The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has praised the governments of Argentina, Australia, Britain, Costa Rica, Denmark, France Germany, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand and the United States for walking out of the U.N. General Assembly this week during an address by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. ZOA particularly praises the Canadian government, which boycotted from the outset the session in which Ahmadinejad spoke. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Ahmadinejad’s “absolutely repugnant remarks” previously made about the Holocaust were reason enough for Canadian officials to boycott the Iranian president’s address and that “There are times when things are being said in this world that it is important that countries that have a moral compass stand up, make their views known …And our absence there will speak volumes about how Canada feels about the declarations of President Ahmadinejad” (‘Canada walks out on Ahmadinejad’s UN speech,’ CBC News, September 23, 2009).

In his speech, Ahmadinejad made another one of his odious anti-Semitic flourishes, accusing Jews of a world-wide conspiracy to enslave others: “It is no longer acceptable that a small minority would dominate the politics, economy and culture of major parts of the world by its complicated networks.” He also accused Jews of seeking to “establish a new form of slavery, and harm the reputation of other nations, even European nations and the US, to attain its racist ambitions.”

Mark Kornblau, spokesman to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, said in a statement that “It is disappointing that Mr Ahmadinejad has once again chosen to espouse hateful, offensive and anti-Semitic rhetoric” (‘US, France walk out during Ahmadinejad’s UN speech,’ Agence France Presse, September 23, 2009).

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “We applaud the United States and other governments of these countries for taking a public stand for decency and morality by not dignifying with their presence the address by this odious Holocaust denier, sponsor of terrorism and would-be exterminator of Israel. We can only wonder what happened to the moral compass of the scores of other nations that remained in attendance. We particularly wish to praise the forthright, brief but eloquent repudiation of Ahmadinejad voiced by Canadian Prime Minister Harper.

“At a time when so much of the international leadership has been found wanting on these matters – just recall Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt’s disgraceful refusal to condemn the vile anti-Semitic article in the Swedish press that accused Israelis of harvesting Palestinians’ body parts – Prime Minister Harper has spoken with real moral stature and concern.”