Last year, and the year before that, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was invited to speak at Columbia University after speaking at the UN's General Assembly. But this year, for some reason, he didn't receive a third invitation. Maybe it was something he said last year; denying Iran had homosexuals or that they were mistreated - not politically correct for a politically correct school.

Or maybe some Columbia people were upset at rumors that he fixed the Iranian election to get himself easily and overwhelmingly re elected while brutally smashing the opposition who protested. But you would think someone at Columbia would invite him again this year anyway to give him a chance to explain himself. Something about free speech and all that. After all, that was Columbia's holy explanation for the two successive invitations to Ahmadinejad despite ranting at both the UN and Columbia forums that the Shoah (Holocaust) never occurred, that Israel should be destroyed. So yeah, it must have been his denial of homosexuals in Iran and his violent election reaction; after all free speech has its limits. Holocaust denial and eliminating Israel isn't that serious.

So why, in the name of free speech--or something--didn't Columbia invite Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to speak while he was in town to deliver what turned out to be a powerful talk to the UN General Assembly? Well, they didn't. Not to worry, New York's 92nd Street Y (Young Mens Hebrew Association) did.

So here is another opportunity to hear Netanyahu, without the constraints of the UN plus Elie Weisal, who introduced him. (Plus other long introductions but be patient, Netanyahu's speech is well worth the wait.)

Ah, truth.