Mahathir continued to attract controversy in retirement for remarks on international affairs . He is a strident critic of Israel and has been accused of being antisemitic . In his 1970 book '' The Malay Dilemma '' , Mahathir wrote " The Jews are not merely hook-nosed , but understand money instinctively , " sentiments he reiterated in a 2018 BBC interview in which he also disputed the number of Jews killed in The Holocaust . In a 2012 blog post , he echoed past claims by writing that " Jews rule this world by proxy . " Also in 2012 he stated : " I am glad to be labeled antisemitic ... How can I be otherwise , when the Jews who so often talk of the horrors they suffered during the Holocaust show the same Nazi cruelty and hard-heartedness towards not just their enemies but even towards their allies should any try to stop the senseless killing of their Palestinian enemies . " Mahathir established the Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalise War Forum in an effort to end war globally , as well as the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission to investigate the activities of the United States , Israel and its allies in Iraq , Lebanon and the Palestinian territories . He has also suggested that the September 11 attacks of 2001 might have been staged by the United States government
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Mahathir Mohamad