US: Jews refuse to meet Ahmadinejad
Jewish leaders invited to meeting at research institute New York, in which Iranian president is set to deliver a speech, announce they have no plans to attend. 'What does he have to say that we haven't already heard?' Abraham Foxman tells Ynet
Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham H. Foxman told Ynet that he had no plans to attend such a meeting.
According to Foxman, this is also the stance of the Jewish leaders he spoke to.
I was invited to meet the Iranian president and I refused, he said, adding that the Jews had no choice but to let him speak at the UN, as it is part of an agreement according to which each "despicable and monstrous" head of state has the right to come there.
But what does he have to say at the Council on Foreign Relations that we haven’t already heard, Foxman asked. If Ahmadinejad had any regrets over his denial of the Holocaust and saying that Israel should be wiped off the map, Foxman suggested, he will be able to fix it at the UN speech.
The Council on Foreign Relations used to be a pro-Arab institute. In the past decade, Jews in the United States decided not to boycott it anymore, but rather to join it and try to influence from the inside.
The council is now headed by a Jew, Richard Haass, who served as an adviser to former US Secretary of State Colin Powell. But Jewish leaders and many politicians in the US, such as Republican Senator Rick Santorum, believe that Ahmadinejad must not be allowed to roam the streets of New York, apart from his UN appearance and hotel stay.
Demonstration to take place outside UN
Ahmadinejad is scheduled to speak at the UN general assembly session on Tuesday night, but many of the heads of state and foreign ministers will be absent. At the same time, US President George W. Bush will be hosting the officials at a reception in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
However, the Iranian president will not be alone at the UN. Jews are organizing a large demonstration outside the building.
The most important event on the issue of Iran and the nuclear plan will be held at the same place where Bush will be holding the reception.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be hosting a dinner for the foreign ministers of the five permanent Security Council members, in a bid to reach on agreement on ways to deal with Iran's failure to respond to Security Council Resolution 1696.
