The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) expressed dismay at those Christian leaders who honored Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a dialogue dinner in New York City on Thursday evening and has joined forces with an unprecedented coalition of human rights and advocacy groups to protest the event outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

“While the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem welcomes efforts to de-radicalize religious perceptions and create an atmosphere of tolerance and respect for our differences, it is outrageous that the main guest at this dinner is someone who so thoroughly mocks and loathes these valued ideals,” said Rev. Malcolm Hedding, the ICEJ’s Executive Director.

“Ahmadinejad drinks daily from the same poisonous trough of Jew-hatred that intoxicated Hitler. He denies the Holocaust while aspiring to carry out another one against the Jewish people re-gathered in Israel. He rejects everything that the United Nations Charter and genuine interfaith dialogue uphold. We cannot fathom why his Christian hosts would debase their own faith so shamelessly by honoring him at this occasion,” continued Hedding.

Among those hosting the dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel are leaders from the Mennonite and Quaker movements, as well as the World Council of Churches.

Last week, the ICEJ delivered a global petition to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon signed by over 55,000 Christians from 128 countries worldwide calling for a stronger UN and international response to the growing Iranian nuclear threat, including the demand that Ahmadinejad be indicted for incitement to commit genocide against Israel.

The Christian Embassy is headquartered in Jerusalem, with branch offices and representatives in some 80 nations, and a reach into more than 125 nations around the world. Its primary mandate is to serve as a “ministry of comfort” to Israel and the Jewish people, as a means for Christians to redress the tragic history of Christian anti-Semitism. 

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)