Boycotting Iranian Leader’s UN Speech

As a staunch supporter of Israel in Congress who recently voted for the Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act and the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act, I want to speak regarding Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s remarks at the United Nations Wednesday, which included his criticism of “self-proclaimed centers of power who have entrusted themselves to the Devil.”

I’m glad that delegates from the United States, Canada and Israel boycotted (the) speech by President Ahmadinejad at the United Nations Wednesday – but it’s appalling that he was allowed to speak there in the first place, especially on Yom Kippur.

Ahmadinejad is an enemy of peace and an outspoken and direct threat to Israel and the United States – while we apply the most aggressive sanctions against Iran ever the U.N. should also not be giving him a platform to spew hate here in New York.

His speech only proved again how unfit he is to lead a nation and how weak the United Nations is being in standing up against this very real threat to peace in the Middle East.

Carolyn McCarthy is the representative of New York’s Fourth Congressional District. She was first elected in 1996.