Israel Matzav

Students at Bir Zeit on the Hudson to dine with Ahmadinejad?

Students at Bir Zeit on the Hudson (sometimes known as Columbia University) may have the 'opportunity' to dine with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he visits the United Nations next week according to a report in the school's daily student newspaper The Spectator (Hat Tip: Gary P).

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may soon break bread with members of the Columbia International Relations Council and Association.

According to an email from the club’s listserv, members are invited to a private, Sept. 21 dinner in Midtown with the man whom University President Lee Bollinger introduced as “a petty and cruel dictator” when he spoke on campus in 2007.

A version of this article that appeared online over the weekend stated that CIRCA vice president of academics, Tim Chan, CC ’14, said someone in the group has a close relationship with the Iranian ambassador. After the article was published online Chan told Spectator he was mistaken and that there is no one in group with a close relationship to the ambassador. He also emphasized that the meeting with Ahmadinejad is still tentative.

Members of the group were informed over the summer that they might have the opportunity to bring 15 students to dinner with the head of state, whose views on Israel, human rights, and homosexuality have drawn sharp criticism.

Chan said that so far he hasn’t heard any concerns from members of the group.

“Everyone was really enthusiastic,” Chan said. “They’re thrilled to have this opportunity.”

I wonder how many of them would be thrilled to have the opportunity to dine with Binyamin Netanyahu. I suspect that the answer is 'far fewer.' America's future diplomats? Feh.

The New York Post adds:

The location of the dinner has not been determined.

...

The Columbia International Relations Council and Association is one of Columbia's largest undergraduate organizations and claims on its website to be "the largest devoted to international relations."

I wonder how many gay members CIRCA has. Oh, I forgot. It's only Iran where there are no homosexuals according to Ahmadinejad. They have hung them all.

Labels: Bir Zeit on the Hudson, Columbia, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:05 PM