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Friday
August 17, 2001

Always a threat

Iran should be actively opposed to Israel not only because of the moral aspect of the issue, but also because it suits Iran's national interests ["Just wondering"].

Israel will always be a threat to Iran, even if there were no such things as Palestinians (as Golda Meir, the Israei Prime Minister, once claimed.) Why? Simple: Israel wishes to dominate and control the Mideast for its own interests. Why? Simple: Because the world is a competitive place, and all nations engage in competition. Israel is far worse: Israel has nuclear weapons, follows a messianic and racist expansionist policy, and has claims to "Greater Israel." Therefore, even if we totally ignore the Palestinians, Israel will be a threat to Iran.

Furthermore, Iran's national insterests will certainly not be served by allowing Israel and the pro-Israeli lobby to dictate Iran's policies, and force Iran to look the other way and acquiesce to Israel's blatant violations of every principle of international law and humanity. Iran should under no circumstance AT ALL set such a precedent. If they get their way today on the Palestinians, what's to stop them in the future when they make additional claims?

Also, from a moral standpoint, Iran should oppose Israel. Israel claims it has a right to hold onto lands obtained by military conquest, and to drive out the inhabitants and replace them with settlers - blatant violations of international laws such as the Fourth Geneval Convention which ironically, was specifically drafted in response to similar actions by Nazi Germany. The parallels between Israel and Nazi Germany are frightening. Both claim racial/ethnic superiority of their "chosen people" to live in a region which has been "cleansed" of the people of the "wrong" race or ethnicity, both excused their expansionist policies by callng for "breathing room" for their settlements to "naturally expand", both attacked their neighbors while also claiming to be "preemptively defending" themselves, both legalized the torture and murder of people of the wrong race/ethnicity, both engaged in "population transfers" and both pushed people of the "wrong" race/ethnicity into ghettos.

Iran's support for the Palestinian right to a sovereign and independent nation and the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their own homes is totally in accordance with international law, the Geneva Conventions and the position of overwhelming majority of the other nations of the world. This fact is proven year after year, in vote after vote in the United Nations, where only the US and Israel and some US-backed small Latin American and Pacific Island nations attempt to block resolutions which tell the truth about the racism and illegal actions of Israel. Of course, Israel dismisses this as merely a world-wide anti-semitic conspiracy.

So, Iran's position on Israel is not only in the interests of Iran, it is also the moral thing to do. Whether the IRI attempts to use this for propaganda reasons or not makes to difference to these facts. In fact, not even the Shah would have allowed Iran to become subservient to Israel.

Israel is a country which has legalized torture, ethnic cleansing in the name of God, and the racial/ethnic/religious superiority of one people over another, which at the same time claiming to be a democracy. Israel is an apartheid state. Iran did not have relations with the apartheid regime in South Africa, and should do everything it can to oppose Israel. Iranians who complain about the human rights violations of Iranian dissidents should not forget that human rights are not limited by borders. If Iran does not come to the aid of the Palestinians, then who will come to our aid when the Israelis come for us next?

John Mohammadi

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