Ahmadinejad at Columbia

What a tempest in a teapot! So President Ahmadinejad is invited to Columbia to speak. The President of Columbia, Lee Bollinger catches a ton of heat from Americans who say it is wrong to provide a forum for a "terrorist" such as Ahmadinejad. Bollinger defends his actions and in his ten minute diatribe against Ahmadinejad which was by way of introduction (how rude) he innoculates himself against criticisms of lack of patriotism etc. Which was noted by Ahmadinejad immediately when he stated that Iran wouldn't invite someone to speak and then let loose a ration of criticism up front in order to prejudice the student audience beforehand. Touche'. I mean really, Ahmadinejad IS so out there, in many ways, that intelligent people should be able to listen to his point of view and fairly easily determine that this guy is not 100% credible. Didn't Bollinger trust the Columbia student body that much? My sense is that he really laid the insults on heavy in order to help his own PR image, rather than to influence the Columbia students. But that's just me.

What I found interesting in reading the account in both the NY Times and the Press TV of Ahmadinejad's speech was that when asked if Iran really wanted the destruction of Israel, he answered that Iran loves all people and wanted to live in peace and currently DOES live in peace with Jews. At first blush, we Americans might immediately doubt this, as we're taught to do by our own media, based on the slant of Middle East news which is our steady diet from the MSM. However if we scratch the surface we might find this, as I did on Press TV website. News story from September 3, 2007:

Iran to build Jewish cultural center
Mon, 03 Sep 2007 19:25:06


Iran is to build a huge cultural-sports complex for the Jewish community, which evinces respect for and fair treatment of minorities.

Iranian Housing and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Saidi-Kia along with the representative of the Jewish community in Parliament Morris Motamed broke the ground of the 3300-square-meter complex in Tehran on Tuesday.

“The followers of divine religions live under a single flag in Iran and enjoy the freedom the constitution has granted them,” said Saidi-Kia.

“Establishing such centers can create a strong sense of solidarity in Iran. It will encourage unity and prosperity,” he maintained.

Morris Motamed, for his part, stated that the complex will be inaugurated in two and a half years and will cost 30 billion rials ($3.2 million).

Today, Iran's Jewish population is the second largest in the Middle East after Israel.

HJF/TE/AA

© Press TV 2007. All Rights Reserved.


Did you catch this part: Today, Iran's Jewish population is the second largest in the Middle East after Israel.


What does that tell you? With the incentives given out by the Israeli government to potential Jewish settlers, if the social climate for Jews was so untenable in Iran, would this be the case?

Yes, Ahmadinejad is treading on thin ice when he says that the Holocaust is a "theory" which must be studied further and he is totally whack for saying "We have no gays in Iran, not one." But the point that Iran would like to destroy Israel and hates the Jews, I think is hugely over-stated by the West and Israel. That point is absolutely critical. On the basis of that belief, the nuclear threat we imagine is posed by Iran is what would send us to war against them. Because we believe they WANT the destruction of the Jews and if they possessed nukes, they would nuke Israel in a first strike.

We need to pay attention to what is really going on in Iran. We need to pay attention to more sources than our own, Western-slanted media. Is it unpatriotic these days to even READ news from Middle East news outlets? What are we afraid of?

I offer this from Press TV website, "About Us" section:

About Us

PRESS TV is the first international Iran-based news network to broadcast in English on a round-the-clock schedule.

Our Tehran-based headquarters is staffed by media professionals from around the world. PRESS TV has an extensive network of bureaus located in the world’s most strategic places.

Goals

PRESS TV offers broad news coverage, specifically focusing on the Middle East.

PRESS TV dares to tackle the controversial global news agenda and broadcasts cutting-edge documentaries with political, social and economic contents.

PRESS TV’s goal is to present a deeper analysis of current affairs, aiming to show the other side of the story.

Our Vision

1- To break the global media stranglehold of western outlets.
2- To bridge cultural divisions pragmatically.
3- To highlight the versatility and vitality of political and cultural differences, making up the human condition.

Personally, I can't find much to disagree with here. I especially like #3 in "Our Vision". How about you?