2008 Woodie Awards
Iranian president causes uproar with Columbia University speech
Jeff Borzello
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: News
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University Monday following a hostile welcome from protesters outside the college and Columbia's president, Lee Bollinger.
Ahmadinejad, who is visiting the United States for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly session, has previously stirred controversy after publicly stating the Holocaust is a myth and has stated Israel should be "wiped off the map".
Bollinger set the stage for a tense afternoon with his introduction of Ahmadinejad. He called the president a "petty and cruel dictator" and said Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust only appeals to illiterate and ignorant people.
"When you come to a place like this, this makes you, quite simply, ridiculous," he said. "You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated."
Bollinger had taken criticism for extending an invitation to Ahmadinejad even before the leader arrived in New York. Several presidential candidates, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, each publicly expressed their distaste for Ahmadinejad and his beliefs.
He addressed those concerns in his opening by highlighting the importance of free speech.
"The scope of free speech and academic freedom should itself always be open to further debate," Bollinger said. "Free speech asks us to exercise extraordinary self-restraint against the very natural, but often counter-productive impulses that lead us to retreat from engagement with ideas we dislike and fear."
Once Ahmadinejad began to speak, he appeared irritated and said Bollinger's comments were wrong and an insult to both Ahmadinejad and the crowd.
"I think the text read was an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience," he said. "There were insults and claims that were incorrect."
Ahmadinejad later added he felt disrespected, saying the introduction he received would not have occurred in Iran.
Ahmadinejad, who is visiting the United States for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly session, has previously stirred controversy after publicly stating the Holocaust is a myth and has stated Israel should be "wiped off the map".
Bollinger set the stage for a tense afternoon with his introduction of Ahmadinejad. He called the president a "petty and cruel dictator" and said Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust only appeals to illiterate and ignorant people.
"When you come to a place like this, this makes you, quite simply, ridiculous," he said. "You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated."
Bollinger had taken criticism for extending an invitation to Ahmadinejad even before the leader arrived in New York. Several presidential candidates, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, each publicly expressed their distaste for Ahmadinejad and his beliefs.
He addressed those concerns in his opening by highlighting the importance of free speech.
"The scope of free speech and academic freedom should itself always be open to further debate," Bollinger said. "Free speech asks us to exercise extraordinary self-restraint against the very natural, but often counter-productive impulses that lead us to retreat from engagement with ideas we dislike and fear."
Once Ahmadinejad began to speak, he appeared irritated and said Bollinger's comments were wrong and an insult to both Ahmadinejad and the crowd.
"I think the text read was an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience," he said. "There were insults and claims that were incorrect."
Ahmadinejad later added he felt disrespected, saying the introduction he received would not have occurred in Iran.
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