Ahmadinejad's Columbia University Speech

The visit to New York this past week of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadiniejad, particularly his speech at Columbia University, has gotten a lot of press as well as talk radio discussion. He has denied the occurrence of the Jewish Holocaust during World War II, even going as far as sponsoring, on Iranian soil, an international conference for Holocaust-deniers. He has also expressed the desire to remove the nation of Israel from the map. His status as elected president of Iran is hardly legitimate, as electoral candidates in that country must be approved by a board of hard-line Islamic clerics before they can appear on the ballot and be allowed to campaign. And since most of the country, I believe, practices Islam in moderation, Mr. Ahmadinejad is only a representative of a minority there. But he is the one that Iran has presented as its president, and thus he is the one that we have to deal with. I believe that Columbia University did not have to invite him to speak there if they had thought he was too objectionable (some have made a comparison with him to Hitler, which I find exaggerated). But since they did invite him, though, they had, in my opinion the responsibility to show the tact and good grace that receiving an official visitor from abroad demands. This is called "diplomacy"! And diplomacy is precisely there for people and nations with which we find objections (and in the view of some, though not me, grounds for war). The president of Columbia University was offensive and unprofessional when he viciously criticized the Iranian president in his introductory speech. All this accomplishes is to change the ground rules for Americans who travel to countries with which we have substantial disagreements. How are they going to be treated now? Civility and diplomacy are the watchwords here. When I think of an institution such as Columbia University and then think of the president of that esteemed institution, I think of the enormous skill at using the English language that supremely educated people supposedly have attained. A skill, I might say, that should have enabled anyone there to express every single concern that they had, and in the greatest light of scrutiny, while avoid the crass, rude, and confrontational demeanor that had unfortunately been chosen instead.

To Ahmadinejad's credit, he didn't just walk off the stage (like some probably wished), but stayed on and "gutted it out". He then proceeded to tout lines that he had touted before, such as that Iran only wanted to develop nuclear technology for peaceful ends, that there were no homosexuals in Iran, that he loved the Jewish people, and that before Israel came into existence, the Palestinians there were at complete peace with the Jews. This in spite of the fact that the leader of the Palestinians during World War II actually endorsed Hitler's campaign to annihilate the Jews! In spite of Mr. Ahmadinejad's sometimes absurd statements, he should be welcomed as an Iranian with some political authority who finally wants to reach out to the West in dialogue. Isn't that something that we've wanted for a long time?

[The weekly "Newsbreak" segment that I've been presenting here on Saturdays is being moved to Mondays.]