You can't make stuff like this up. You really can't.

Did you know that Tom and Jerry are in reality a clever secret nefarious plot by the Jews?

That's what Professor Hassan Bolkhari, who teaches philosophy of art at Tabatabaei and Al-Zahra Universities in Iran and is a member of the Film Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a cultural advisor to the Iranian Education Ministry, asserts (if you understand the language, feel free to check out the original video here):

There is a cartoon that children like. They like it very much, and so do adults - Tom and Jerry. [...] Some say that this creation by Walt Disney [sic] will be remembered forever. The Jewish Walt Disney Company gained international fame with this cartoon. It is still shown throughout the world. This cartoon maintains its status because of the cute antics of the cat and mouse - especially the mouse. Some say that the main reason for making this very appealing cartoon was to erase a certain derogatory term that was prevalent in Europe." [...] If you study European history, you will see who was the main power in hoarding money and wealth, in the 19th century. In most cases, it is the Jews. Perhaps that was one of the reasons which caused Hitler to begin the antisemitic trend, and then the extensive propaganda about the crematoria began... Some of this is true. We do not deny all of it. Watch Schindler's List. Every Jew was forced to wear yellow star on his clothing. The Jews were degraded and termed 'dirty mice.' Tom and Jerry was made in order to change the Europeans' perception of mice. One of terms used was 'dirty mice.' I'd like to tell you that... It should be noted that mice are very cunning...and dirty."

So what did those eeeeviilll Jooos do about it?

Easy, they invented Tom and Jerry:

Tom and Jerry was made in order to display the exact opposite image. If you happen to watch this cartoon tomorrow, bear in mind the points I have just raised, and watch it from this perspective. The mouse is very clever and smart. Everything he does is so cute. He kicks the poor cat's ass. Yet this cruelty does not make you despise the mouse. He looks so nice, and he is so clever... This is exactly why some say it was meant to erase this image of mice from the minds of European children, and to show that the mouse is not dirty and has these traits. Unfortunately, we have many such cases in Hollywood shows."

What, no Mickey Mouse?

If I ran Disney, I'd write a letter to Professor Bolkhari asking him why he left out Mickey! Mickey Mouse is far more emblematic of Disney than Tom and Jerry, which, I would sarcastically inform the good Professor, was a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. (I have no idea if Bill Hanna or Joe Barbera were Jewish.) After all, what do you think of when you think of Disney (besides huge overpriced regimented theme parks)? Why, the Mouse, of course!

Yes, it's easy to make fun of this ignorant twit and his anti-Semitic blather, but remember that a lot of people in Muslim countries don't think concepts like this are in the least bit ridiculous. The myth of Der ewige Jude lives on in Iran. This is what we're up against as secular democracies.

Hat tip to Albrecht Kolthoff. (No, I don't read German, but got tipped off to this via e-mail.)