The Bollinger-Ahmadinejad Debacle

Ahmadinejad-Bollinger: One Year After the Infamous Speech at Columbia University

Bnai Haman — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:35:42 GMT

NEW YORK -- Its proponents, including Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and the Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs, contended that having Iranian Dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speak on campus would be a big step in the direction of mutual understanding.

Instead, Bollinger and Columbia University stepped into a black hole of shame, from which there is no escape.

What has the passage of a year wrought?

Only a better understanding of just how misguided Bollinger, John H. Coatsworth (the SIPA Dean), Richard W. Bulliet (the professor who initiated the A-Jad invitation) and the entire Columbia University Board of Trustees were.

Columbia University was played to the max by Ahmadinejad, who basked in the credibility his appearance provided for his gay-bashing, women-stoning, anti-American, destroy-Israel agenda. Bollinger and Columbia University have been accessories to every action of A-Jad since September 24, 2007. And, Bollinger and Columbia University will go down in history as having been duped by one of the 21^st Century's most evil leaders.

What else has time revealed about the 2007 A-Jad speech at Columbia? Like a politician who serves his or her entire career with distinction, and then is caught in a lurid scandal, Columbia’s biographers and obituary writers will forever associate the school with a man who openly calls for Holocaust II against the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

We strongly suspect that Columbia has paid a financial price, as well, for its embrace of A-Jad. We know alumni donors who’ve cut or eliminated their contributions to the school in the wake of the September 24^th blasphemy. And really, there is no way to know which major domo donors who might have once considered a major gift to Columbia have reconsidered.

One year later A-Jad and his hate-filled regime are stronger and more menacing than ever. As for Bollinger, Coatsworth, Bulliet and the other vermin who disgraced themselves and their university, we see no signs that they’ve managed to redeem their tarnished reputations even an iota.

In Jewish tradition, one remembers those who have died each year on the anniversary of their deaths by saying a special Yizkor prayer and lighting a candle. This September 24^th, many Columbia University alumni and friends of the school will be lighting a candle for Columbia University to commemorate the day its morality perished.

Crictic of Columbia University and Lee C. Bollinger Writes About His Personal 'Stalker'

Bnai Haman — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 12:12:48 GMT

The following is reprinted in its entirety with permission from www.deanrotbart.com. Rotbart is one of the founding members of Bnai Haman and remains active with the group.

I HAVE A STALKER: THE LATEST 21st CENTURY PROFESSIONAL ACCESSORY

I have a stalker (or perhaps more than one) complete with a freshly opened FBI case file. My stalker is posting threats on a website to which I contribute and using Wikipedia and perhaps other venues to generate misinformation about me.

I guess I should be honored. In 2008, if you are a journalist or you are outspoken on any topic -- I am both -- then I guess you are not doing your job unless the FBI is investigating at least one of your stalkers.

Mine is particularly disturbed by the fact that as an alumnus of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, I have helped organize a group of alumni and other concerned citizens to conduct an ongoing protest of the University's decision to invite and permit Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak on campus last September 24th.

I've made no secret whatsoever of my involvement with this group, which calls itself Bnai Haman. Indeed, I have posted at the Columbia Spectator and other sites using my real name, unlike most of my critics and most Ahmadinejad-Bollinger supporters.

As anyone who knows me well already knows, most of my father's family perished during the Holocaust and he was interred at Auschwitz, so I'm quite familiar with the potential consequences of letting Ahmadinejad speak unchallenged at my alma mater.

My stalker seems to feel that my affiliation with Bnai Haman is sufficient reason to make threats against me and to try and rewrite my role in the group. Some people will believe my stalker. Many people believe Ahmadinejad and share his view that this world would be a better place without Israel, which the Iranian leader wishes to wipe off the map.

I take my stalker serious. That is why I have provided the FBI with full details concerning his/her threat and why I believe my stalker stands a very good chance of being caught and prosecuted.

Although he/she may wish we lived in an Islamic state such as Iran, where force and terror rule, we still live in the United States where speech is free, except that which threatens the well being of another or libels him.

My stalker has done both.

Just to let him/her know that the FBI and I are very serious, we already think we have two of the IP Addresses he/she is using to make threats: 67.102.0.169 and 67.101.192.4. If these are your IP addresses, don't be too surprised if you get a knock on your door in the near future from an FBI field agent. These folks are very good at what they do. As am I.

Bnai Haman Member Threated for Outspoken Criticism of Columbia University -- FBI Investigating

Bnai Haman — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:22:10 GMT

Bnai Haman has been in contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation following receipt of an email threat against it and one of its founding members.

The volunteer group comprised of Columbia University alumni and concerned citizens, has been outspoken in its criticism of Columbia, its Board of Trustees, and members of the administration and faculty in the aftermath of the speech given on campus September 24, 2007 by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran.

The threat, which was directed to a specific a Bnai Haman volunteer, was received on the comments section a blog maintained by Bnai Haman.

Bnai Haman immediately contacted the FBI and provided the agency with full access to its computer logs and that of its Internet Service Provider.

The FBI said it is confident that it can trace the email threat back to a source computer and will investigate.

The sender of the email faces multiple possible federal criminal charges.

Bnai Haman said it takes all such threats seriously and will cooperate with law enforcement agencies to track and prosecute anyone who makes such threats.

Anyone with information on the threat is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles field office of the FBI at 310-477-6565 or visit its website at http://losangeles.fbi.gov.

Heart Attack Fells Columbia University's Bollinger - Best Known For His Ahmadinejad Introduction

Bnai Haman — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:15:53 GMT

New York, NY -- Lee Carroll Bollinger, the controversial president of Columbia University and a distinguished legal scholar, died yesterday afternoon of a massive coronary attack as he prepared to meet with the school's Board of Trustees.

Paramedics worked feverishly for more than one hour to resuscitate the 61-year-old educator, but he was pronounced dead on the scene before he could be transported to the nearby Columbia University Medical Center.

In a statement, William V. Campbell, chairman of the University's Board of Trustees, said that "all of us at Columbia have lost a great leader and friend in Lee." Campbell added that "although Lee's tenure here was enveloped in controversy and acrimony, the Board always supported him and felt he had his best interests at heart in all of the decisions he made."

Bollinger become president of Columbia in June 2002, after serving as president of the University of Michigan since 1996.

While the Santa Rosa, California native had been involved in various legal and policy controversies throughout his professional career -including standing at the center of two cases before the United States Supreme Court - Bollinger became a global figure only after he permitted Iranian Dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak on campus on September 24, 2007.

Ahmadinejad's speech, and Bollinger's biting introduction of him, made Bollinger the target of criticism from many quarters. Jewish groups and others felt Bollinger should not have permitted Ahmadinejad to speak on campus, given the Iranian's record of gross human rights violations and Holocaust denial.

Others were outraged by Bollinger's introduction, which they said was unbecoming, given that Ahmadinejad was speaking at the express invitation and with the approval of Columbia and Bollinger.

While others at the University also took heat for the Ahmadinejad-Bollinger speech, as it came to be known, Bollinger alone bore the brunt of the blame.

Maynard G. Krebbs, a theologian and Oxford University scholar, said in a telephone interview from Bath, England that he believes history will judge Bollinger harshly. "Lee wanted it both ways. He wanted to show his academic tolerance for speech he didn't agree with and he wanted to damn that speech," Krebbs said. "He really either should have banned Ahmadinejad or he should have kept his introductory remarks civil."

At the time of his death, Bollinger was also facing heavy opposition from community groups over his plan to expand the campus onto a 17-acre development in adjoining Harlem, a move these groups contend will displace the culturally mixed, lower-income population that currently lives there and runs businesses there.

Richard W. Bulliet, a professor of history who also took heat as the liaison between the campus and Ahmadinejad, said in an interview that Bollinger was not deaf to the complaints of those who felt his actions were disrespectful to Jews, gays, women, African Americans and other minorities.

"Lee heard their cries and weighed their arguments," Bulliet said. "He just didn't want to let these self-interested groups interfere with his own highly-prized professional aspirations."

Bollinger is survived by his wife, Jean Magnano Bollinger, and two grown children. Details concerning his funeral and viewing have not yet been set.

p.s. The above account of Bollinger's passing is greatly exaggerated. In fact, it never happened. But we wanted Bollinger and his fans to get a taste of how his actual obituary is likely to read, since when the real one is printed, he won't be there to enjoy it. Happy Purim, Lee!

Jesus Was A Liar; So Too The Jews -- Sheikh Raed Salah (P.S. You Can Forget About the So-Called Holocaust)

Bnai Haman — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:41:51 GMT

Here is a news items that really ought to get the juices of Columbia University Professor Richard W. Bulliet flowing. Bulliet, it seems, is very partial to weirded out Islamic madmen. Well you can add Sheikh Raed Salah to hist list of soulmates.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Salah called a news conference today in Jerusalem to publicly deny that there ever existed a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount. [He didn't explain how that big stone Wall, sometimes called the Western Wall, happened to mysteriously crop up. Nor did he offer an explanation of why it is called "The Temple Mount."]

Salah is the head of the Islamic Movement's northern branch, and as unbelievable as it might seem, he has his followers -- no doubt including our dear Columbia University professor/ratfink.

"The claims of the Jews are big lies and they have no right to any speck of dust here," Salah declared.

Salah	Richard W. Bulliet	Iraq's Minister of Mis-Information

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Salah is correct, and the Jews made up the entire story about the Temple and the Temple Mount. Well, that also means that Christianity, which teaches that Jesus himself attended the Temple, is also a religion of big liars.

Salah went on to repeat centuries old Jewish blood libels and to accuse the Jews of Israel of tunneling under the al-Aqsa mosque to weaken its structure. [We understand that Salah has applied to be the Palestinian Information Minister - a post for which he is naturally suited.]

Salah may hate the Jews and Israel, but he still lives in the country and avails himself of his rights as a full citizen. He can even vote in Israel.

Just imagine a Jew living in Saudi Arabia (ha!) making the claim that Allah is a hoax! The Saudis would behead the sucker before he ever uttered another word.

Vegas odds, we understand, are 3-to-1 that Bulliet is trying to get Salah to speak at Columbia later this year, so students can ask him tough questions. Sound familiar? Know of any Holocaust deniers that Bulliet and Columbia recently hosted on campus?

More Than 2,000 Requests Received for Ahmadinejad-Bollinger Related Masks for Purim

Bnai Haman — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 13:36:25 GMT

More than 2,000 people have requested Purim masks depicting Iranian Dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and others involved in his speech last September 24 on the campus of Columbia University. Bnai Haman, which plans a Purim Ball on March 20 featuring modern Purim masks, says it has received requests from as far away as India, Japan and Kazakhstan.

Las Vegas (PRWEB) March 8, 2008 -- People from as far away as the Republic of Kazakhstan have written or called Bnai Haman seeking to obtain masks for this year's Purim celebration.

The requests began pouring in on February 19, when Bnai Haman, a not-for-profit volunteer group of Columbia University alumni and concerned citizens, announced that it is planning an Ahmadinejad-themed Purim party to mark the September 24, 2007 speech by Iranian Dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on campus.

At modern Purim carnivals, it is customary for children and adults alike to dress up as characters from the biblical book of Esther. Purim commemorates the reversal of fortune for the Jews of 6th Century Persia, who were facing extermination at the hands of evil Haman, a trusted adviser to the King. Thanks to the intervention of Queen Esther and her cousin, Mordecai, the King protected the Jews and instead hung Haman on the gallows he, himself, had constructed to kill Jews.

Last month, Bnai Haman said at its 2008 Purim Ball, to be held the evening of March 20, 2008, revelers will have the opportunity to dress like the biblical Purim figures or to wear masks representing those Columbia University officials most closely involved in the Ahmadinejad speech. Like Haman of ancient times, Ahmadinejad has publicly called for Israel to be wiped off the map.

"No one was more surprised than us when the requests started arriving, because we aren't selling or giving away masks," says a spokeswoman for Bnai Haman. "Our members are making their own masks for their own personal use."

Among the most requested masks are those of Columbia University's President, Lee C. Bollinger, who introduced Ahmadinejad last September, and Richard W. Bulliet, the Columbia professor who first invited the dictator to campus. Many requests have also been received for Ahmadinejad masks.

Bnai Haman said about 80 percent of its 2,000-plus requests have come from the United States; 10 percent from Israel and the remainder from countries throughout the world, including Australia, India and Japan.

"The Ahmadinejad-Bollinger speech was broadcast around the globe and its lasting impact can't be overstated," the Bnai Haman spokeswoman said. "The fact that individuals in the former Soviet East Block want to share in our Purim festivities demonstrates that the fight against evil knows no boundaries."

Bnai Haman works to remind the world of the lessons learned by the Ahmadinejad-Bollinger speech and to forewarn other universities and academics about the price to be paid for permitting dictators, terrorists and other villains to use their institutions as a platform for promoting hate speech.

The group maintains various information websites, including www.september242007.com.

Columbia University's Lee C. Bollinger Faces Dilemma in Adjudging the Best Holocaust Deniers for His Students to Hear

Bnai Haman — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 11:11:30 GMT

Palestinian leaders are not making life any simpler for Columbia University and its president, Lee C. Bollinger.

In recent days, both Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Mashaal have likened Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip to the Nazi Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were systematically and deliberately slaughtered.

The problem for Columbia and Bollinger, who welcome Holocaust deniers and anti-Semites to speak on campus (and to teach there whenever possible), is that the Palestinians are comparing what is going on now in the Gaza Strip to an event that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tells the world never even happened.

Which terrorists should Columbia and Bollinger support going forward? Which terrorists should next be honored with a platform at the university?

Let us break this down; starting with Ahmadinejad, who is not only an avowed Holocaust denier, he actually hosted a global conference in Iran that drew a crowd of anti-Semitic paranoids just like himself.

Ordinarily, what a whacked out leader of Iran who denies the Holocaust says or does would be of little interest to sane people. But Bollinger and Columbia wanted their students to hear first hand from Ahmadinejad, so last September 24, they turned their campus over to the blood-drenched madman in the name of free speech and academic inquiry.

Ahmadinejad made no excuses for his Holocaust denials and used the event to blast western ideals, America, Zionists, and whoever else came to mind. (Back at home, Ahmadinejad enjoys torturing his own people, especially gays and women who dare be accused of immodesty, whether or not the accusations are true.)

Well Columbia and Bollinger just love providing free speech platforms to those who hate America. By contrast, the campus has run off military recruiters and other American patriots who had the chutzpah to love the United States or preach defense of its borders from illegal immigrants.

Now comes Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority (and himself a terrorist in diplomat’s clothing) who calls Israel’s response to daily bombardments of its civilian population “worse than the Holocaust.”

No one, not Abbas, not Ahmadinejad, not Bollinger and not Columbia seem to be bothered by the fact that the Palestinians in Gaza – which is no longer occupied – each day send rockets to kill innocent Jews across the border in Sedorot and Ashkelon. Just imagine if everyday the residents of Tijuana were shooting rockets and killing folks in San Diego!

Killing and maiming Jews is okay.

But when those damn Jews fight back and some terrorists and Palestinian innocents shed blood, well, it is worse than the Holocaust. Much worse.

Khaled Mashaal, the leader of Hamas, who hides under a rock somewhere in Syria and slithers out periodically to proclaim the forthcoming demise of Israel, also describes Israel’s defense against his rockets “the real Holocaust.”

Moreover, Mashaal says that Israel exaggerates the Nazi Holocaust and uses it “to blackmail the world.”

And, pity, him, then there is Lee C. Bollinger.

Bollinger desperately wants to do the right thing and wants to invite the right terrorists to campus. He wants to make sure the truest of Holocaust deniers are given a platform at Columbia to insure the academic integrity of the campus. But whom to believe: Ahmadinejad the full out denier, or Mashaal and Abbas, who want to compare their misery to that of the Jews of Europe during World War II, but each of whom has a different version of how little the Jews actually suffered at the hands of the Nazis?

Let this be a lesson to all university administrators: There is always another evil tyrant just around the corner begging to borrow some of your campus’s credibility to promote his sick views. If you play favorites too soon, some of the best terrorists may be excluded from your future invitation rosters.

Choose your terrorists and genocidal maniacs wisely. It's a lesson Lee Bollinger has learned the hard way.

Bnai Haman Plans Costume Purim Carnival Marking Ahmadinejad Speech at Columbia University

Bnai Haman — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:23:09 GMT

Costumes are a traditional part of the festivities that surround the annual Jewish holiday of Purim.

Purim commemorates the reversal of fortune for the Jews of 6th Century Persia, who were facing extermination at the hands of the evil Haman, a trusted adviser to the king. Thanks to the intervention of Queen Esther and her cousin, Mordecai, the king protected the Jews and instead hung Haman on the gallows he, himself, had constructed to kill Jews.

Purim revelers can dress as Ahmadinejad (l)
or Bollinger (r)

At modern Purim carnivals, it is customary for children and adults alike to dress up as Esther, Mordechai and other characters from the biblical story, including Haman.

This year, however, to mark the September 24, 2007 speech by Iranian Dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Columbia University, a group of Columbia alumni and concerned citizens - known as Bnai Haman - are planning an Ahmadinejad-themed Purim festival.

"Ahmadinejad and Haman have a lot in common in that both men plotted to exterminate all the Jews," says a spokeswoman for Bnai Haman, a not-for-profit group of volunteers. "And just as Haman found those in ancient Persia who would listen to his incitements, so too did Columbia University provide a platform for Ahmadinejad to espouse Israel's destruction to a global media audience."

At its 2008 Purim Ball, to be held the evening of March 20, 2008, revelers will have the opportunity to dress like the biblical Purim figures or to wear masks representing those who were most closely involved in the Ahmadinejad speech.

In addition to Ahmadinejad costumes, Bnai Haman said its members plan to dress as Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger, who introduced Ahmadinejad; Richard W. Bulliet, the Columbia University professor who first invited Ahmadinejad; and John H. Coatsworth, an acting Dean at the University who defended the Ahmadinejad speech, telling Fox News that he would have invited Hitler to speak on campus had the Nazi leader been available.

"Judaism often finds modern parallels to biblical stories," the Bnai Haman spokeswoman noted. "We believe that history will record the reign of Ahmadinejad on the same scale as that of Haman and others who have sworn to destroy the Jews over many, many centuries."

Bnai Haman works to remind the world of the lessons learned by the Ahmadinejad-Bollinger speech and to forewarn other universities and academics about the price to be paid for permitting dictators, terrorists and other villains to user their institutions as a platform for promoting hate speech.

The group maintains various informational websites, including www.september242007.com.

Bnai Haman Condemns Assassination of Hizbullah Leader Before He Could Speak at Columbia University

Bnai Haman — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:44:09 GMT

Bnai Haman, a group of Columbia University alumni and concerned citizens, has posted a new statement on its web sites condemning the assassination of Hizbullah’s special operations chief Imad Mughniyeh. Mughniyeh was killed by a car bomb that detonated in February 2008 in Syria, where he was in hiding.

Unlike Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had the honor of speaking at Columbia University last September, Mughniyeh had not had the opportunity to address students and the media at a major American university before his death. Had he, Bnai Haman believes, the Hizbullah operative most certainly would have faced the same kinds of academic inquiries that Columbia’s students and faculty posed to Ahmadinejad.

“As Columbia made clear, students and faculty at democratic, free-speech schools can learn so much about the mind of terrorists by inviting them to speak on campus,” says Jed Christianson, a spokesperson for Bnai Haman. “Mughniyeh's credentials in this regard were impeccable and with his untimely death, Columbia and its community are robbed of the opportunity to hear from this influential Middle East leader.”

Unlike Ahmadinejad, who has openly called for the destruction of Israel, Mughniyeh worked behind the scenes, quietly, to achieve much the same ends. “Here we have two similar spirits using different methodologies to achieve their purposes,” Christianson said. “How instructive it would have been for students to have the chance to compare these two anti-Zionist, anti-American leaders and their methodologies.”

Among topics Mughniyeh might have addressed was the July 1994 bombing of the Jewish community offices in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people. Mughniyeh continued to be sought for his role in the attack until the day he died.

“We are sure students would have asked him to explain why he and Hizbullah chose to kill innocent Jews in Buenos Aires, if he and his clan are only opposed to Israel and Zionists,” Christianson said. “Moreover, we would have welcome the introductory remarks that Columbia president Lee C. Bollinger no doubt would have made for Mughniyeh, putting him down before giving him a worldwide stage to express his views.”

Bnai Haman called upon the United Nations and especially its High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, to protect other terrorists from assassination before they’ve had their opportunity to address students in the U.S. generally, and at Columbia specifically.

'Curse of Ahmadinehad' Transforms Victory into Major Super Bowl Defeat for Robert Kraft's New England Patriots

Bnai Haman — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:03:32 GMT

Phoenix, AZ -- Bnai Haman, a not-for-profit group of Columbia University alumni and concerned citizens, has posted its theory for why Robert Kraft (photo) and his New England Patriots came up short in their big game this past Sunday night.

Bnai Haman had publicly forecast the Patriots loss, even as the vast majority of sports commentators and odds makers were touting the Pats.

The group, which operates multiple web sites, is dedicated to reminding the world of the lessons to be learned by the speech on September 24, 2007 by Iranian Dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the campus of Columbia University. Bnai Haman strives to forewarn other universities (and sports teams) about the price to be paid for permitting dictators, terrorists and other villains to use democratic forums as a platform for promoting hate speech.

The Patriot's owner, Kraft, is an alumnus and board member emeritus of Columbia University. Shortly after the infamous Ahmadinejad speech, he announced a $5 million donation to the university's sports program.

"Karma is a very powerful thing," says Jed Christianson, a volunteer with Bnai Haman. "Many, many sports celebrities are superstitious about remaining on the good side of luck - something that the Patriots may have overlooked."

Prior to the Super Bowl, Bnai Haman awarded Kraft its "Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Acquiescence Award" in recognition of his recent contribution to Columbia.