Canadian Jewish leaders, however, are dismayed the meeting with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took place at all.

“For respectable churches and organizations to accord him any kind of dignified reception is an insult to the people he threatens — the Jewish people,” said B’nai Brith executive vice president Frank Dimant, who planned a letter of protest to the CCC. B’nai Brith is a Jewish humanitarian and human rights organization.

“We should have all believed Hitler when he made his threats,” Dimant said. “Regrettably there were naïve people at that time as well who thought that through dialogue and concessions we can solve the issues of the day.”

Organized by the Mennonite Central Committee, the two-hour meeting Sept. 26 in New York City drew more than 100 church leaders from a range of denominations. Hamilton, a United Church minister, participated on a five-person panel that questioned the Iranian president on a range of topics from human rights, to nuclear weapons to social justice. In an interview, she described the meeting as a “step forward in hope.” The CCC represents 20 churches, including the Catholic Church.

“The saber rattling that has been going on has not been helping,” she said. “It is time to try something else.”

She expected debate to arise over the meeting. Though Jewish leaders were invited, none attended.

Canadian Jewish Congress chief executive officer Bernie Farber applauded Hamilton’s courage in confronting Ahmadinejad, but described the meeting as “an error in judgment.”

“We are dealing with a person who is a Holocaust denier, a person who has exhibited strains of anti-Semitism not seen in world leaders in decades,” said Farber.

Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) Canada national secretary Carl Hétu said he condemned Ahmadinejad’s anti-Jewish and anti-Israel remarks and he understands why Jewish leaders would refuse to meet with him.

Hétu said, however, the West must be careful not to demonize the Iranian president. To do so, “helps rally people to his cause.” If the Iranian president is treated as evil, Muslims throughout the Middle East will hear from their own media that West sees all Muslims as evil, he said. CNEWA, a papal relief organization, provides humanitarian assistance throughout the Middle East.

Farber disagrees. Many in Iran see their president as a “buffoon.” Having this “buffoon” meet with eminent church leaders, allowing him to “opine on issues,” gives him credibility.

Hétu said Ahmadinejad’s anti-Israel rhetoric is part of his strategy to position Iran in a major power struggle between Shiites and Sunnis in the Middle East, a conflict that could erupt into a regional civil war. Ahmadinejad is exploiting the fact the United States is looking for a way out of Iraq. Iran will try to occupy the vacuum left when the Americans leave.

“He couldn’t care less about what we think here,” he said. “All he cares about is Iranian Shiites better positioning themselves politically, socially and economically.”

Hétu thinks dialogue could persuade Ahmadinejad to find more peaceful means to achieve his political and economic goals. Meeting with him reflects “basic Christian values of talking, reaching out.” But he agrees that one must not be “naïve.”

Hétu said Iran is not strong enough to be a military threat to Israel, noting that the country fought Iraq for eight years but did not win. Hundreds of thousands of young Iranians, armed only with their faith, died in that conflict. The Iranian people want prosperity for their country, not war. He said Iran’s power cannot be compared with Nazi Germany’s.

Though no military power in the Middle East can compete with Israel, Hétu admitted that could change if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon. “Yes, we have to be worried if Iran becomes too powerful.”