مروان خوري 27/12/07
  70.   #47 hebron 18:40  |  Gila 27/12/07
  71.   Maradona has the right to meet whoever he pleases 20:01  |  alessandro de angeli 27/12/07
  72.   Steve/Fallujah/Tollerance/The "M" Word 20:23  |  Bob 27/12/07
  73.   Iranians are Samites too 20:44  |  uzair