Palin's Invite to U.N. Rally Is Rescinded
UNITED NATIONS — Governor Palin's invitation to an anti-Iran rally in front of the United Nations next week has been rescinded.
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty
Governor Sarah Palin waves to supporters at a campaign rally at the Pony Express Pavillion in Mills Park at Carson City, Nevada on September 13, 2008.
The organizers of the event, seeking to overcome the perception that the rally was becoming a political tool for the American candidates for president, announced yesterday afternoon that no "political personalities" would take part.
The rally, planned for Monday, gained prominence in the campaign after representatives from several Jewish organizations secured the participation of Mrs. Palin. Soon after the Republican vice presidential nominee's planned attendance was made public, Senator Clinton announced that she would pull out of the event, saying she had not been told it would be partisan, though several Democrats had planned to join her at the rally.
"Governor Palin was pleased to accept an invitation to address this rally and show her resolve on this grave national security issue," Mrs. Palin's running mate, Senator McCain, said in a statement. "Regrettably that invitation has since been withdrawn under pressure from Democratic partisans."
"We acknowledge and deeply appreciate those American political leaders who have been and remain prepared to stand with us as we collectively address the dangers of Iran's nuclear program and its support for terrorism globally," the six organizations organizing the event said in a statement. "In order to keep the focus on Iranian threats and to ensure that this critical message not be obscured, the organizers of the rally have decided not to have any American political personalities appear."
The bipartisan message of the rally "was completely obfuscated" by the political coverage, Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive director of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, one of the event's principal organizers, told The New York Sun.
Mr. Hoenlein said that even after Mrs. Clinton pulled out, a representative of the Obama campaign, Rep. Robert Wexler, a Democrat of Florida, was planning to participate. But because of the "feeding frenzy" surrounding the issue, he said, a decision was made to disinvite all of the American politicians. "We look forward to hearing Palin on another date," he added.
Among the speakers now scheduled to address the rally are the speaker of Israel's Knesset, Dalia Itzik, and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Elie Wiesel.
