(JTA) — During street theater performances protesting Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, the Iran180 coalition arrested an effigy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Iran180 is a diverse group of organizations demanding that the Iranian government do a “180-degree turn” in its pursuit of nuclear weapons and treatment of its citizens. It protested on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day, in New York’s Times Square and opposite the United Nations.
The satirical scenes included Ahmadinejad bringing “Nuclear Winter to New York” and offering yellow cake, representing his weapons program.
The street performances also were designed to draw the attention of members of the U.N. General Assembly, which will be conducting a vote on Dec. 20 to single out Iran for its human rights abuses. Iran180 is circulating a petition at www.iran180.org to encourage people to voice their outrage and encourage all member states to vote yes and condemn Iran.
“We’re proud to be spearheading a campaign that offers a creative and effective approach to get more people acknowledging the threat posed by the regime in Iran,” said Michael Miller, executive vice president of the JCRC. “While much of Iran180’s programming is more conventional and cerebral, we do believe the time has also come to ‘think different’ and entertain as we inform.”
“This is not just a Jewish issue," he added. "Iran180 demonstrates that a broad cross-section of Americans are similarly alarmed by the Iranian regime.”
In Tel Aviv on the same day, some 10,000 Jewish and Arab demonstrators from 120 Israeli rights groups and NGOs marched in Tel Aviv for the second annual Human Rights March.
