New York, NY - Jewish Leaders Reject Offer To Meet Iran's Leader

New York, NY - Jewish leaders are spurning a request from the Council on Foreign Relations to meet with the president of Iran when he arrives for the U.N. General Assembly.

The vice president for communications at the Council on Foreign Relations, Lisa Shields, confirmed yesterday that President Ahmadinejad has been invited to address members of the council. "Our invitation to Ahmadinejad is no different than our invitation to other heads of states during the General Assembly," she said. "We have had an invitation out over the years to the Iranians as they come to the United Nations. This year they accepted."

Ms. Shields said the council has hosted other contentious foreign leaders, including Fidel Castro of Cuba, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. "It is the mission of the Council on Foreign Relations to create a direct dialogue with world leaders and others," she added. "It is never an endorsement of their positions or policies. The council holds no institutional position. In fact, a direct dialogue creates an opportunity for members of the council to air their views in an unfiltered way."

"I think this is outrageous," the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said. "Ahmadinejad has proven that dialogue serves no useful purpose except to give him legitimacy and recognition.