Things I Cannot Even Imagine Understanding

There is a conference in Iran questioning the Holocaust. Tony Blair has said it is shocking beyond belief and I agree. A former KKK leader, David Duke, is in attendance.

Some attendees are criminals, but their crime is Holocaust denial which carries jail time in certain countries.

Some attendees are ultra-Orthodox Jews who consider the creation of the state of Israel to be an abomination.

President Amedinejad said that the creation of Israel has created a pretext for aggression against the inhabitants of the region. This would be easier to refute if our present government had not abandoned all efforts to end the Palestinian dispute. To quote the BBC:

 In a number of European countries - including Germany, Austria and France - it is illegal to deny the Holocaust. An Austrian court jailed Briton David Irving for three years on charges of Holocaust denial... Many Iranians must be wondering why they have the right to deny the Holocaust with impunity, but not to question their own leaders without risking jail, our correspondent says.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6173941.stm

Therefore, Iranians have the right to deny the Holocaust, but not to question their own leaders. Citizens of a number of European countries have the right to question their leaders, but not the right to deny the Holocaust. Does any of this even make a pretense of making sense? Furthermore, is the crime in Holocaust denial the fact that one speaks out loud, or is it a thoughtcrime that deserves punishment by the mere activity of the mind?
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