Sold out for Israel: Breaking bread with the bad guys

Feasting with Ahmadinejad was compared to Jesus' meeting with the publicans, but we must remember that He never conformed to their ways.

By ELWOOD MCQUAID
Elwood McQuaid 224-88 (photo credit: )
Elwood McQuaid 224-88
(photo credit: )
Call it poor judgment, lack of discernment, naiveté, or just plain making the same mistake four times and counting. The fact is, that's precisely what transpired when some 300 religious and political types trooped into the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York on September 25 to honor Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and break bread with him over the iftar meal marking the end of the Muslim fast of Ramadan. The event was billed as a dialogue on the "significance of religious contributions to peace," with the theme "Has not one God created us?" The cover for the meeting was that "Jesus ate with lepers and tax collectors." And, according to Arli Klassen, executive director of the Mennonite Central Committee, "The criticisms levied at Jesus were that he ate with . . . people of ill repute, and we're getting similar criticisms." Comparing a meeting between today's pacifist religionists and Ahmadinejad to Jesus' meeting with publicans and sinners is self-serving and completely indigestible. Jesus did eat with publicans and sinners, but He never conformed to their practices. Nor was He cordial to the corrupt religious leaders in Jerusalem or the Roman imperialists who would eventually put Him on a cross. The UN Liaison Office of the World Council of Churches (WCC) proffered the same line as Klassen in stating that the "dialogue" was "aimed at exploring faith perspectives and the role of religion regarding global issues such as poverty, war and prejudice while deepening mutual understanding." Despite the fact the WCC fancies itself a mover and shaker to "encourage respectful conversation about the need for religious involvement in peacemaking," it consistently ignores or misses the point that, in discussions with the likes of Ahmadinejad, the word mutual is not in the equation. Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, a leader in the Jewish Renewal movement, whiffed on the same issue when she told Reuters, "Our world views are rather different. But unless we . . . dialogue face to face, how will we create any kind of understanding?" "Peace," she proposed, "is better than war." Indeed. But the question remains, "At what price?" Exactly 70 years ago-September 29, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made an agreement with Adolf Hitler, thinking he had secured "peace in our time." Yet one year later, Britain and Germany were at war. Following his tirade before the UN General Assembly Tuesday, Ahmadinejad hosted a dinner at the Hyatt "with 40 Americans, including professors and representatives of several nonprofit groups," reported The New York Sun. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor James Walsh claimed Ahmadinejad seemed "more of a statesman" than on his previous visits. The Sun quoted Walsh as saying the Iranian leader was "'more practiced, more self-assured,' and made jokes. 'Ahmadinejad is a bit of a debater, so he prefers people to offer their opinions.'" There are many questions we could ask those who have such warm feelings for and enjoy dialoguing with butchers and international thugs. One would be this: After four such meetings with Iran's president, what has been accomplished? In his UN speech, the "statesman" reiterated his intention to see "Zionist murderers" (meaning Israel) erased from the map. Furthermore, Ahmadinejad fell back on the old and thoroughly discredited Protocols of Zion libel, accusing Zionists of controlling international finance and blaming world Jewry for a so-called Jewish conspiracy to foment worldwide trouble. He still seeks the demise of America and Western democracies and repeatedly denies the Holocaust of World War II. The wonder of it all is that the very people Ahmadinejad vows to destroy or subjugate are the ones who insist he doesn't really mean what he says. They believe a friendly discussion will solve everything. More than two decades of experience in pastoral counseling has taught me that when people tell you they are contemplating suicide, you had better believe them and act accordingly. And if a world leader continually declares his intention to commit genocide, you had better believe it and act accordingly. And for the so-called Christian leaders who boast compassion and understanding on the road to peace, consider this: On September 9 the Iranian parliament almost unanimously approved a new penal code calling for the mandatory death of apostates-those who leave Islam. Joseph Grieboski, founder of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, told Compass Direct News that, short of a tidal wave of international outrage, there is little hope the government will forsake the policy. The legislation now officially sanctions executing two Christians-Mahmood Matin Azad, 52, and Arash Basirat, 44-who have been charged with apostasy and held in prison since May 2008. Prior to the New York dinner with Ahmadinejad, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom posted a letter to the leadership of Religions for Peace, the American Friends Service Committee, Mennonite Central Committee, Quaker United Nations Office, and the World Council of Churches United Nations Liaison Office to protest their sponsorship of the event. "The only accomplishment of such an invitation," it read, "would be to burnish the Iranian leader's legitimacy and cleanse his reputation as a purveyor of hate." The Commission's concerns have been confirmed. Sadly, we have verifiable enemies whose agenda does not bode well for Israel, Jews, Christians, or even Muslims who disagree. Sitting down for chatty dinners only whets the appetites of men like Ahmadinejad and strengthens their belief that self-deceived religionists and the people they feign to represent are ripe for the picking. Elwood McQuaid is Executive Editor for The Friends of Israel. His most recent book, For the Love of Zion, is now available online and in bookstores. Previous entries: Russia is back in business Martyrs of Murderers? There is a difference America the Beautiful God Bless America