"I am shocked and appalled that Congressman Gary Ackerman called Prime Minister Netanyahu an assassin," stated Grant Lally, Republican candidate for Congress in New York's Fifth Congressional District. "Ackerman's radical and reckless language of division and hate do not belong in civilized political discourse."

Lally was referring to Ackerman's quote on the election of Prime Minister Netanyahu in The Record (Northern New Jersey), on June 11, 1996, where he said, "People are saying the assassins have won, which of course they have."

"Ackerman slanders Benjamin Netanyahu, and now he's attempting to meet with him anyway," Lally continued. "Will Ackerman call Netanyahu an 'assassin' to his face, like he has done behind his back?"

"Ackerman's reckless and inflammatory language is outrageous," Lally continued. "On issues regarding Israel and the Jewish community, Ackerman demagogues because he feels that no one will ever challenge what he says. In the past Ackerman has slandered me and the Republican Party with obscene racial and religious accusations, and now he is attacking the Prime Minister of Israel. Ackerman is a radical, and there is no room for radicals when we are trying to bring people together."

"Ackerman's derogatory statements should not reflect on the district that he has failed to represent," Lally continued. "I demand that Ackerman apologize to the Prime Minister, telling Mr. Netanyahu that his views do not reflect the views of his constituents."

"Just when you think Ackerman cannot get more extreme, he calls Prime Minister Netanyahu an 'assassin,'" Lally continued. "Gary Ackerman is a disgrace."