Palin disinvited from Iran rally

By · September 18, 2008

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Sarah Palin was disinvited from the Jewish-sponsored anti-Iran rally.

The move follows two days of controversy for organizers of next Monday’s rally to protest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations.

The controversy erupted after JTA reported that Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, had accepted an invitation from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations to speak at the event. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), who had accepted a similar invitation several weeks earlier, announced she was withdrawing from the event.

A Clinton spokesperson said the senator was concerned the rally had become “a partisan political event.”

Republicans responded by slamming Clinton for putting partisanship above the effort to stop Iran by pulling out of the rally. Palin “believes that the danger of a nuclear Iran is greater than party or politics,” Palin spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said.

The National Jewish Democratic Council defended Clinton’s decision not to attend and called for Palin to be disinvited so as to preserve the nonpartisan nature of the effort to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

On Thursday afternoon, the Conference of Presidents held a conference call for organizers of the rally at which the decision was made to limit participation in the rally to unelected officials.

Organizers put out a statement on Thursday afternoon saying, “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.”