Stand for Freedom in Iran Rally

NEW YORK, NY [CHI] — At the “Stand for Freedom in Iran Rally” Thursday, September 24th, a diverse cross-section of Americans and Iranians, from high school students to senior citizens, spanning religious sects of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, gathered outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City to protest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presence at the 64th General Assembly.

In the wake of Ahmadinejad’s verbal denial of the Holocaust, Iran’s rapidly expanding nuclear program, and the violence and human rights violations that followed this summer’s presidential election – pro-Israel activists, American Iranians and other human rights activists gathered to protest.

Executive vice president and CEO of the organization United Jewish Appeal (UJA), John S. Ruskay, approached the podium and marveled at the vast amount of people who had turned out in droves for the demonstration stretching along 47th Street, from First Avenue, until Third Avenue in order to “say no to Iran, yes to democracy, yes to human rights, and yes to peace… That is what brings us together,” Ruskay said.

Thousands chanted, “Free Iran now! Free Iran now!” following New York Assemblyman Sheldon Silver’s speech that brought to light the human rights crisis in Iran, where Iranians have allegedly been tortured, raped, and murdered.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel addressed the General Assembly from afar via the podium on 47th street. “How can you, leaders, accept [Ahmadinejad] in your midst?” Wiesel went on to describe the Iranian president’s intention to destroy Israel and Iran’s nuclear ambitions as “threats that must be taken seriously.

“Leaders of the world,” Wiesel called out, “it is your responsibility to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear… [Ahmadinejad] must be charged with crimes against humanity. Surely he will be condemned and surely he will be sentenced to jail.”

Wiesel implored upon the General Assembly to not greet Ahmadinejad or to be in his presence, for “his presence is an insult to what is sacred in democracy… Shame on Ahmadinejad!”

“We have freedom;” announced J. David Cox, National Secretary-Treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), “we want everyone to have freedom… An injury to one is an injury to all.”

A representative from the Jewish community introduced the Jewish perspective of the days leading up to and surrounding the High Holy Days. “We are now in the Ten Days of Repentance,” he said, and recalled the historical moment when Joshua blew a Shofar trumpet, which brought down the walls of Jericho. “Totalitarian nations have threatened Israel before,” the representative said. “G-d, disperse our enemies and destroy them.”

Three loud blasts of the Shofar trumpet filled New York City.

Many American Iranians traveled to New York just to partake in the rally aimed at supporting their fellow Iranians; many waved green, red and white flags of Iran. In response to whether or not he feels the Iranians back in his homeland are being supported by international powers, Naveed Farbakhsh, 20, student at Indian River State College in Florida, said, “Yes, they are supported back home, but we can still do a lot more to help them, like creating sanctions against the Iranian government and not recognizing Ahmadinejad as our president of Iran.”

Two elderly Jewish women sat on a bench close to Third Avenue waving an Israeli flag, surrounded by anti-Ahmadinejad signs. “I came because I am a Jew,” said Ray Adler, 70, of Washington Heights, N.Y. “Iran poses a threat to the entire world… A country that threatens to wipe another country off the map should be condemned by all nations of the world.”

Iran and six powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — plan to meet in Geneva on October 1st for a direct engagement concerning Iran’s nuclear program amid fears that Tehran is planning to build atomic weapons.