From, of all places, the Jerusalem Post, a rare moment of rationality, Chavecito-wise:
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who maintains warm ties with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad, said Friday in a television interview that he opposed Ahmadinejad’s call to “wipe Israel off the map.”
“I don’t agree with [Ahmadinejad’s] statements…I don’t support causing harm to any nation,” Chavez declared.
It doesn’t last long beyond that, but hey, I’ll take what I can get. At least this time, they put it up at the top, instead of burying it near the bottom as usual.
BTW, I’m still waiting for them to get rational when it comes to Ahmadinejad. As Juan Cole has pointed out, the “wipe Israel off the map” remark that gets so much press isn’t at all what it’s cracked up to be, especially by right-wing MSM outlets like the JPost:
…the actual quote, which comes from an old speech of Khomeini, does not imply military action, or killing anyone at all. The second reason is that it is just an inexact translation. The phrase is almost metaphysical. He quoted Khomeini that “the occupation regime over Jerusalem should vanish from the page of time.” It is in fact probably a reference to some phrase in a medieval Persian poem. It is not about tanks.
“Sounds logical to me. Live long and prosper!”
