Anywhere but Israel, Please...
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Anywhere but Israel, Please...
29-Dec-2007
I don't blame them. I would NEVER want to live in a Nazi State of Israel. Good that many westerners agree: Jerusalem & Babylon / Despite benefits, few Iranian Jews want to live here
By Anshel Pfeffer
It should have been a fantastic public relations coup for the Jewish Agency. Dozens of reporters, photographers and camera crews were on hand to chronicle their latest operation, easily outnumbering the 40 new immigrants from Iran and the family members awaiting them.
So eager were the assembled forces of the media for this story that no one was even thinking of arguing with the censorship over the restrictions, don't show their faces, no full names and all details about their route from Persia to Zion to be left out. And still, for at least one senior agency official, this was a hollow victory. When it was all over, and the Iranians were being bundled off to the buses about to take them to an absorption center in Be'er Sheva, he smiled bitterly and said, "we offered them everything possible and still we got such a pitiful number."
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The official press release, of course, told a different story. "Immigration from Iran tripled this year," was the message, statistically correct, since in 2006 only 65 arrived and this year we're up to a couple of hundred. But how can that compare to the estimated 28,000 Jews still living in Iran? It would be more accurate to say that over 99 percent of Persian Jews still prefer to remain under the rule of the Ayatollahs and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than to come to live in the democratic Jewish homeland.
Surprisingly enough, there are few real restrictions on immigration from Iran. It's relatively simple, traveling through a third country. And to make it even easier, the agency pays for potential Iranian immigrants to come to Israel and see it for themselves before taking the plunge.
If that's not enough, three foundations stumped up enough money to give each $10,000. Which means that, together with the absorption basket of government benefits given to all new immigrants, a family of six can arrive here from Iran with a sizable sum to start off their new lives. So why aren't they coming?
The answers you hear vary. There's the financial aspect of course. Most of the Jews living in Iran are middle-class, shopowners and businessmen, with relatively comfortable and stable lives. But those who choose to leave have trouble selling their property and, even if they succeed, the weakness of the Rial means that even those who are wealthy manage to leave with less than $50,000. Their chances of reaching a similar level of affluence in Israel are low.
Not that life in the Islamic Republic is a picnic for anyone, especially not Jews. Jewish schools are forbidden, teaching Hebrew is prohibited, Jewish women are subjected to the same draconian modesty laws forced on their Muslim counterparts, while Jewish conscripts to the army are routinely humiliated and trusted only with lowly, menial tasks. Persecution is usually low-key.
Yes, they do live under the fear of reprisals and pogroms, but what we so easily forget is that this is one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, existing for almost three millennia, since the time of the First Temple. Khomeini's revolution took place only 28 years ago, and there is always the hope that things might get better in the next few years. The older generation still have very clear memories of the time when 100,000 Jews lived under the rather benign despotism of the Shah.
The prospect of good times just around the corner is enough for most of them to prefer the current precarious situation to a journey into the unknown.
Besides, all these years of incessant virulent anti-Israel propaganda have taken their toll, even on the Jews; they might not see the state as the "little Satan" (the U.S. is, of course, the "big Satan"), but they still view Israel with a great degree of suspicion.
The dirty secret is, that, given the choice, many of those prepared to consider leaving wouldn't come to Israel since the thriving Iranian community in Los Angeles is much more attractive. Dozens of Iranian Jews are currently waiting in Vienna for green cards, or better than that, official UN refugee status, allowing them to live wherever they wish in the West.
It might seem crazy to us, their living like this, on the edge of a volcano about to explode. With the imminent threat of military confrontation with the U.S. or Israel, perhaps even a nuclear war, the situation is reminiscent of the Jews of Germany in the 1930s, but to Iran's Jews, Israel seems just as much a dangerous war zone, if not more so. And who can blame them?
Our incredulity over the willingness of the Jews of Iran to remain there has no place, as it is Israel that seems to be losing its appeal to the Jews. Of an estimated 7 or 8 million Jews living outside Israel, only about a quarter of a percent immigrated in 2007.
Jews still remain a mobile nation, but chances are that if they're planning a move, it will be to another Diaspora outpost.
The vast majority of Jews who left South Africa in the 13 years since the African National Congress came to power hopped over to Australia, one of the few major communities growing in the last decade.
Predictions of a major wave of immigration from France, in the wake of Islamist anti-Semitism, have largely failed to materialize. So actually, the Iranians have a higher proportion of immigration to Israel than most Diaspora communities.
There isn't one clear reason. Immigration figures are going down despite a thriving Israeli economy which has never been stronger. And it's pointless blaming the Second Lebanon War, as the downward trend started long before it broke out.
Practically, the only country from which immigration is still strong is Ethiopia, where the Falashmura are fighting the government's decision to stop bringing them in six months. Almost all Jews in just about every country outside the third-world seem to think that life in the Promised Land is simply too difficult to contemplate seriously. Israel's real image problem is not with the international media, but with the world's Jews, who just seem to prefer loving it from afar.
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Shame on you Rosie
by Zion (not verified) on Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:00 AM PSTI feel more sad and sorry to read your comments than I do for this pathetic gang of ignoramus anti-semitic bunch who gather around throwing islamo-fascistic and good old Nazi around, Rosie.
Some Israeli attitudes correspond to Nazi actions?! What the heck are you talking about? The protection fence is the same as Nazi ghettos? Since when?
what is the basis of such comparisons? Did Jews in germany and Poland started blowing themselves up in markets and streetcars because they wanted to eradicate Germany from the map and replace it with Judea?!
What nonsense is this?!
If you are a truly Jewish, have some shame! Repeating the same anti-semitic garbage to a bunch of losers already prone to such diseases is something you should be truly ashamed of. It is the likes of you who propagate this nonsense for these losers to pick up on and find yet another excuse to end their worthless lives and taking many worthy people with them.
You see how they reward you for your sick "concessions".
Won't you people ever learn?!
Israeli Love Dance (Pathocracy: DISEASE)
by Exhale (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 11:35 PM PST//www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N6Z_IhzBak&feature...
Re: Kourosh Sassanian That was your curse.......
by East (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 11:28 PM PSTWhat was that? That was CURSE or ADVERTISEMENT?
It wasn't same you CURSED and DISRESPECT Muslims and their Holy book.I WAS SURE YOU CAN'T DO IT,COWARD.You DON'T EVEN DARE to say anything AGAINST Jews and Christians in this "OPEN SOCIETY".
You are just BRAVE BEHIND WEST and say anything Against only Muslims.WE all remember what happened to "Mel Gibson" after the movie he directed and played in,or "Madonna" after she sang "Like a virgin"song..
You DIDN'T learn in this"open society " how to be respectful,Because American and European do.
Beside that I'm not Seyeed or religious person at all.Modern People in modern society should respect the religion of majority of Iranian,they didn't become Muslim in past 30 years,they are practicing Islam for centuries.
Another thing you MUST learn(KNOWLEDGE):like the Muslims who have"Haram and Halal," the Jewish have "KOSHER and not KOSHER".
Next time when you want to write something consider this, East and Muslim are not only people on earth worried about "Haram or Halal,"Jewish people Consider about the things they eat,being "Kosher".
You can't point your finger only on Muslims,Yes, Jesus wasn't murderer SO Muhammad and Moses.But people killed by people because of their beliefs,like Serb(Christian) did In Bosnia,Hitler(Christian) did to Jewish or things happening in middle east,in world war II near 10,000,000 Muslim killed in Russia.
The article you wrote it wasn't even curse,we still waiting.BE BRAVE WRITE REAL CURSE.
And beside all of these" Don't Kiss the Jews asses."
Why are we talking about this so much?
by AnonymousIrani (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:42 PM PSTCheraghi keh be khaaneh ravaast beh masjed haraam ast.
.
We should hold on to our pants that are now dropping for 29 years before we get in the middle of a fight that has nothing to do with us (at least not yet).
.
Ey irani: to toomoonetaa negahdaar keh nayofteh.
.
Mageh to sare piyaazi yaa tahe piyaaz keh dar kaare digaran dekhalat mikoni?
.
You are falling into the trap of distraction that IRI has set up for you. They distract you so that they can oppress and rob iranians.
.
Do you care as much for the far-exceeding atrocities of IRI against iranians?
.
Do you care as much about far-exceeding atrocities of saddam and his unanimous arab supporters (including yaaser arafaat the thief) against iranians?
.
Do you care as much about far-exceeding atrocities of arabs against blacks in darfur?
.
Do you know that the very rich arab countries have been equally ruthless towards felestinis? They are still living in awful conditions in arab countries and often have no permit to work. Do you criticize the corrupt saudis as much?
.
First thing first, let's solve our own problems first, i.e., IRI disaster, then put our nose where it does not belong.
.
Dear LLOVErrr,
by Rosie T. on Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:30 PM PSTThank you so much for your celebration of Jewish womanhood in pictures and in song. I feel so much less najes now...I can't begin to tell you...I feel as pure...as Paakistaan in flames...the flames that purify...this thread has been good...for my soul..
Do not make War , Try Make Love, Peace
by LOVErrr (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 09:50 PM PSTHey You should not fight over nothing!
let We'll listen to song;
you might your feel get better or worse.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JkHICw-kLk
or might try this one too same time.
כאלה כוסיות רק בישראל!
Israeli sexys girls!
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BcMof_kwNk
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgVjpDmTm_E
Persian Gift
by Immortal Guard (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 09:26 PM PSTHi:
The Jews in Israel should consider the peace they enjoy with their Arab neighbours Egypt and Jordan as Persian gifts amongst so many others they have received in the past!
Hopefully we Persians will one day be able to bring the Jews in Israel peace with the Palestinians, Lebanese and Syrians even if it is at the cost of being more demonized publicly.
Then afterall we Persians are a noble people.
You need to put your house in order . . .
by Anonymous566 (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 09:20 PM PSTHow many thousands of people have been killed by the IRI? Get your pants in a bunch about the IR, before you critize the Israelis!
Stick to facts....
by Factseeker (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 08:50 PM PSTDon't fight over race, nationality, or religion. Stick to the facts. Israel is a neocolonial creation. It has been nothing but a source of wars, apartheid, and state-sponsored terrorism. The idea of gathering a group of people from all over the world (whoever those people may be) and settling them using military force in a land inhabited for many many generations by the palestinians can never be justified and will not work.
Look at Israel today with all its unresolvable problems. Even demographically, as Israeli experts have said, Israel is unsustainable. Israel has no choice but to continue its policy of occupation, murder, and daily killings of palestinian children and youth if it wants to survive. That is why its actions remind us of the Nazis. Israel is in a deep hole digged by its founders. Peace is anathema to its existence while war cannot sustain its survival. A big dilemma, that is what Israel is.
ISRAEL IS NO ONES FRIEND
by Anonymous+/- (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 08:39 PM PSTYes think about Iran first...
ISRAEL is calculating how far can they get by bombing Iran ...
MAKE peace and you do not have to worry about Arabs,
Iranians (Perians), or even Iranian Jews ...
........................................
It is all about 1) Land and 2) Oil.
Middle-East has it, Israel want it.
The rest is smoke screen.
Ben-Gurion and the rest of the Jackals traveled miles and miles from Poland and other places to Palestine to get the land. Put your self in his shoe; When he first landed in Palestine, what did he see? He saw a dusty plane and some simple Palestinian shepherds. Like a predator in African Savanna would see it’s pray!
It has been around 60 years since and there have been a lot of dead and displaced Palestinians.
But take a moment to think about the level of despair that drives the Jackals to leave there long lived countries, homes and neighbors for that dusty land …?
Think what mental prerequisite would enable the Jackals to justify the ethnic cleansing that followed. In another words, they had to think of Palestinians as dirty subhuman to do … what is being done.
By the way, some of the early arrivals who came under cover of the night would disguise as “children of Iran” or “children of Tehran” to sneak their way in …. (Like some people on this web site!)
Any way, for those who are interested, here is a point to ponder:
Q. What did (and do) the Jackals trade in return for support of the land grab?
I do not have to make the case for Palestine, the case already have been made in the court of public opinion and no matter how much you say “Islam_o_X” it will not change the facts.
The world is moving forward! The recent events in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria have helped to put it in focus. There is a universal awareness and with it, I hope a global response to Israel’s expansionist policies.
I will quote some excerpts from “Kathleen Christison” who sys it more eloquently than I do:
Kathleen Christison
Former CIA political analyst and has worked on Middle East issues for 30 years.
Words fail; ordinary terms are inadequate to describe the horrors Israel daily perpetrates, and has perpetrated for years, against the Palestinians. The tragedy of Gaza has been described a hundred times over, as have the tragedies of 1948, of Qibya, of Sabra and Shatila, of Jenin -- 60 years of atrocity perpetrated in the name of Judaism. But the horror generally falls on deaf ears in most of Israel, in the U.S. political arena, in the mainstream U.S. media. Those who are horrified -- and there are many -- cannot penetrate the shield of impassivity that protects the political and media elite in Israel, even more so in the U.S., and increasingly now in Canada and Europe, from seeing, from caring.
But it needs to be said now, loudly ….. to recognize that we stain ourselves morally by continuing to sit by while Israel carries out its atrocities against the Palestinians.
A nation that mandates the primacy of one ethnicity or religion over all others will eventually become psychologically dysfunctional. Narcissistically obsessed with its own image, it must strive to maintain its racial superiority at all costs and will inevitably come to view any resistance to this imagined superiority as an existential threat. Indeed, any other people automatically becomes an existential threat simply by virtue of its own existence. As it seeks to protect itself against phantom threats, the racist state becomes increasingly paranoid, its society closed and insular, intellectually limited. Setbacks enrage it; humiliations madden it. The state lashes out in a crazed effort, lacking any sense of proportion, to reassure itself of its strength.
The pattern played out in Nazi Germany as it sought to maintain a mythical Aryan superiority. It is playing out now in Israel. “This society no longer recognizes any boundaries, geographical or moral,” wrote Israeli intellectual and anti-Zionist activist Michel Warschawski in his 2004 book Towards an Open Tomb: The Crisis of Israeli Society. Israel knows no limits and is lashing out as it finds that its attempt to beat the Palestinians into submission and swallow Palestine whole is being thwarted by a resilient, dignified Palestinian people who refuse to submit quietly and give up resisting Israel’s arrogance.
We in the United States have become inured to tragedy inflicted by Israel …..…. a military establishment that drops a 500-pound bomb on a residential apartment building in the middle of the night and kills 14 sleeping civilians, as happened in Gaza four years ago, is not a military that operates by civilized rules.
A military establishment that drops a 500-pound bomb on a house in the middle of the night and kills a man and his wife and seven of their children, as happened in Gaza four days ago, is not the military of a moral country.
A society that can brush off as unimportant an army officer’s brutal murder of a 13-year-old girl on the claim that she threatened soldiers at a military post -- one of nearly 700 Palestinian children murdered by Israelis since the intifada began -- is not a society with a conscience.
A government that imprisons a 15-year-old girl -- one of several hundred children in Israeli detention -- for the crime of pushing and running away from a male soldier trying to do a body search as she entered a mosque is not a government with any moral bearings. (This story, not the kind that ever appears in the U.S. media, was reported in the London Sunday Times. The girl was shot three times as she ran away and was convicted to 18 months in prison after she came out of a coma.)
Critics of Israel note increasingly that Israel is self-destructing, nearing a catastrophe of its own making. Israeli journalist Gideon Levy talks of a society in “moral collapse.”
Michel Warschawski writes of an “Israeli madness” and “insane brutality,” a “putrefaction” of civilized society, that have set Israel on a suicidal course. He foresees the end of the Zionist enterprise; Israel is a “gang of hoodlums,” he says, a state “that makes a mockery of legality and of civil morality. A state run in contempt of justice loses the strength to survive.”
As Warschawski notes bitterly, Israel no longer knows any moral boundaries -- if it ever did. Those who continue to support Israel, who make excuses for it as it descends into corruption, have lost their moral compass.
"Rosie" Khanom
by Haj Mand Ali Shabestari (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 08:34 PM PST"Najes" Chiye' :) This kind of "Kose Sher" is by "Stupid" people.
+-
I think you are a very "Intelligent" Woman. To be honest with you, if I were not married, I would definitely ask you to go out with me :)
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It is very "Heif" that you are not a "Muslim" Woman. If you were, I could even consider "Sigheh".
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I Know that such Statements are "Old fashioned", but believe me it is usually taken as a "Compliment" :)
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Finally, your Photo is Very Nice Too :) !!
Bijanam...
by Setiz (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 08:31 PM PSTI am very sorry for your bad experiences. It is amazing that I lived close to so many jews in iran and never saw anything like your experience. I even had a lot of jewish friends but we never discussed religion and customs. I think what you saw were mostly childish stuff, and what you see today is mostly due to unconscious success of political propaganda machine of IRI. Unfortunately west also contributes to that.
RE: Bijanam
by Daryush on Sun Dec 30, 2007 08:30 PM PSTdear friend, you are mistaking the issues here. First of all you are very misguided. Think it this way. If you say you don't agree or hate the Islamic Republic of Iran, I don't claim that you are hating Iranians or Moslims, right? The Zionists have put this stupid idea in the head of misguided people, such as yours to think that if anyone says anything against your "loved" government and the zionist state, then they are hateful to the Jews. Check your facts about Israel and be more careful before you jump in to conclusions. I am sorry that you had bad experience in Iran, but that doesn't give you right to do anything you wish to the completely innocent people. People that your Zionist regime has killed, is killing and plans to kill. As we say in Persian "guz beh shaghighe che marbut". My points are not anti semite. At this point, if you had experiences as a minority in Iran, you SHOULD actually be more human towards the suffering of your kinds (not religion) rather than blindly support Nazi regime of Israel.
Khad barsaretoun
by kouroush Sassanian (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 08:24 PM PSTIsreal should not have bombed the nuclear reacter in Baghdad, so Saddam could have nuked your asses! Ahmagha who is your enemy, Arabs or Isreal!
How many times have the jews invaded persians land and violated your famalies, your culture, your language?
Bayad shashed be on Quoranetoun or mullahtoun!
Think about Iran First
by yek Doctor (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 07:42 PM PSTAs far as I am concerned Iranians have suffered the most from Arabs than any other invaders. We were God fearing people before Arabs invaded Iran 1400 years ago and again in 1979. Arabs claim that Persians(Iranians) were worshiping the sun so they showed us that there is a God. Look at their culture and customs even now and the way they treat their women,what a disgrace to humanity. I am a moslem but I think religion is something you inherit,but I am an Iranian first. Let's think about how to rescue our country and clean her off of Islamic fanaticism .
Distraction.
by Setiz (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 07:33 PM PSTi don't think iranians are anti-Semite. iranians have some historical grievances against arabs based on their cultural domination of iran for so long. A lot of iranians do not like that cultural domination (some like it though, mainly based on religious ground, see Maleknasri's comments), and like to get back their unique iranian identity.
Otherwise: I love all of iran, therefore I love everything iranian, therefore i love her jews and christians, i love her kurds and baluchies, i love her azaris and gilanis, i love her chelokabob and ghormesabzi, and i love her poetry and music. All in all make up iran, and can either florish together, or disappear en mass.
P.S. Rosie joon, you are not nejes, I am issuing a fatwa that from this moment on you are 100% kosher and paak (opposite of nejes), specially inside!
To misguided Mr. Daryush and his supporters
by Bijanam (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 07:18 PM PSTWith all due respects, as an Iranian Jew I find your write-up offensive and your intent in posting it as anti-Semitic and hateful. I feel justified in my assessment because as a proud Iranian I lived the life of a Jew in Iran and immigrated out of my homeland even before its takeover by the mullahs. I also consider myself a typical Iranian Jew, if anything; I probably had less reason to immigrate than many others. What I express here are not quotes from some racist writers or individuals (like you do), but rather speaking from my own experiences during 20+ years that I grew up in Tehran.
Mr. Daryush, I can see your face in the boy who lived in our alley (koocheh) that would harass me every time he saw me. Calling me "Bad joohood", "Najes".
Mr. Daryush, I see you as the boy who threw stone at windows of the synagogue we went to during Yom Kippur. I remember being advised by the elders to go home in groups to reduce the chance of being attacked by you and your friends.
Mr. Daryush, It was you who asked me why would Jews put the blood of Muslims in their "fatir" (the unleavened bread for Passover). You asked that because they had made you believe that.
You wouldn't shake my hand if you find out I am a Jew because you believed Jews are not clean (they are najes).
I bet you don't have "Muslim" as part of your name. But I have Jew (Kalimi) as part of my name. The same way that Nazis tagged Jews on their outfits.
Yes, I am still proud of my heritage as an Iranian but refuse to be a second class citizen or always live in fear of harassment and prejudice. Don't get me wrong, I don't carry any hatred towards Muslims. As a matter of fact I have been married to my Muslim wife for 40 years now. But, when I see someone like you misrepresents the fact it upsets me.
For you to suggest that the 25000 Jews in Iran are happy is a shameless lie. I have relatives (immediate and distant) who are looking for the first opportunity to get out.
It is not easy for everyone to start their lives from scratch in a different land with a different language. So, please stop spreading your baseless nonsense about Iranian Jews.
You have also raised existence of state of Israel in your post. With all your historical knowledge, could you please tell me who drew on the maps the boundaries of Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and pre-1948 Palestine? What makes state of Israel so illegitimate when it was approved by the United Nations? Why should they be wiped off the map? Are you suggesting they should not have the ability to defend themselves?
We have heard enough about Zionist brutality and all the other accusations about treatment of Palestinians. But, all of these are lame excuses for the condition that the Palestinian find themselves in. Why don’t they focus their resources and energy on constructive tasks rather than teaching hatred and martyrdom to their kids? How long did it take Japan after losing the war to the United State to rise to a position to bring US to its knees in innovation, education, economic achievements, and living standards?
Who do you think has been the main obstacle to peace in Middle East? I realize it is a very complex situation, but in my opinion Palestinians are the one who out of pride refuse to concede to some realities (as bitter as it may be). They should accept existence of Israel and her security as a reality and build their future plans around that fact.
Wiping Israel off the map is equivalent to wiping half, or maybe entire Middle East of the map plus millions and millions of lives.
So, Mr. Daryush let go of that hatred you have built in you for so long and think peace for a change.
Regards,
Dance..
by Rosie T. on Sun Dec 30, 2007 07:07 PM PSTWell here I am since some of you asked. Accept me as I am, najes and all... ;D
AnotherAnonymous is quite right, this discussion is far too complex as well as diffuse to expect to make a contribution that will really achieve much. But since several people have mentioned me, I'll just make some observations, having read through the whole thread:
1) I can't comment about the situation of Iranian Jews in Iran because I don't know much about it. I found the article interesting and informative, as well as the comments of posters challenging the credibility of the reasons it poses that Iranian Jews don't apply for immigration to Israel. And I'm in no position whatsoever to reach any definitive conclusions.
2) I found the article interesting but I found Daryush's introduction to it offensive. It is absolutely true that the Israeli treatment of Palestinians eerily mirrors CERTAIN Nazi practices, particularly the construction of the wall which re-creates a large "Warsaw Ghetto" out of Palestine. But this is due to a collective traumatization, and absolutely no progress can be made on the Israel/Palestine situation until/unless a language is found among the left which recognizes this fact. Both Israeli Jews and Palestinians are victims of the 20th century, an explosion of the most violent horrific forces in history unleashed through the power of the technologies evolved in these five thousand years of patriarchal "civilization." And it is Europe that was ultimately responsible for the tragedy in Israel/Palestine today. It is a gaping wound and calling Israelis Nazis instead of, let's say, "a traumatized, misguided people projecting their tragic recent history onto others" will NOT help. Israelis in general will NEVER be able to look at themselves as long as this rhetoric exists. They are afraid, and this rhetoric terrifies them even more. So as long as you use this rhetoric, you polarize them and YOU ARE AS RESPONSIBLE AS THEY FOR THE DEPREDATIONS THEY INFLICT UPON THE PALESTINIANS..
3) As many know, I favor a one-state solution along the lines of Edward Said, to be implemented through Truth and Reconciliation Commissions along the lines of South Africa. For this reason, in the short run I find the recent fragmentation of the area into THREE states, not two, tragic but in the long run hopeful, because to me it proves that the only REAL solution is a one-state one. For the time being, as long as the unholy alliance between the neocons (many of them formerly liberal Jews) and the Christian right exists, I find the situation in Israel/Palestine unfortunatley intractably hopeless. This is one reason why I'm never in a great rush to comment on it.
4) I do not find any substantive difference between the neocons (i.e. hardline Zionists and Christian right), and the hardline elements in the IRI. As I have previously stated: Cheneykhamenei, Siamese twins separated at birth, now happily reunited. I have repeatedly brought up the "unholy alliance" in the UN of Bush, IRI and China leading mostly Shariah countries to hamstring a worldwide will to abolish capital punishment. I have also stated that I find it tragic that it was Bush's flanking of Iran on both sides militarily that killed Reform in Iran. Regardless. Cheneykhamenei BOTH suck.
5) I find many Iranian discussions of the Israel/Palestine situation to be red herrings, that is they lead people off the track. They are like little twigs coming off of a tree, and they stem from the Shah's involvement in a triangular military alliance with the US and Israel. And so, the discussion between those who still "detest" the Shah and those who romanticize him can be no more than twigs. Of the following tree:
6) YOUR tree of life, YOUR "tuva". Your own history and your own unwillingness to face it squarely. I refer you to my recent posts on Rashidian's blog on Benazir Bhutto (yep, "my" Benazir) called "Legacy (Shah)" and on Kadivar's photo essay "25 years of Service", directed to Another Anonymous and to Jamshid.
7) I find a few of you to be possessed of a vitriolic, deeply entrenched anti-Semitism which grieves me, but it grieves me no more than Pakistan in flames, ino more than the drought Africa is facing, no more than the intentional NON-education of American minority youth to make them willing cannon fodder for Imperialistic wars, no more than the Palestinian wall, and no more than it grieves me to witness the little murders some of you inflict on each other on this website on a daily basis because you're afraid to face your own history and your role in it squarely. But once you choose to do, you will OWN it. It will be YOURS. As I wrote in my song, "Salaam Iran" published here: "Salaam Iran, you are so much like me/A child crying in the dark for your history/but it could bathe you in its light but first you have to want to see./When will you learn to dance?"
8) I have no familial relationship to Shalom Goldsmith nor would I ever want to.
I ended my article on "Salaam Iran" this way: "And the time has come and it is your time, Iran. Remove your hijab. ALL your hijabs. Stand up Iran and dance."
Stop bullshitting and do the REAL work. Dance. Tanz. Zire shamshire ghamesh raqs konaan bayaad raft. "Be the change you want to see in the world."--Gandhi.
Iranian JEWS are so Beautiful
by Anonymous+/- (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 06:23 PM PSTIt is that Beauty and the love they have for IRAN that prevents them from Joining the murderous Zionist Israel.
The Iranian Jews are the True Jews.
95% of so called Jews who live in Palestine are not JEWS but KHAZARS.
Iran's Moslems, Jews and Christians ... will stand together to build a democratic and JUST IRAN for all.
Who is your real enemy?
by Jew/Persian (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 04:31 PM PSTI really like those 3 videos, thank you;
//www.youtube.com/v/c1dx4HzqaAU.swf
//www.youtube.com/v/8VT7JdOg3pA.swf
But who the hell is the doctor in that!
He is not even Jew and he is talking in behalf of all Jew/Iranian! That pretending to do what!
I bet, he is the execution doctor in the Evin prison, going through with the actual execution of anyone who stands in front Iranian Gov.
Anyhow that doctor speaking out for the Jew/Iranians does strengthen the dictator image of the Iranian government, not allowing the real Jew/Iranians to speak out the truth.
About that Muslim boy converting, well everyone has their own opinion; it is good that’s all I have to say.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM9SYfqKNuA&feature...
Did you know that we Jews in Israel and around world are celebrated the Norooz New Year?
That is right exactly like the Zoroastrianism people pure Persian; it is not like a Muslim people.
The true tradition that our Great ancestor King Cyrus left us, Seven “SH -in” every thing starts with “SH”, especially WINE (SHARAB).
And the Arabs with their twisted minds destroyed this beautiful and magnificent heritage, because Sharab Wine is Haram and It is not suitable for being a pure Persian, they must mix it with the Arab culture which also have to seven “ S-in”.
And today Iranian radical Muslims are whispering to each others ears that because Jews say Shalom for Hello, it too is haram because it is in the table with words that start with SH, it (hello) must like the Muslims Salam start with S, this way you’re proving that you’re an Arab Muslim and it is halal, and so god love you.
I say let the people choose, let them decide what is best for themselves, not by enforcement.
SO who is your real enemy? Are they Jews, who every year purely celebrates “Norooz” as like Hanukah, and are thankful for so many things and reason,
Or the Arabs who have nothing better to do then destroy every thing and everybody else around them who are not with them?
Wisely think again….
;
Wisdom
by Another Anonymous (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 04:02 PM PSTRosie is wise not to get into middle of a silly fight. If she does, she will be getting punches from both sides with no outcome.
She is also fair, that makes it very hard to argue a complex issue in a few paragraphs.
But, people please do not confuse this issue (whichever side you belong to) with the atrocious IRI in the past 29 years. IRI and its leaders are the foremost enemies of iran by their deed. Don't let them abuse this complex issue for their own benefit.
Let's also love all decent iranians, irrespective of their ethnicities or religion, as some of them have lived in iran for a longer period than some muslim iranians mixed with people from neighboring countries.
To the Author and his companions
by kurdish warrior (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 03:44 PM PSTI think it's pretty low for a person to make a judgment without proven facts. I'm not against or for Israel. But I know for fact that Israel is more democratic than our own country that is run by fascist mullahs. And for those who emphasize with Palestinians; enough is enough. The mullahs are taking the money that belongs to the people of Iran and distribute it to Palestinians (Hamas) while half our nation struggle to bring food on their table. If you like the Palestinians so much why don't you guys move up there. I'm sure they’ll be delighted. Also a reminder that when Iran was at war with Iraq, who do you think Palestine supported. The answer is obvious. Happy New Year to every1.
Te: The Most Hated Country
by ED (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 03:39 PM PSTGilani, could you please give the source of your information? Is it based on a reliable international opinion poll, that of Israelis, or just your own fantasy?
Iranian Jews and their precarious condition
by Zion (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 03:13 PM PSTThe situation of Jews in Iran is very complex. They are treated as a hostages by the system in Iran, something to make deals over. They are not "tolerated" and they wouldn't have been if there was not a powerful Israel to protect their rights indirectly. The first non-governmental civilian executed (murdered) after the revolution was a wealthy Jew, Mr. Elghaniyaan. But the regime learned soon that the entire Jewish community can be kept as hostages for PR reasons and for making deals and threats. It's ironic that the condition of Jews in Iran after the islamofascist revolution of 1979 is one of the best historical justifications for the need of a state like Israel to protect Jews around the world. It is not hard to see that the regime has focused its barbaric treatment instead on the Bahais who are treated as pseudo-Jews, elements of the zionist entity..., since they are considered to be defenseless. So most of the pressure on Bahais should be construed as Jewish related, and would give you a view on how Jews would have been treated if there were no state of Israel. Even now, as the article sites, they are forced to work on Sabbath, are restricted and heavily controlled in all they do, usually can hardly get a passport to exit the country, worst of all they have to be constantly worried on what each member does, because the punishment on them is always collective, under the radar of mass media and specifically designed to keep them on edge and in a precarious situation. In the Iranian culture, Jews have always been an integral part. But we are talking about Islamic republic and Islamo-fascist Khomeinist criminals that constitute this regime and its backers here, what has it got to do with Iranian culture!?
"Rosie", Why are you hiding? ..
by Hojatol Eslam Maravi (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 02:58 PM PSTI think Rosie T. has "Chickened Out" :) Really !!
Not Doctor Malek non-sense praise of IRI again
by Another Anonymous (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 02:29 PM PSTDoctor, do not change the subject. You are trying to muddy the water to fish in the muddy water again to support IRI. This has nothing to do with that. You are blaming west for stupidity of the east and atrocities of arabs and arab-lovers in IRI. The two subjects are totally separate and only a supporter of IRI tries to mix them to divert attention from the real culprits of murder and deceit, the IRI, to muddy the waters to fish in the muddy waters. Why don't you talk about atrocities of muslims in darfar or afghanistan or pakistan? The issues raised here are secondary for iranians living under the atrocities of IRI. Number one enemy of iranians is by far IRI leaders and supporters. All others have not harmed any iranian by a fraction of harm that IRI leaders and arabs (from Omar to saddam) brought to iran. And if iranians were wise and knew about lies told by khomeini and his gang, no power could fool them. Don't blame others for stupidity of IRI supporters and atrocities of ISLAMIC REPUBLIC. People won't be fooled anymore by your attempts at creating diversions.
To Fixing Video Web
by Hebrew מועדים לשמחה (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 02:20 PM PSTIf It is not work this
//www.youtube.com/v/QM9SYfqKNuA.swf
then try this above link.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM9SYfqKNuA&feature...
;-)
The Most Hated Country
by Gilani (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 02:17 PM PSTIran was recognized as the most hated country last year, and the second most hated cuontry the year before
Whomever is converting to jews are lucky person.
by Hebrew מועדים לשמחה (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 02:12 PM PSTI am willing to convert to the jewish religion, it is much better than being a rag face gorila sterotype as a muslam savage which is enough is enough for me, I had it enough from world.
Being a jew means being the most luckiest man on earth.
well if you do not beilive me then watch this video blog.
//www.youtube.com/v/QM9SYfqKNuA.swf
Now Think wisely, However;
Marry Christmas & happy New Year To All.
חג מולד שמח (chag molad sameach)
Merry Christmas
מועדים לשמחה (moadim le-simcha)
Happy Holidays
שנה טובה (shana tova)
Happy New Year
;-)
Israel has done some terribly racist things
by Qumars (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 01:10 PM PSTand I'm not even talking about Palestinians or Arabs. It's own Sephardic and Mizrahim (non European Jews) population. For example, in the 50's the government agreed to test radiation on ONLY non-European Jewish children, killing a few thousand of them and creating long-lasting effects for great many more.
To may biggoted Iranians, including Arab-hating Monarchists, things like that may not be a big deal. But this is the reason why the rest of the world sees Israel as a racist state.
I'll copy the story below.
//web.israelinsider.com/views/3998.htm
--------------------------------------
Ringworm and Radiation
By Barry Chamish August 19, 2004
On August 14, at 9 PM, Israel's Channel Ten television screened a documentary film which exposes the ugliest secret of Israel's Labor party founders: the deliberate mass radiation poisoning of nearly all Sephardi youths of a generation.
"The Ringworm Children" (translated in Hebrew as "100,000 Rays"), directed by David Belhassen and Asher Hemias, recently won the prize for "best documentary" at the Haifa International film festival, and in the past year has made the rounds of Jewish and Israeli film festivals around the world. But it had yet to come to Israeli television screens. The subject is the mass irradiation of hundreds of thousands of young Israeli immigrants from Middle Eastern countries -- Sephardim, as they are called today. The story goes like this:
In 1951, the director general of the Israeli Health Ministry, Dr. Chaim Sheba, flew to America and returned with seven x-ray machines, supplied to him by the American army.
They were to be used in a mass atomic experiment with an entire generation of Sephardi youths to be used as guinea pigs. Every Sephardi child was to be given 35,000 times the maximum dose of x-rays through his head. For doing so, the American government paid the Israeli government 300 million Israeli liras a year. The entire Health budget was 60 million liras. The money paid by the Americans is equivalent to billions of dollars today.
To fool the parents of the victims, the children were taken away on "school trips" and their parents were later told the x-rays were a treatment for the scourge of scalpal ringworm. 6,000 of the children died shortly after their doses were given, while many of the rest developed cancers that killed thousands over time and are still killing them now. While living, the victims suffered from disorders such as epilepsy, amnesia, Alzheimer's disease, chronic headaches and psychosis.
That is the subject of the documentary in cold terms. It is another matter to see the victims on the screen.
To watch the Moroccan lady describe what getting 35,000 times the dose of allowable x-rays in her head feels like. "I screamed make the headache go away. Make the headache go away. Make the headache go away. But it never went away."
To watch the bearded man walk hunched down the street. "I'm in my fifties and everyone thinks I'm in my seventies. I have to stoop when I walk so I won't fall over. They took my youth away with those x-rays."
To watch the old lady who administered the doses to thousands of children: "They brought them in lines. First their heads were shaved and smeared in burning gel. Then a ball was put between their legs and the children were ordered not to drop it, so they wouldn't move. The children weren't protected over the rest of their bodies. There were no lead vests for them. I was told I was doing good by helping to remove ringworm. If I knew what dangers the children were facing, I would never have cooperated. Never!"
Because the whole body was exposed to the rays, the genetic makeup of the children was often altered, affecting the next generation. We watch the woman with the distorted face explain, "All three of my children have the same cancers my family suffered. Are you going to tell me that's a coincidence?"
The majority of the victims were Moroccan because they were the most numerous of the Sephardi immigrants. The generation that was poisoned became the country's perpetual poor and criminal class. It didn't make sense. The Moroccans who fled to France became prosperous and highly educated. The common explanation was that France got the rich, thus smart ones. The real explanation is that every French Moroccan child didn't have his brain cells fried with gamma rays.
The film made it perfectly plain that this operation was no accident. The dangers of x-rays had been known for over forty years. We read the official guidelines for x-ray treatment in 1952. The maximum dose to be given a child in Israel was .5 rad. There was no mistake made. The children were deliberately poisoned.
David Deri makes the point that only Sephardi children received the x-rays: "I was in class and the men came to take us on a tour. They asked our names. The Ashkenazi children were told to return to their seats. The dark children were put on the bus."
The film presents a historian who first gives a potted history of the eugenics movement. In a later sound bite, he declares that the ringworm operation was a eugenics program aimed at weeding out the perceived weak strains of society. The Moroccan lady is back on the screen. "It was a Holocaust, a Sephardi Holocaust. And what I want to know is why no one stood up to stop it."
David Deri, on film and then as a panel member, relates the frustration he encountered when trying to find his childhood medical records. "All I wanted to know was what they did to me. I wanted to know who authorized it. I wanted to trace the chain of command. But the Health Ministry told me my records were missing." Boaz Lev, the Health Ministry's spokesman chimes in: "Almost all the records were burned in a fire."
We are told that a US law in the late '40s put a stop to the human radiation experiments conducted on prisoners, the mentally feeble and the like. The American atomic program needed a new source of human lab rats and the Israeli government supplied it. Here was the government cabinet at the time of the ringworm atrocities:
Prime Minister - David Ben Gurion; Finance Minister - Eliezer Kaplan; Settlement Minister - Levi Eshkol; Foreign Minister - Moshe Sharrett; Health Minister - Yosef Burg;
Labor Minister - Golda Meir; Police Minister - Amos Ben Gurion.
The highest ranking non-cabinet post belonged to the Director General of the Defence Ministry, Shimon Peres.
That a program involving the equivalent of billions of dollars of American government funds should be unknown to the Prime Minister of cash-strapped Israel is ridiculous. Ben Gurion had to have been in on the horrors and undoubtedly chose his son to be Police Minister in case anyone interfered with them.
Finance Minister Eliezer Kaplan was rewarded for eternity with a hospital named after him near Rehovot. But he's not alone in this honor. Chaim Sheba, who ran Ringworm Incorporated, had a whole medical complex named after him. Needless to say, if there is an ounce of decency in the local medical profession, those hospital names will have to change.
After the film ended, there was a panel discussion which included a Moroccan singer, David Edri, head of the Compensation Committee for Ringworm X-Ray Victims, and Boaz Lev, a spokesman for the Ministry Of Health.
TV host Dan Margalit tried to put a better face on what he'd witnessed. He explained meekly that "the state was poor. It was a matter of day to day survival." Then he stopped. He knew there was no excusing the atrocities which the Sephardi children endured.
But it was the Moroccan singer who summed up the experience best. "It's going to hurt, but the truth has to be told. If not, the wounds will never heal."
There is one person alive who knows the truth: Shimon Peres. The only way to get to the truth and start the healing is to investigate him for his role in the mass poisoning of over 100,000 Sephardi children and youth.
But here is why that won't happen. The film was aired at the same time as the highest-rated TV show of the year, the finale of Israel's talent-hunt show: "A Star Is Born." The next day, the newly-born star's photo took up half the front pages. There was not a word about "The Ringworm Children" in any paper, nor on the Internet. Until now.