UANI,
Supporters of Israel, Democracy Organize Thousands Protesting
Ahmadinejad At UN
By
Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
New
York, New York --- September 23, 2012 ... United Against Nuclear
Iran (UANI), Jewish and Christian supporters of Israel and hundreds
who demand democracy for Iran are hosting a massive demonstration
at the Warwick Hotel in New York on Monday, September 24, 2012
to protest the Warwick and its guest, Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The demonstration
will take place outside the Warwick Hotel, intersection of 54th
St. and 6th Ave at 2:00 PM, and will feature signs, props, chants,
and an activity center open to public participation.
Last month,
UANI revealed that Ahmadinejad and his delegation will be staying
at the Warwick, beginning this weekend. UANI's campaign has already
been covered by the Associated Press, CBS 880 Radio, 1010 WINS
Radio, Fox 5 News,and the New York Post.
President
Ahmadinejads brand of hate speech is most unwelcome in New
York City for a host of reasons," said New York City Council
Speaker Christine Quinn.
"Mr.
Ahmadinejad has called for the destruction of Israel and has expressed
anti-Semitic views and doubts about the Holocaust. Domestically,
Iranian women often face discrimination and womens rights
groups are repressed. Those critical of his government have been
perpetually arrested and detained without trial for long periods
and are reported to have been tortured or otherwise ill-treated
and denied access to medical care, lawyers and their families."
Ms. Quinn continued: "Mr. Ahmadinejads government is
also a supporter of international terrorism in the world today,
and for a regime like this to be on the cusp of developing a nuclear
arsenal is a nightmare too terrible to contemplate. This threat
of a nuclear-armed Iran is not just an Israeli problem but a global
problem which the world must address immediately. For all these
reasons, and many more not stated, Mr. Ahmadinejad is very unwelcome
in our city.
Senior Iran military commanders repeated threats made over the
past few weeks that Tehran will destroy Israel if it launches
an attack on Iran.
Brig.-Gen.
Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
Corpss aerospace division, told state-owned Al-Alam TV that
an Israeli strike on Iran could trigger World War III.
It is
impossible to imagine an independent war between Iran and the
US or the Zionist regime [Israel], he said, adding that
other countries in the region would likely side with Iran or Israel
in case of war.
Iran would
target US bases in the region should Israel attack, Hajizadeh
added.
If the
Zionists really do strike Iran, it would provide a historic opportunity
for the Islamic Revolution to wipe [Israel] off the face of the
earth, he said adding that Iran would then reclaim
the lands occupied by Israel for the Palestinians. Salami
added that an infantry battalion would be able to break
Israels back within a day.
The US Senate
meanwhile has overwhelmingly endorsed language that sets a red
line for Iran "nuclear capability." The non-binding
resolution, introduced in February by Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.),
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) states
that "it is a vital national interest of the United States
to prevent the Government of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons
capability." The resolution passed late on Sept 21 by a vote
of 90-1, with only Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voting against. The
language is in line with Israel's red lines, and goes farther
than the Obama administration, which has set as a red line Iran's
acquisition of a nuclear weapon.
UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon has warned Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the
dangers of incendiary rhetoric when two men met in New York today
before this week's annual gathering of world leaders at the UN
General Assembly.
"The
secretary-general drew attention to the potentially harmful consequences
of inflammatory rhetoric, counter-rhetoric and threats from various
countries in the Middle East," Ban's press office said in
a statement.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh,
a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,
was quoted as saying on Sunday that Iran could launch a pre-emptive
strike on Israel if it was sure the Jewish state was preparing
to attack it.
Israel Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted that Israel could strike
Iran's nuclear sites and criticized U.S. President Barack Obama's
position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time
to stop Iran getting the atomic bomb.
The U.N. statement
said Ban told Ahmadinejad that Iran should "take the measures
necessary to build international confidence in the exclusively
peaceful nature of its nuclear program."
The two men
also discussed Syria. Iran has been accused of using civilian
aircraft to fly military personnel and large quantities of weapons
across Iraqi airspace to Syria to aid President Bashar al-Assad
in his attempt to crush an 18-month uprising against him, according
to a Western intelligence report.
"The
secretary-general stressed the grave regional implications of
the worsening situation in Syria and underlined the devastating
humanitarian impact," the statement said.
Israels
ambassador to the United Nations called on world leaders to boycott
Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads September 26 speech
to the 67th General Assembly of the world body in New York. The
speech falls on the holy Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur.
Any
country that sits in during Ahmadinejads speech is in violation
of the United Nations Charter, which forbids member states
from threatening other member states, said Israel Ambassador to
the UN Ron Prosor.
The bibical
State of Israel was reborn from the ashes of the Holocaust. It's
purpose was to provide a modern day homeland to all Jews and to
insure that the Jewish people would never be threatened again
with genocide. Israel is prepared to do all that is required by
ground, air and sea to provide for the security of the small,
democratic nation.
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