On the eve of the opening of the general debate of the 2014 United Nations General Assembly, New York political and community leaders gathered at a press conference to call on world leaders to confront the widespread rise of terrorism in the Middle East by both terrorist organizations and state sponsors of terror, most notably Iran.

With Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the sole representative of these terror groups, at the UNGA, assembled officials demanded that the United Nations fulfill its mission and protect citizens everywhere against the grave threats posed by these violent organizations and regimes that have no respect for basic human rights.

Over the past several months, the combined threat from terror groups and state sponsors of terror across the region has generated an enormous human rights crisis and prevented any attempt at creating democratic opportunities for millions of innocent people. ISIS’s rapid expansion and brutal acts of violence are a global threat and promise to destabilize any peaceful progress in the region’s most war-torn countries. Hamas demonstrated brazen willingness to carry out terror attacks against Israel through the use of underground tunnels and rocket attacks using schools, civilians and children as shields. The al-Nusra Front engages in kidnapping of Christians and U.N. peacekeepers to further its goals. Hezbollah continues to undermine the stability of Lebanon, while simultaneously waging war inside Syria in support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. And Iran, the preeminent state sponsor of terror, has publicly flaunted its wide-ranging support for Hamas and Hezbollah, increased its employment of executions and harsh prison sentences for political prisoners, and has taken no real steps to curb its nuclear ambitions or abide by international monitoring deadlines.

Speakers included:

Congressmember Jerrold Nadler
Congressmember Carolyn Maloney
Congressmember Hakeem Jeffries
NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer
Assemblymember David Weprin
New York City Councilmember Mark Levine
Rev. Jacques DeGraff, Co-Chair, Iran180
Elizabeth Velez, Co-Chair, Iran180
Linda Mirels, Chair of the Board, UJA-Federation of New York
Michael S. Miller, Executive Vice President and CEO, JCRC-NY

Print-Media coverage included:

Demotix, NY Blueprint and NY Observer.

Radio coverage included:

WCBS 880: Link