Soccer legend Diego Maradona has inflamed Argentina’s Jewish community with his wish to meet Iran’s president.
“I have already met [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chavez and [Cuba leader] Fidel [Castro]. Now I want to meet your president,” Maradona told the top Iranian diplomat in Argentina, Mohsen Baharvand, according to Argentinean media reports.
Relatives of the 85 people killed in the terrorist attack on the Buenos Aires AMIA Jewish community center in 1994, believed to have been masterminded by Iran, slammed Maradona for his remarks and asked for a meeting with the soccer star. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the destruction of Israel.
Maradona gave Baharvand an autographed soccer jersey after a tournament Saturday. The team captain that led Argentina to victory in the1986 World Cup is revered in his own country and throughout the soccer world.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
