Courtesy of WikiMedia Commons In an interview with the Associated Press on August 13th, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad claimed that “Anti-Semitic is a term that is invented to prevent people from criticizing the Jews for doing wrong things.” Prime Minister Mohamad, a proud anti-Semite, explained that “There is one race that cannot be criticized. If you are antisemitic, it seems almost as if you are a criminal. When somebody does wrong, I don’t care how big they are. They may be powerful countries but if they do something wrong, I exercise my right of free speech. They criticize me, why can’t I criticize them?” Prime Minister Mohammad has a long history of anti-Semitism. In 1970, he wrote “the Jews are not merely hook-nosed, but understand money instinctively.”In 2003, at the Organization of the Islamic Conference summit in Kuala Lumpur, he said, “1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews. There must be a way. And we can only find a way if we stop to think, to assess our weaknesses and our strength, to plan, to strategize and then to counterattack. We are actually very strong. 1.3 billion people cannot be simply wiped out. The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million. Jews rule this world by proxy.” He is fully aware of his anti-Semitism, as he has also said, “I am glad to be labeled anti-Semitic … How can I be otherwise, when the Jews who so often talk of the horrors they suffered during the Holocaust show the same Nazi cruelty and hard-heartedness towards not just their enemies but even towards their allies should any try to stop the senseless killing of their Palestinian enemies.” While he may claim to be a champion of the Palestinian cause, his rhetoric goes far beyond what could be considered political speech or criticism of Israeli policy. Engaging in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Jewish world domination, spreading anti-Semitic stereotypes, equating Israelis with Nazis, and promoting the annihilation of the Jews all count as blatant anti-Semitism.