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Bnai Haman Plans Costume Purim Carnival Marking Ahmadinejad Speech...

eech 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."

New York, NY February 20, 2008 -- 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 advisor 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.

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.leebollinger-bnaihaman.com.

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