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Iranians and Jews, War and Peace
23-Jan-2012
Why should the Iranian and Israeli people be on the verge of military confrontation? War between Israel and Iran could easily spill over into a regional conflagration that could have devastating consequences given the likely disruption to oil and gas production.
Do the Iranian people really want to go to war with the Jewish people? The answer is a resounding No! For thousands of years the Iranian and Jewish peoples have lived in peace, and continue to do so to this very day. There are 25,000 Jewish Iranians living and working in Iran without any persecution or worry.
The clerics in power in Iran only represent at most 10 percent of the Iranian people, and stay in power through manipulation of the electoral process. The fact that they happen to hold power is a temporary condition, and eventually the Iranian people will establish a true democratic system of government, and will do so through their own efforts, and without the interference of foreigners.
EVEN IF WE assume that there exists a secret program to build nuclear weapons in Iran, why should Israel be worried? The day Iran tests a nuclear warhead would be the day that the same principle of Mutually Assured Destruction that kept the peace between America and Soviet Russia would come into effect.
This is not a comforting thought, but it is the reality of a nuclear world. We all know that Israel has enough warheads to destroy every city in Iran, and has second-strike capability with its submarines. So why is preventive action on a half-finished enrichment facility based on 60-year-old technology so urgent?
What the Israeli people need to realise is that those in power in Iran become stronger and increase their grip on power when they can point to "enemies" and "threats." So why do you play their game and inadvertently help them?
The Israeli government must not make decisions based on fear and take pre-emptive action. They need to trust their ability to keep the peace through deterrence, and trust the Iranian people to bring about democracy through our own efforts.
We the Iranian people have lived in peace with the Jewish people for thousands years and will continue to do so. Nobody should be allowed to destroy this tradition of peace, even those who misunderstand their own religious teachings.
In 2003, a secret offer was made to the Bush administration by the regime in Teheran that was mistakenly ignored. Contained in that offer was Iran's agreement to end its support of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and to work toward disarming Hizbullah.
Is that not an offer which should be of strong interest to the Israeli people? It's a closer reflection of the thinking of the Iranian people than what some Iranian officials shout.
If the Israeli people were able to look past the bluster, noise and insults, they would discover that the Iranian people have little interest in problems beyond our own borders. We would much prefer that the money being spent in southern Lebanon be spent in Iran, and you will hear this opinion expressed in almost every Teheran taxi you ride in.
ZIONISM is a problem for Israelis to solve, not Iranians. The injustices inflicted on the Palestinian people must be compensated for, as it is not right that Palestinians should pay for the injustices caused by Europeans.
Most Israelis know this, and most Israelis want to live in peaceful co-existence; the problem is to find the right way to do this that does not cause further injustice.
These are issues that Iranians have no business sticking their noses into, even if some clerics like to complicate matters by dragging in religious arguments.
Given their democratic system of government, the Israeli people have the power to make peace within their grasp, and they should use it. Making the mistake of thinking that peace can be achieved through military might or pre-emptive attack is one that will only cause more war.
My prediction is that any pre-emptive military action by Israel or America will result in a blowback effect which would be many magnitudes greater than the initial onslaught.
Attacking Iran would be the equivalent of 1,000 9/11s for the Iranian people.
An attack would also postpone democracy in Iran for decades, and would probably result in a military regime coming to power. And most likely that military regime would have very wide support from the Iranian people, much more so than the current regime.
Making a miscalculation based on fear simply because Israel has the ability to postpone a potential threat—that is not a real threat—is the issue all Israelis need to think hard about.
We have lived in peace with each other for thousands of years—there is no reason why this has to change, and I think most Iranians would agree with this.
Note to reader: This was originally published by the Jerusalem Post back in 2007 after I got into an angry email exchange with the editor due to some misinformation that was posted on their site. The arguement was settled when he agreed to post the above article without any changes. A Hebrew and Arabic version can be found at this link:
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| "We are children!" | - | Nov 12, 2012 |
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| Either you want war, or you want peace | 52 | Oct 26, 2012 |
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What crass emotional
by Simorgh5555 on Tue Jan 24, 2012 05:21 AM PSTWhat crass emotional language to compare an attack on the mullahs with 9/11. Iran already has endured a hundred times worse than 9/11 for the last thirty years of its existence. The killimg of thousands of innocent people during the early years of the establishment of the IR; the prison purges of 1988 leaving thousands dead and dumped in a mass grave; the war with Iraq which Khomeini perpetuated leaving millions of dead; the brutal killing rape and torture of hundreds of Iranians in 2009 by the Basij. Need I say more? The iran is already under occupation by a foreign power- it is called the anti-Iranian Islamic Republic pulled by its strings from Moscow and Beijing. Any attack on the IR will more likely be compared to the liberation of Paris or the Belsen concentration camp where millions of Iranians have been enslaved by a brutal oppressive theocracy that 'officially' kills 1 iranian every hour.
Please support military action by targeting the Basij and Sepah.
Mr. Alireza
by Artificial Intelligence on Tue Jan 24, 2012 04:57 AM PSTI was not talking about persecution of Jews by the bigoted IRI. I was talking about Iranian responsibility for what the IRI is and represents.
It's all about weapon sales.
by alimostofi on Tue Jan 24, 2012 04:29 AM PSTIt's all about weapon sales.
Ali Mostofi
//twitter.com/alimostofi
Islamist regime propagandist says Jews in IRI have it so good
by AMIR1973 on Tue Jan 24, 2012 04:23 AM PSTIt must be wonderful for Iranian Jews (and non-Jews) for that matter having to live under an Islamist theocracy which tells you what you can and can't wear, with whom you can or can't associate, whose hands you can and can't hold, etc. To have Basiji and other regime thugs on university campuses harassing and intimidating students and professors. To have Neo-Nazis and former KKK Grand Wizards invited to Tehran for a Holocaust denial conference, etc, etc.
BTW, for all the hardships and miseries of Gaza (which I don't underestimate), what does it say about the IRI that Gaza has a longer life expectancy and infant mortality than the IRI, despite the fact that IRI has huge reserves of oil and natural gas?!?!
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_infant_mortality_rate
To Artificial Intelligence and G. Rahmanian:
by Mohammad Alireza on Mon Jan 23, 2012 09:52 PM PSTRahmanian:
Yes, you are right, maybe the title should have been Iranians and Israelis. The original title was "Letter from Iran: Don't pre-empt".
A.I.:
I live in Iran and know Iranian Jews and they are not persecuted as far as I can tell but I refer you to this article regarding Iranian Jews in Iran:
//www.counterpunch.org/2010/08/18/why-iran-s-...
Nuclear Iran has little to do with any military attack by IRI ….
by Bavafa on Mon Jan 23, 2012 09:32 PM PSTAnd lots to do with power sharing and preventing attacks on their existence, including harsh measure such as oil embargo.
Looking at it from Israeli perspective, it is natural that they would want to resist and prevent such power sharing. If you are the only big guy/bully on the block, why would you want to allow competition for yourself?!?! Is it fair for them to be the only powerhouse in the region, certainly not but when fairness had anything to do with politics and world governance.
So far it all seems IRI hard aim is gain this power sharing and there is little option is to prevent them. Short of a full scale attack and with boots on the ground, they may be able to delay it but doubtful to prevent it and they don’t have anyone but themselves to blame for. They proved it to the Mullah and the world as a whole that they will be safe (i.e. N. Korea and Pakistan) if they have the bomb otherwise their existence is at the mercy of the West (i.e. Iraq, Libya and now Syria)
As Israelis are looking to protect this power monopoly/interest in ME, it is well within reason for IRI to try to protect its interest and gain the power in ME.
IRI is not any more warmonger or criminal than Israeli regime.
'Hambastegi' is the main key to victory
Mehrdad
This writer is ignorant
by I despise fascists and st... on Mon Jan 23, 2012 09:31 PM PSTHe displays his utter ignorance right in the beginning by saying: "There are 25,000 Jewish Iranians living and working in Iran without any persecution or worry."
Either he is knowingly telling a lie or he failed to learn the reality. The truth is that Iranian Jews do live in fear and are persecuted. The Iranian regime forbids Jews from to leave the country, to contact their family members in Israel, they are barred from holding several jobs, and often face baseless accusations. Several Iranian Jews have been murdered and excuted by the government since 1979.
Insulting Article!
by Artificial Intelligence on Mon Jan 23, 2012 08:02 PM PSTWhy? The Iranian people brought Khomeni and gang to power. They voted for the Islamic Republic and they are responsible for what is happening today. Why should the burden of IRI's wild policy towards its self-created enemies be on the "Jews" or "Israel"? If Iranians can not control the 10% of their population that is bringing all of these problems to the region, that is not a Jewish or Israeli problem. Its an Iranian problem. Iranians must live with the consequences which include a possible attack by countries that feel threatened. Iranians can not complain that Jews and Israel will support all possible actions to get rid of the menace that is the IRI: Iranians must get rid of the IRI
Additionally, the inference from this article is that Israel/Jews are the only threatened parties to the IRI or that Israel is the only active party against harsh measures towards the IRI?
1) What about IRI's Arab neighbors who have promissed to increase oil production in case of full sanctions on IRI oil to make up for the lost oil?
2) What about the EU that just voted for oil sanctions?
Are the Arabs Israelis or Jews?
Are the EU Israeli or Jews?
Perhaps AIPAC now controls EU & the Arab states as well?
This is typical Iranian behavior. Blame someone else.
I don't know who chose the titlle, but
by G. Rahmanian on Mon Jan 23, 2012 07:16 PM PSTthere are Iranian Jews, too. Maybe, it should have been, "IR & Israel!" Sorry for the hair-splitting!
Interesting arguments
by cvaughan59 on Mon Jan 23, 2012 06:56 PM PSTJ. C. Vaughan
You are probably right, but I would be interested to see what the $20 per gallon gasoline produced by a conflict would look and feel like. It would also be interesting to hear the US people squeal about it. They would not understand, but I would tell'em it was their own fault for what the CIA did way back in 1953.
For my own part, I care not for war. I only want to hear serious heartfelt apologies for the unspeakable injustice done to Ayaz and Mahmoud (murdered, Edalat Square, July 19, 2005, 10:00AM); Ali and Mokhtar (murdered, Shahid Bahonar Square, Gorgan, November 13, 2005); Makwan (murdered, Kermanshah prison, with broken arms, December 5, 2007, 05:00AM); Ateqeh (murdered, on the street in Neka city, August 19, 2004); you can add thousands of others to whom and for whom repentence is due, some of whom got to star in the very own "snuff" videos on YouTube!!!!
And to think the mullahs and IRGC and Basij dare to accuse Amrika of being the Greate Satan. It is not Amrika that behaves like Devil Worshiping, Child Murdering, Child Torturing, Child Raping, Human Sacrificing Satanists. And it is not Amrika that turned their back and betrayed God and their own people so they could sell out their own children and their own country to a dirty, deranged old man who thought he was God.
Do we really have to do this everyday?
by Faramarz on Mon Jan 23, 2012 06:25 PM PSTWho is making all the threats in the Persian Gulf? Who is shooting the missiles and threatening to stop the flow of oil? Who is chasing US Navy ships and interfering in the affairs of its neighbors?
Please bring up your legitimate concerns with Rahbar, Sepah and Basij, and please ask them to be nice to the Iranian people, especially the women and the young. We have already lost around a million people because of them and god knows how many are scattered around the world.
Please do your share. Thank you.