Diplomats have walked out of a speech by the Iranian president at a UN anti-racism conference after he described Israel as a "racist government".
Two protesters, wearing coloured wigs, briefly disrupted the beginning of the speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but he continued speaking.
Shortly afterwards a stream of Western delegates walked out when he attacked the creation of the state of Israel.
France, which had warned of a walkout, described it as "hate speech".
Some of those who stayed clapped as Mr Ahmadinejad continued his speech.
The walkout is a public relations disaster for the United Nations, which had hoped the conference would be a shining example of what the UN is supposed to do best - uniting to combat injustice in the world, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva.
Mr Ahmadinejad, the only major leader to attend the conference, said Jewish migrants from Europe and the United States had been sent to the Middle East after World War II "in order to establish a racist government in the occupied Palestine".
It looks like he just can't get over it.
Originally posted by generalissimoThe truth hurts.
Diplomats have walked out of a speech by the Iranian president at a UN anti-racism conference after he described Israel as a "racist government".
Two protesters, wearing coloured wigs, briefly disrupted the beginning of the speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but he continued speaking.
Shortly afterwards a stream of Western delegate ...[text shortened]... acist government in the occupied Palestine".
It looks like he just can't get over it.
Originally posted by generalissimoI know it's confusing to simple minded right wingers, but opposing the creation of a Zionist state in Palestine doesn't equate to anti-semitism. And falsely claiming it does doesn't make it so no matter how many times that particular lie is repeated.
I know, it must be painful for you to know about Iran's antisemitism and yet ignore it.
