This afternoon, I went to a protest in front of the Iranian Mission in New York City. The protest also recognized the 67th anniversary of the first major Nazi anti-Semitic pogrom, Kristallnacht. The message was: Given the evidence of past history, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s repeated threat to "wipe Israel off the map" should be taken seriously.

Elie Wiesel spoke, as did

..former U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke. Both repeated the idea that when a political leader talks about extermination, they mean it.

Christian leaders spoke, including one nun. When she introduced herself and said that she was in favor of 'peace and justice' I rolled my eyes. She then went on to give a completely even-handed description of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, describing Palestinian complicity in their own suffering as well as honestly stating that there will not be peace until the Arab/Muslim nations are willing to end their war with Israel and acknowledge the right of Israel to exist. That was a nice surprise.

Muslim leaders also spoke, including one representative from Turkey. Since Turkey has often supported Israel, Turkey was also threatened by Ahmadinejad's remarks. One speaker said that Ahmadinejad had accomplished one positive thing: he'd got Christians, Muslims and Jews to agree about something - we all opposed Ahmadinejad.

There were many representatives from the press. People in surrounding offices often peered out to see what was going on.

Despite the drizzly weather, a fair-sized crowd showed up.

This evening, congregants from New York synagogues, local day schools, university students and survivors’ groups are planning to gather at the Iranian Mission to the UN, on 622 Third Avenue at 40th Street, to remember Kristallnacht.