Already under fire in Iran’s parliament, or Majlis, the country’s President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad has now been publicly criticized by lawmakers for pushing Holocaust denial as a serious claim. The Majlis was the venue this week for lawmakers to suggest Ahmadi Nejad had given Iran’s enemies greater legitimacy by talking of events of 60 years ago, rather than focusing on the here and now. At the same time, some 100 Iranian artists, most of whom live in exile, have signed a petition protesting Tehran’s decision to stage the Holocaust conference. While the gathering brought together dozens of Holocaust deniers, the petitioners say the killing of millions of Jews is an undeniable historical fact.