August 31, 2006
In News
Editor’s note: For more on the antics of the ADL and Abraham Foxman see Beyond Chutzpah, The Holocaust Industry, GRAND DRAGON OF JEWISH CITIZENS’ COUNCIL DEPLORES BEYOND CHUTZPAH, The Real Axis of Evil and Grand Wizard of Jewish Citizens Council calls Amnesty — surprise! surprise! — anti-Semitic.
By Haaretz Service and News Agencies
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Syria on Thursday to press its government to join international efforts to stop the flow of arms to Hezbollah and on the release of two Israel Defense Forces soldiers abducted by the guerrilla group in July.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Defamation League on Thursday blasted Annan for his plan to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying that it demeaned and degraded his office.
Annan’s visit to Syria, one of Hezbollah’s major backers, follows stops in Lebanon and Israel, where he demanded those governments respect and fully implement the UN Security Council resolution that ended a month of Hezbollah-Israel fighting on August 14.
The UN chief flew to Damascus from Jordan, where he said the time was ripe for normal ties between Lebanon and Israel.
Syria and Iran have long backed Hezbollah in its fight against Israel. Annan was expected to raise a host of outstanding issues with Syrian President Bashar Assad when they meet Friday.
The ADL accused Ahmadinejad of “thumbing his nose” at the UN Security Council.
“It is not enough for Mr. Annan to merely dismiss Ahmadinejad’s poisoned rhetoric. Ahmadinejad represents a threat not only to Israel, but to Western values. He is a dictator with nuclear ambitions. He is thumbing his nose at the Security Council,” said ADL National Director Abraham Foxman.
“Aren’t there enough people representing the UN with access to the president of Iran? It demeans and degrades the office of the Secretary-General and lowers the prestige of the UN, while raising the profile of Ahmadinejad.”
Foxman pointed out that the Iranian president has repeatedly vowed to destroy Israel and has openly questioned the Holocaust.
“Would he go to meet Hitler?” Foxman asked, stating that Annan was “doing business with purveyors of the worst form of anti-Semitism imaginable – those who call for the elimination of the Jewish people.”
Foxman said that Annan has a “blind spot” when it comes to Israel, claiming that the UN has condemned Israel’s actions in the month-long war against Hezbollah but did not do the same for the militant group.