Protests against the actions of the United States government aren’t uncommon in times of war. But last week, diplomacy was the source of outrage.
A crowd of hundreds of people assembled outside the federal building in Westwood to protest the nuclear deal recently signed between Iran, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Germany and a European Union representative. The rally included a brief speech from the Iranian-American star of the reality show “Shahs of Sunset” Reza Farahan.
Many protesters questioned why the U.S. should engage Iran, the state that Farahan called the “worst country on the planet” and whose people he labeled the “most evil people on the planet,” remarks that drew sizable cheers from the crowd. After all, Americans do have the most unfavorable perception of Iran in the world, according to a poll conducted by the BBC in 2013.
People like the protesters buy into the idea that Iran is a rogue state whose anti-American sentiments exist in a vacuum. But, like most political phenomena, it can’t be viewed in isolation. Their platitudinous slogans and vitriolic speeches are symptoms of myopia.
Much of these attitudes have been around for nearly 40 years. In November 1979, the same year the Iranian Revolution ended in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty supported by the U.S., a group of students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took dozens of Americans hostage, holding them for more than a year. American distrust of Iran and, by extension, Iranians, largely stems from this incident.
The hostage crisis wasn’t the beginning of the rift between the U.S. and Iran nor was it the only major turning point. Viewing 1979 as the sole focal point is fallacious and ignores a trend of injustices the United States has committed against the Iranian people on Iranian soil.
To put the current state of the relations between the U.S. and Iran in context, anti-Iran protesters would do well to look toward 1953, a quarter-century before Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was deposed.
Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the CIA that year. The backing he received from the communist Tudeh party and his plan to nationalize the oil industry, which was heavily exploited by a British oil company at the time, made him a target. The coup helped foster strong opposition to U.S. policy among Iranians.
The U.S. then helped reinstall the despotic shah, or monarch, as the head of state. After he was dethroned in 1979, he fled to the States to receive cancer treatment. The U.S.’s refusal to extradite him to Iran, along with its decades-long support of the regime, led to the hostage crisis.
In the 1980s, the U.S. illegally armed Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War. During the same war, the Reagan administration, held in high regard by many opponents of relations with Iran, facilitated the illegal sale of arms to Iran as well, an episode known as the Iran-Contra scandal. Arming Iran through Israel was meant to secure the release of hostages in Lebanon, but it worked to add fuel to a long and catastrophic war.
The laundry list doesn’t end there. Just before the end of the war in 1988, an American missile cruiser shot an Iranian commercial airliner out of the sky over the Strait of Hormuz, killing 290. The U.S. only compensated the victim’s families and expressed “deep regret” eight years later, falling just short of an apology.
Today, many Americans cite Iran’s support of Hezbollah and, until recently, Hamas, both of which are considered terrorist organizations by the U.S., as a reason to not trust the country. They either willfully ignore or are ignorant of the U.S. and Israeli governments’ connections with Jundallah, a militant organization that carries out attacks in Iran. Ironically, the U.S. considers Jundallah a terrorist organization as well.
By ignoring this history, opponents of any sort of relationship with Iran can easily push the narrative that Iran is evil and shouldn’t be engaged diplomatically, no matter the stakes. The situation, however, demands diplomacy.
The success of the deal will be a victory for nonproliferation and the well-being of Iran’s 77 million citizens. Its failure, on the other hand, could possibly trigger an arms race in a region that is already in turmoil.
If the protesters want to argue against the deal and make claims about Iran and Iranians, they should first spend more time reading history books and less time cheering on a D-list reality television star with no background in diplomacy or nuclear physics. Otherwise their message does little more than promote ignorance and hatred.
Very interesting political commentary! As an Iranian-American student, I support the recent nuclear deal with Iran and the diplomatic effort of this administration. It is very unfortunate that like what happened in Iraq, warmongers and a minority of people who have no understanding of Middle East try to start another war. The sad part is that this minority of warmongers have extensive resources and lobbying power. As mentioned in the article, if we study the history of mistrust between the US and Iran, we would stop seeing everything as black and white, evil and good. This will reveal the dirty intensions of warmongers who dehumanize millions of people in order to start another war and fill their endless pockets with money.
So you think we should make pacts with a country where mobs in the streets led by the supreme leader chant, “Death to America” and it’s “peace in our time”, right?
We made pacts with the Soviet (“evil empire”) & communist China and nuclear disaster was replaced by peace. My point is that if there’s a history of mistrust, that doesnt mean we can’t diplomatically solve the issues. Some people chanting “death to America” (who btw oppose the deal) do not determine the policy of a country at this time. It is ironic that same chantings take place in S. Arabia and Pakistan, etc and they are home of many anti American (and anti Iranian) terrorists, but they are among our best allies. We should support the majority who want to have a good relations with the world based on respect, and not give an excuse to the minority to spread the hate and fear.
The Soviet Union and China were led by men who were pragmatic enough to know that if they nuked us, we would nuke them. Thus they never went to war. They were not mad men. The mullahs in Iran don’t care if they are destroyed in the end because they expect some 12th imam to Mahdi to appear. That is the difference.
The Iranians have no intention of living up to any deal. It was their own supreme leader, Khamenei, who led the chants of death to America.
And Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are hardly among our best allies. They are both duplicitous countries.
Iran never claimed and intended to nuke us. The claim that “they wouldn’t mind to be nuked” is just plane wrong. The argument about the 12th Imam is also irrelevant and false. Christians and Jews believe Jesus will return, does that mean they don’t care about their survival!?!!
Iran was victim of chemical bombs in Iraq-Iran war and we supported Iraq (lead by Saddam Hossein) and the so-called supreme leader ordered military commanders to NOT retaliate using chemical bombs, since it will have civilian casualties! We support Jundullah terrorists to kill Iranians, sanction them to not even get medicine, support Saudis, and then think they are opposing us because of our prosperity or their ideology.
Sanctions did not weaken Iranian gov but people. Dehumanization of Iran and Islamophobia is the way to start another endless war with not reaching the objectives just like Afghanistan and Iraq.
What Iran has promised to do is wipe Israel off the face of the map.
@garyfouse:disqus . There are same concepts and very similar beliefs among other religions as well (the return of “promised one”, “lord”, “chosen people”, etc.). You are just trying to spread the fear based on your incomplete and false information. You are giving too much credit to the extremists and radicals, while ignoring the vast majority of people who have a much more peaceful view.
“Iranians have no intention of living up to any deal”. Really? you are opposing the deal before seeing who is living up to the deal. If they reject the deal, then yes, you are right. but from my understanding, they are not the ones who are talking about rejecting the deal.
Those who oppose the deal in Iran are the minority who chant death to America. They have their own stories of U.S. actions toward Iranians in order to spread the fear and hate (similar in nature to the ones you are saying).
Unfortunately, Ghoogasian wrote this article so you can’t trust anything in it. This guy is notorious for leaving out facts and stating things that just aren’t true. I’m no expert on U.S. history with Iran but I know this much, if you really want to know the truth about what happened between the U.S. and Iran, an opinion piece written by Ghoogasian is probably one of the worst places to get your information from.
Daily Bruin, why do you keep publishing stuff from this bigot?
Excellent post. Thanks, but you shouldn’t be surprised by Ghoogasian’s acceptance of antisemitism. His articles on the Daily Bruin displays a consistent pattern of bigotry against Jews, not just in Israel but on the UCLA campus, as well. How the Daily Bruin allows this bigot to continue publishing his nonsense is beyond me.
Even before the Rachel Beyda incident, UCLA was ranked as one of the most antisemitic universities in the country. Ghoogasian’s propaganda – routinely published in the Daily Bruin – is certainly ample evidence of antisemitism at the highest levels, and it contributes to the school’s now infamous and embarrassing reputation.
I can’t understand why any person of the Jewish persuasion would ever consider attending or donating anything to UCLA.
If you want to go back to 1953 and talk about Mossadegh, go ahead. It is hardly relevant to what exists today. Unlike Adam, I am old enough to remember the outrage of the hostage crisis. I also recall during that crisis when arrogant Iranian university students and others marched in the streets of LA in support of Khomeini-without a permit. It led to a riot.
I was happy when we supported Iraq-bad as they were- in the war against Iran.
Ever since 1979, Iran has been a state sponsor of terrorism and has caused the deaths of thousands of innocent people including many Americans. They even slaughter their own people and persecute the minority Baha’i community. There is no rhyme or reason for our foolish leaders making a pact with this country under its present leadership. In a word, they are evil.
Wise up, Adam.
Gary, I can’t be an expert on everything. Fortunately, I have people like you to fill in the areas where I’m weak. Thanks for the assist.
Adam,
You are standing up for your beliefs which is not easy to do on a college campus when those beliefs clash with the politically correct orthodoxy. I don’t blame the students nearly as much as i blame the professors who are indoctrinating them. Don’t ever be intimidated.
Thank your fine efforts. This goes way beyond the Professors. Many of these professors have come from countries that do not have free speech, do not present both sides fairly, and many indoctrinate their children with propaganda disseminated from state-run schools and media. Some of these professors have been raised to hate Americans and Jews since they were kids, long before they ever arrived in the USA. It’s not just the professors – it is the governments that run their countries – like Iran.
In other words, you are saying: yes, everyone who criticizes Israel for its crimes and violations is anti-Semitic!!!! They are from different countries and not human!!!! They are demons who dare to criticize Israel!!!! They are evil because they read facts and history rather than Zionist propaganda!!!! Billions of dollars invested by Israeli government and its followers in media, lobbying, and newspapers are not examples of propaganda!!!! but criticizing based on facts and history is!!!!
I love when people start off a critique with, “In other words, you are saying…”
If I wanted to write “other words”, I would have wrote them.
What I wrote was very clear and concise. If you want to read something else into it, that’s your problem – not mine. If you want to set up an obvious straw-man and then knock him down, help yourself, but you’re not fooling anyone.
I stand by every word I wrote – exactly how I wrote it. Try understanding it instead of inventing hidden meanings that fit your narrative, and you might actually learn something from it.
True enough, Adam. That’s the problem with these Middle east studies depts. Many are funded with Saudi money and staffed with anti-West, anti-Israel indoctrinators. However, they are aided and abetted by many American leftists including some misfit Jewish professors who are acting out their 1960s style radicalism. UC Irvine, Where I teach part-time, has a few of them too. Together with the pro-Palestinian students they have succeeded in making the Israel-Palestinian conflict the biggest bone of contention on campus. Go figure.
Excellent post by Aram. It’s great to think out of the box and see both sides of the story. Fear-mongers and war-mongers are trying to oppose this deal because they will have less excuse for spreading their hate and fear around the world. Almost all the countries in the world have supported this diplomatic solution to end this nuke issue. This was a nuclear deal (not a human right deal, nor regime change deal). It certainly does its job of making sure that the Iranian nuclear program will remain peaceful. This can be the beginning of building trust between two nations, even though there’s still a long way to go.
What the Iranians did in the Iraq war was to send teenage boys in suicide charges against the Iraqi lines. But that’s past history. If you are so sympathetic to this evil regime, which is the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world, why don’t you go live there? The last thing we need in this country are Iranian regime sympathizers.
@garyfouse If you can’t argue based on reason, you don’t need to lie and cover the past. That’s past story, but that doesn’t mean you should be this ignorant. The last thing we need in this country are ignorants, racists, and uneducated liars like you who have no clue about what’s going on in the world. Maybe, you should go out of this country to see the world and educate yourself. How about that?
Eric,
Been there done that. I lived three years in Germany (US Army) Three years in Thailand, five years in Italy. What experience do you have-UCLA?
nice try! nope. been around the world including the middle east. trust me when I say you have zero clue about the middle east and its history. you shouldn’t bother with “anti-Semitic” label and ucla experience. have fun in your delusional world which is far from reality.
Eric,
I don’t claim to be an expert on the Middle East even if I have been there. I do know a thing or two about terrorism though and i know from whom it comes. As for the Israel-Palestinian conflict, as far as I am concerned, it is about religion not who occupied which piece of land prior to 1948. The Arab world will never accept a non-Muslim state in its midst especially a Jewish one. Therein lies the anti-Semitism.
garyfouse,
I didn’t say that I’m an expert on Middle East, but for sure I know more than you about ME whether you like it or not. As far as you are concerned doesn’t really show that you are an expert on the Middle East. Unfortunately, your concern and belief about Israel-Palestinian conflict is wrong.
Eric,
You may indeed know more about the Middle East than me, but unless you are as old as I (70) I think I have more in my memory bank about Middle East (incl Palestinian) terrorism. Since 9-11 it is a subject i have become very involved with.
Let us end this by agreeing that you support the Palestinians and I support Israel.
PS to Eric,
Don’t bother with the racist, islamophobe tags. They will not work.
I am amazed by your idiocy. Iranians fought against the aggressor (Iraq) to teach bigots like you the lesson of freedom and fairness. I do not have time to teach you the facts. Have fun with your stupid bigotry ideas and go live in Iraq that you brought liberty and prosperity for!!!!
I never thought I would live to see someone equate Iran with freedom and fairness. You don’t even refer to the ones who deserve that label-the ones who tried to protest against a brutal regime until they were cut down in the streets by the “heroic” Revolutionary Guards. Or didn’t your professors tell you about that?
I have to question just how “free and fair” a homosexual in Iran might feel just before the Iranian government hangs him in the street from the arm of a construction crane.
I am not quite sure about the connection between your question, my comment, and the article. Again, you are repeating propaganda on unrelated domestic issues of a country to spread fear and reject diplomacy. I have to question how “free and fair” a homosexual in Israel (or other countries in that region) might feel before being stabbed in the streets of Jerusalem.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/30/middleeast/jerusalem-gay-pride-parade-stabbings/
You’re full of crap…
You fully understand the connection, but I’ll spell it out for you anyway: It is the height of hypocrisy for anyone who supports Iran to lecture anyone else about a “free and fair” society.
To demonstrate just how “fair” Iran is, one need only look at their horribly discriminatory LGBT laws. Here’s a link to Wikipedia and some quotes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Iran
“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Iran face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are illegal.”
“LGBT rights in Iran have come in conflict with the penal code since the 1930s. Homosexuality is a crime punishable by imprisonment, corporal punishment, and often execution.”
To maintain some integrity on this forum, I won’t link to videos on the web where you can see people actually being hung in the streets of Iran from cranes – for the crime of being gay – but if anyone reading this doubts their existence, just search youtube for a term like “Iran homosexual execution” and you’ll find plenty.
Regarding Israel, homosexuals live openly in Israel. Israel is BY FAR the safest place for people of the LGBT community in the entire region. Your link shows that some nut committed a random act of violence. In Iran, violence against LGBT is a matter of policy. Your article talks about violence at a gay pride parade in Israel. When was the last time the Iranian government held a gay pride parade?
What I write is fact. What you write is BS! Anyone doing 10 minutes of research can find out just how oppressive Iran is – and they can find it on credible news sources all over the world. You should be embarrassed for trying to peddle this lame propaganda here. It is an insult to humanity, and an insult to our intelligence.
There is no connection between these issues. Again, you are a fear monger trying to spread propaganda. Where is your outrage for hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis who died of war? Where is your outrage for millions of people who cannot get medicine in Iran as the result of sanctions? Where is your outrage for the human right issues in Israel and Saudi Arabia? You do not care about neither human rights nor Iranian’s lives. Indeed, your hate towards Iranians prevents you from seeing them as human beings.
Do not twist my words. Iranians fought for their country to be free and not subject to Saddam Hossein. Young, old, men, and women fought for their country against the aggressor. At least 15 countries helped Iraq at the time by sending troops, weapons, chemical bombs, and resources. Saddam dropped chemical bombs on Iranian civilians, having our and our European allies’ support. Despite those helps, Saddam was not able to take an inch of Iran’s territory. Do you think Iranians would have been in a better situation under Saddam’s rule? You hate Iranians because they stand against aggressors whether it is Saddam, Israel, or war mongers like you.
We made pacts with the Soviet and communist China while they also have had human right issues. However, as the result, huge disasters such as nuclear war was prevented. The human right issues became worse during recent sanctions in Iran as it lead to more aggressive policies in Iran. Believe me sanctions and war does not help the human right issues and make it much worse. Diplomacy can solve this issue as well.
I’m not fear mongering and I’m not spreading propaganda. Everything I wrote above is true. The fact that you don’t even try to refute it speaks volumes. You wrote…
“There are some domestic issues that need to be corrected internally with help of international institutions.”
Really? The Iranian government hangs many homosexuals – some as young as 14 years old – from construction cranes in public streets… and you label this as a “domestic issue that needs to be corrected”! And then you claim that I have no interest in human rights?
You ask, where is my outrage against other human rights abusers, like Saudi Arabia? If we were talking about them, believe me, I would have plenty to say to condemn them. But you were the one who claimed that Iran was “free and fair”. That’s just utter BS and I’m exposing your claims as propaganda.
Since you love to bring up Israel, let’s compare Iran to Israel: In Israel, Arab citizens are protected by a constitution; they have free speech; free press; freedom of assembly; freedom to of religion (freedom to change their religion if they choose); freedom to openly live as part of the LGBT community; freedom to vote (and their elections aren’t ‘rigged’); and they enjoy an independent judiciary.
Iranians have none of these freedoms. Iran is not a democracy. It is a theocracy. As a theocracy, all the discrimination built in to the religion are automatically part of state policy. Women, homosexuals and non-Muslims are automatically relegated to second class citizenry and are discriminated against as a matter of law.
Iran sponsors terrorists groups like Hezbollah and Iran openly calls for the destruction of a neighboring state – Israel – along with the genocide of every Jew in Israel. Iran is a leading source of antisemitism, broadcasting and publishing anti-Jewish propaganda nationally, and internationally, including holocaust denials.
I could go on. I could right a book comparing the differences of a democracy like Israel, to a theocracy like Iran, and I could go on endlessly debunking the ridiculous claim that Iran is “fair and free”.
You may be able to peddle that BS to uninformed fools, but you won’t get away with it in this country. This is a well-established democracy, with a free press and an educated public. Ideas are openly debated here. Most of the people are well schooled enough to research topics and their quite capable of distinguishing between truth (what I write) from BS propaganda (what you write).
And ANYONE who knows anything about human rights knows full well that Iran IS NOT a “free and fair” society.
You know very well your claims are incorrect. Religious minorities are indeed protected by Iranian constitution. Iranian government does not massacre neighboring civilians like Israeli regime. Minorities have seats in every parliament (permanent seat) and anyone can see these facts by a short search. Iran stands with organizations/ states that defend their territories from aggressors. Hezbollah was created to deter Israeli occupation of Lebonan and indeed was successful. Israeli apartheid regime would never leave occupied territories peacefully: just look up the West bank and Golan height of Syria. Did Israel leave those places?!?!
Arabs have “freedom” and prosperity in Israel?!!?? Israel has democracy?!?! Hahaha, You gotta be joking!!? Palestinian refugees cannot even return to their own farms and homes. Their homes are destroyed and they are killed and imprisoned by Israeli regime. Israel just killed 557 children (including infants) in Gaza in 2014. You very well know about the fact but intentionaly lie about it.
Anyone can do a search and find out Iran is home of largest Jewish community in the region after Israel. If they want to commit genocide why aren’t they start it from home?! Btw Jewish community has supported Iran nuke deal publicly in a statement. Your fear mongerings and lies are endless. Despite lobbying and some biased media, educated and informed people have started thinking and learning about the lies of war mongers and the crimes that are committed by Israeli regime under the name of Jews. Anyone who knows anything about democracy, human rights, and international laws would realize Israel has NONE of those.
You wrote:
“Anyone can do a search and find out Iran is home of largest Jewish community in the region after Israel.”
Here’s the truth:
Since the Islamic Republic took over in 1979, the Jewish population in Iran has dropped dramatically. In mid- and late 1980s, it was estimated at 20,000–30,000, rising to around 35,000 in the mid-1990s.
The current Jewish population of Iran is 8,756 according to the most recent Iranian census.
Meanwhile, in Israel, The Jewish population of Israel grew by 1.7% over the past year, and the Arab population grew by 2.2%. Both populations of the Arabs within Israel and Arabs in the occupied territories have grown steadily for the past 15 years, while the population of Jews in nearly every Arab country in the region (including Iran) has significantly fallen off.
These stats give you a true picture of who is actually engaging in ethnic cleansing in the middle east.
You wrote:
If they want to commit genocide why aren’t they start it from home?! Btw Jewish community has supported Iran nuke deal publicly in a statement.”
Here’s the truth:
The Islamic Republic uses factions within the Iranian Jewish community to win public relations points with the Western world, but privately many Jews complain to foreign reporters of discrimination. Foreign reporters are asked by the Iranian Jewish community to self-censor their own reports for fear of repercussions on the community.
The Islamic government appoints the officials who run Jewish schools, most of these being Muslims and requires that those schools must open on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath. Criticism of this policy was the downfall of the last remaining newspaper of the Iranian Jewish community which was closed in 1991 after it criticized government control of Jewish schools.
Instead of expelling Jews en masse like in Libya, Iraq, Egypt, and Yemen, the Iranians have adopted a policy of keeping Jews in Iran. The strong public anti-Israel position of the Iranian Jews might be related to their desire for survival and led to their overselling of their anti-Israel positions.
Always remember, Iran is not a democracy. There is no free speech. The Jews or Iran either support Iranian policy or suffer the consequenses of speaking out against it.
You wrote:
“Palestinian refugees cannot even return to their own farms and homes. Their homes are destroyed and they are killed and imprisoned by Israeli regime.”
Here’s the truth:
The Palestinian refugees are not Israeli citizens. They do not live in Israel proper and they do not have the rights of Israeli citizens, anymore than Israeli citizens would have the same rights of citizens in any other country on earth. Israel has some responsibility over the occupied West Bank as a result of the 67 war. Jordan illegally occupied the West Bank from 1948 to 1967. Had the Arab League wanted, they could have formed a Palestinian state during that those 19 years, but they refused to do it. Jordan tanks crossed into Israel during the 67 war, Israel fought them back and ultimately occupied the West Bank from that point on. UN Resolution 242 outlines the terms that Israel would leave the West Bank, and the Arabs responded with their famous “Three No’s”: No Peace with Israel; No Recognition with Israel; No Negotiations with Israel.”
The fact is, the Arab League could have formed a Palestinian State at anytime between 1948 and 1967. Israel had no claim over either the Gaza Strip or the West Bank for those 19 years. Egypt illegally occuppied Gaza and Jordan illegally occupied the West Bank, and their intention was to destroy Israel and annex the land between Syria, Jordan and Egypt. The Palestinians would have never been given a state by the Arab League, and if the Palestinians ever do get a state, it will be because Israel forced the 2 state solution.
Your lie:
“Since the Islamic Republic took over in 1979, the Jewish population in Iran has dropped dramatically. In mid- and late 1980s, it was estimated at 20,000–30,000, rising to around 35,000 in the mid-1990s.”
The truth:
Iranian Jews population is estimated to be just below 30,000 today. Even the Israeli haartz news reported an estimate of much more than what you mentioned. It is certainly true that many Jews and non-Jews left Iran after the Islamic Revolution, but there was no institutional ethnic cleansing against them after the revolution. They faced the very same hardships as Iranian Muslims did (including living under stress of 8-year imposed war). It is much easier for the minorities in Iran to get a visa and leave the country, or to get an asylum in order to leave Iran. The fact that many Iranian Jews, Christians (mostly Armenian population), and Zoroastrians chose to stay in Iran shows that you’re not revealing the truth. Armenia is hours away from Iran, and many can easily enter and live there without a visa, but still Iran has one of the largest Armenian (Christian) population outside Armenia. Even the most radical Iranian clerics have not supported ethnic cleansing of minorities like what Israelis did/do to Palestinians.
Another truth:
Islamic Republic of Iran and constitution was established by a referendum (90+% of population voted “Yes”). Israeli regime was not created by a referendum. Neither Jews nor Palestinians who actually lived there voted on creation of Israeli regime. The fact is that Iran is more democratic than Israel. There is long way for Iran to go in terms of human rights (same goes with many other countries in the World), but if you look at the past 3 decades of Iran’s history under Islamic Republic, it has made some progress. The progress is made under stability not wars, sanctions, or threats.
I love the fact that you didn’t continue reading on wikipedia, which mentions Iran has the second largest population of Jews in the region. I also love the fact that instead of accepting Jewish community’s opinion about their country, you try to legitimize your wrong opinion about Iran! Unlike what you mentioned, Muslims do not run Jewish schools.
Why don’t you take a look at the stats on Palestinian refugees who lost their homes as the result of apartheid policies of Israel. FYI, “as of January 2010, UNRWA cites 1,396,368 registered refugees in camps and 3,370,302 registered refugees not in camps”. This much population displacement is not even comparable to Jews immigrations from Iran and clearly shows apartheid and ethnic cleansing policy of Israel. These facts reveals who is trying to hide its crimes and apartheid policies behind fake stats and opinions about how “free” Arabs are in Israel. You can clearly see the volume of hypocrisy in your argument.
Every country has its own official calendar and holidays. How you are so narrow-minded about that. Even in the US all schools are open in Friday (the Muslims’ equivalent of Sabbath). Very close to your nose, there are official final examination held during the Muslim holidays, Persian New year, etc. How can you not see that.
Neither Egypt nor Jordan adopted settlement policies. Neither of them adopted ethnic cleansing policies toward Palestinians as Israeli regime does. Israel is actively acting to remove Palestinian state, and two state solution by building more settlements. It’s actively committing ethnic cleansing and genocide on Palestinians. Yet, you are supporting all of these policies of Israel.
Let’s allow others to search themselves and decide which arguments are more legitimate.
I’m not lying. You’re obviously full of it…
Regarding the number of Jews in Iran, you are quoting an estimate from a left-leaning Israeli newspaper.
I’m quoting the official 2011 Iranian Census. According to that census, there were only 8,756 Jews in Iran.
You wrote: “Neither Jews nor Palestinians who actually lived there voted on creation of Israeli regime. The fact is that Iran is more democratic than Israel.”
I love this last quote. Thanks for writing it. It is very telling.
No serious person in the middle east would make such a ridiculous statement. Just saying that speaks volumes about you. Are you the child of some Iranian official?
Israel has regular elections that are internationally recognized as fair and reliable. Some of Israel’s worst critiques don’t deny this. It is one of the most sound democracies on earth. Iran’s elections are a farce. The Iranian government often has troops ready for riots after elections because they are obvious propaganda and many Iranian citizens know this and resent it.
Besides, Iranian elections never replace the Mullahs – the true power in Iran – and you know this is true.
I’m not going to keep waste any more time correcting your propaganda. Frankly, I don’t think I need to. Anyone reading this exchange between us will be able to judge for themselves.
I’m confident that you haven’t fooled anyone.
Hahaha Israel is the most democratic state in the world?!??! Did you just spell out Israel and democracy in one sentence?!!?! Hahahahaha nice joke. Are you son of an Israeli bloodthirstybloodthirsty official?! The stats that you provide is not from Iranian census but from wikipedia. Have fun with spreading war propoganda and hiding Israeli regime war crimes and ethnic cleansing.
I think the goal of article was to give a summary of mistrusts between two countries not the internal issues. Moreover, the recent nuclear deal between Iran+P5+1 was for preventing them to get a nuclear weapon (which they mention they are not pursuing), not to solve domestic problems. We sign treaties with and are ally of countries like Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, that are violators of human rights, international laws, etc. but you didn’t even mentioned those. Here is a very small portion of violations and crimes committed by our best ally in the region, Israel:
1. Israeli regime, unlike Iran, has violated the U.N. Charter, Article 2(4) & 51 by illegally occupying lands and acquiring territories by force in 1948 and 1967. Moreover, Israel has forcefully moved and transferred certain populations in occupied territories (ethnic cleansing), in which is the violation of Geneva Conventions IV, Article 49(6). Israel forcefully occupied Palestinian lands and claims its sovereignty over them, while expecting Palestinians to not retaliate in any form. Israeli regime has refused for return of displaced people to their homes after war, which indeed violates Geneva Convention IV, Articles 45, 46 & 49, UN resolutions 194 (III) & 237 (Security Council; 1967).
2. Israel, unlike Iran, is a apartheid state based on the definition of the UN for its policies to isolate Palestinian Arabs, segregating people based on their religion, … . According to Amnesty International, the law passed by Israeli legislature (Knesset) in 2003 that prevents spouses of Arab-Israelis in occupied territories to visit their families, is violation of human rights. Moreover, Israel regimes policy for collective punishment (destroying the entire neighborhood, confiscating farmlands, bulldozing buildings, blocking off certain districts) violates Geneva Conventions IV, Article 33. Israel has dual legal system for Israelis and Palestinians
3. Israeli government assassinated Iranian scientists in acts of terror and supports terrorist groups such as Jundullah in Iran and Jebhe Alnusra in Syria. Israel regime is not a signatory to non proliferation treaty (NPT) and illegally obtains 140-300 nuclear warheads and still accuses Iran of not complying with the IAEA. Moreover, Israel regime has threatens several times to take military action against Iran and was responsible for sending staxnet virus into nuclear facilities of Natanz. Harsh Iranian official’s response that is all over news is usually in response to those threats, which is selectively eliminated from our media!
4. Israeli officials has repeated their false claims that Iran is 6 months away from obtaining a nuclear weapon since 1993. Iran has signed NPT and has the highest level of inspections after Japan according to the IAEA report. They complied with the IAEA laws and with initial agreement in Geneva, in which again Israel claimed that they will not do so at the time. The exact same accusations were made by warmongers and Israeli officials against Iraq in early 2000, which turned out to be wrong!
5. Diplomatic solution is the best way to prevent war and hatred. Sanctions made Iranian conservatives powerful while suppressed the majority of people. 300 centrifuges was replaced by 19000 centrifuge during the sanctions. This deal limited the Iran’s nuclear program and brought hope to majority of Iranians for having better relation with the US.
The domestic issues in Iran and human right problems is a cause of concern. However, sanctions and war make it worse, not better. I want to add that nuclear deal was made for limiting the nuclear program not to confirm human right status in Iran. Those issues has and will be discussed after deal until conditions are improved.
There are so many things incorrect in your post that it would take hours to correct them all.
But to summarize, Israel did not “illegally acquire” land in 1948 and 67. In 48, the UN voted to give partition the land to both Jews and Palestinian Arabs living in the region. Both Jews and Arabs of the region were deemed by the UN to have legitimate claims to the land, but neither wanted to be governed by the other, so the UN set up an opportunity to create 2 states. The Jews accepted the partition plan, the Arabs (under the Arab league – since there is no democracy in Arab States) rejected the plan and 5 Arab states declared war against the new state of Israel. Any land that Israel occupies in order to assure security during a defensive campaign (a campaign that defends against an attack) is not “illegal”. All countries have the right to occupy the territory of the aggressor as long as the aggression continues.
Israel is surrounded by countries with governments that have publicly declared official antisemitic and anti Israel positions. Several openly state that they seek Israel’s total destruction, and several support murdering Jews world-wide.
Calling Israel an apartheid state and accusing them of “ethnic cleansing” is ridiculous, antisemitic, and an insult to people who have truly endure apartheid policies. In Israel, 20% of the population is Israeli-Arabs and the population has increased steadily for the past 15 years. Israeli-Arab Citizens have far more rights than any Arab country in the region. They vote and they have representation in courts and in government. They have the lowest unemployment rate (4.5%) of any neighboring Arab states, and lower unemployment than Arabs living in nearly every European country. Israeli-Arabs are have established careers in every layer of Israeli society, including government and law enforcement – there are even Israeli-Arabs seated on the Israeli Supreme Court. Since the founding of Israel in 1948, there has never been an Israeli government that did not have Arab leaders in the Knesset. The Israeli government even offers afirmative action plans to help Israeli-Arabs attend Israeli Universities.
Does any of that sound like aparthied or ethnic cleansing to you?
Now compare that to Gaza, where it is illegal to be a Jew. The penalty of attempting to live in Gaza as a Jew is death. Jews have lived in the Gaza region for over 2500 years. Currently, the population of Jews in Gaza is zero.
What the Arabs of Gaza did to Jews… NOW THAT’S GENUINE ETHNIC CLEANSING!
Your comment contains numerous falsified and incorrect information. I do not understand why you claimed my comments are incorrect, because all of them are indeed supported by facts and historical evidence.
Israeli regime indeed acquired lands illegally followed by ethnic cleansing in the years mentioned. Of course, they were both Jews and non-Jews living in the region as they are now, but millions of Arabs were displaced. Before displacing and massacre of Palestinians by the apartheid Israeli regime, both Arabs and Jews were living there peacefully for more than a thousand year, with no country declaring war on them.
I want to remind you that the conflicts occurred after Israel started to conducted ethnic cleansing, destroying homes, and moving Jews into newly built settlements in both Gaza and West bank. You can still see the reason for the conflict in the unarmed West Bank, because Israel still builds new settlements there. Thus, accusing Palestinians for rejecting peace is absolutely ridiculous.
Your claim that Israel is taking such apartheid policies and commits war crimes as a defense mechanism is totally false. It is not based on evidence, but based on Israeli official’s claims to cover their crimes and policies.
Unlike your false claim, Israel indeed opposed the UN resolution and two state solution while continuing with new settlements in Palestinian lands. You must have closed your eyes to not see these facts, which demonstrate the apartheid and expansionist policies of Israeli government. The UN resolutions against Israel were vetoed by the US, but that doesn’t mean world is blind to see Israeli crimes and violations.
You can call everyone who criticizes Israel for violation of international law anti-Semitic, but that doesn’t cover the facts, no matter how much you dislike it. I would end it here because I do not really have time to teach you the facts and history.
You wrote: “Your comment contains numerous falsified and incorrect information.”
You’re not specific. Exactly which claim do you think is false?
You wrote: “I do not understand why you claimed my comments are incorrect, because all of them are indeed supported by facts and historical evidence.”
Your claims are incorrect and they are not supported by facts or historical evidence. The very first point you stated: “Israeli regime, unlike Iran, has violated the U.N. Charter, Article 2(4) & 51 by illegally occupying lands and acquiring territories by force in 1948 and 1967.”
This is obviously false and I didn’t see where you offered any facts or supporting historical evidence. You’ve made a claim, but you offer no links to any legitimate historical records. The facts behind the 1948 war are very well documented. Anyone can Google “Israel war 1948” and read the truth. (providing they go to legitimate sites and stop reading propaganda sites). Here is a link to Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_War
Israel, in accordance with the UN partition plan (Resolution 181) declared it’s independence and was immediately attacked by 4 Arab nations. Those Arab nations entered Palestine and stated publicly that their intention was to “drive the Jews into the sea”. Israel’s campaign was defensive and therefore, not “illegal”. Any land Israel occupied during a defensive campaign is not “illegal” under international law. Israel has every right to occupy the land until the Arab nations that attacked Israel honor the treaty and hostilities cease. The same is true about the 67 war. I suggest you real a little bit about international law, because you clearly don’t understand it.
I could debunk more of what you’ve written, but I haven’t the time and I don’t think you’re really interested in the truth. I wrote this just to prove that you’re account is not reliable and others who read our exchange should not take what you wrote as legitimate.
They shouldn’t take my word for it, either. Anyone who really wants to learn about this conflict, I encourage you to go and do proper research. Don’t read propaganda. Find legitimate historical text; visit a library and read newspaper accounts of what actually happened. Learn the truth.
I mentioned and explained some of your wrong claims in my previous comment. I believe you are the one who follows propaganda and not facts.
You mentioned Israel agrees to two state solution, but Israel regime has acted otherwise, by invading Gaza and demanding armed-free Palestine. This is opposed to 2 states solution. Israeli prime minister Netanyahu clearly stated that Israel would not accept a Palestinian state (see this link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/16/us-israel-election-idUSKBN0MC1I820150316). Moreover, Israel continues building settlements in West Bank (given to Palestine by the UN), which is violation of international law as I mentioned before (google it!). As you can see, these policies and actions that I talked about are not propaganda! They are based on facts and history.
I still insist that my first claim is right. You can check a map/time-line and see yourself what areas Israel occupies illegally. Not only the regime occupies those regions, but also build homes to seize Palestinian territories and change the population’s proportionality (see this link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/16/us-israel-election-idUSKBN0MC1I820150316). Checking these references would give you an idea that during past 6 decades who is the aggressor and who is the oppressed.
I am not questioning the right of Israel to exist. However, I cannot close my eyes to the crimes and violations the state of Israel commits. You can search who lobbies and invests in the political campaigns, media, and news in our country. If you do so, I am confident you would then consider your claims as propaganda not mine.
You wrote: “You mentioned Israel agrees to two state solution, but Israel regime has
acted otherwise, by invading Gaza and demanding armed-free Palestine.”
The following is a list of times the League of Nations, the UN, and Israel have publicly attempted to establish a 2 state solution. In every case, the Jews (Israelis) accept the proposal, the Arabs reject the proposal.
Look up:
Peel Commission of 1937 – British, under League of Nations, first proposes 2 state solution. Jews of the region accept the plan, Arabs formerly reject it.
UN Partition of 1948 (UN Resolution 181) – UN proposes 2 state solution. Jews accept it and declare the state of Israel. Arabs formerly reject it and 4 Arab states attack Israel.
Note – After the 48 War, for the next 19 years, the West Bank is illegally occupied by Jordan and Gaza is illegally occupied by Egypt. Israel had no claim on these lands until after the 67 war. The Arab League could have created a Palestinian state any time they wanted during those 19 years. They didn’t. The Arab League never wanted to give the land to Israelis or Palestinians. They wanted to rule over it themselves.
End of 6 Day War in 1967 (UN Resolution 242) Israel captures Gaza and the West Bank after a defensive war. Israel proposes to return land captured during the 6 day war in exchange for peace. The Arabs issue their famous “3 No’s”: No Peace with Israel, No Negotiations with Israel, No Recognition of Israel.
Note – Israel would later make peace with Egypt and return 100% all of the Sinai land captured during the 67 and 73 war, including areas with oil. Proof that Israel is willing to exchange land for peace – providing the peace is properly guaranteed.
2001 Camp David – Israel publicly offers 97% of all occupied territories in exchange for peace, land swaps to form a continuous Palestinian state, and immediate recognition of a Palestinian State. Arafat rejected it.
2006 Israel Unilaterally Withdraws From Gaza – In an effort to advance the peace process, Israel unilaterally withdraws from Gaza. In 2008, Hamas illegally ceases control of all of Gaza and kicks the Pal Authority out. Hamas publicly states that will never make peace with Israel and it seeks to kill every Jew on earth. This is documented in the Hamas Charter since 1986. Hamas begins a steady barrage of missiles on southern Israel.
So there you have it: Nearly 85 years of Israel accepting a 2 state solution and Arabs rejecting it. I’ve given you names and plenty of information. Don’t take my word for it; Google it and see for yourself.
Mike, your focus on Israel is very telling. Have you no anger towards Hamas? More than 140 kids were killed digging tunnels in Gaza. During the last war with Israel, Hamas marched anti-war protesters into the street and publicly executed them.
I’m not proud of everything Israel does. I don’t agree with everything Israel does. But Israel is still a democracy and even the opposition has a voice. This isn’t true in Gaza. The Palestinians in Gaza do not have free speech, free press, freedom to assemble, freedom of religion – they don’t have any of the freedoms we have in this country. And Israel has nothing to do with that. All those freedoms are denied to them by Hamas.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Arab-Israeli citizens have all those freedoms and more.
If you really wanted freedom for the Palestinians, you’d be on the side of the people who condemn Hamas. Since you’re not, I have to assume you really don’t care about Palestinians at all. You’re just using them as pawns to weaken Israel.
In Syria, just north, across the border from Israel, in the past six months, more Palestinian refugees have been killed by Assad and his military than all the Palestinians that have died during the entire 85 year history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Where is your outrage about that?
People like you just aren’t credible. You seek to destroy Israel, and you really don’t care who dies to accomplish that.
I could go on, but what’s the use? People like you will never change. You want Jewish blood more than you want anything else. Your quest is going to bring on a lot of misery on both sides, but ultimately, you’ll never destroy Israel without destroying yourselves.
Israel’s crimes will not be covered by other country’s (Syria’s) conflicts. Your statistics and claims are not right. Even assuming they are correct, why are there Palestinian refugees in Syria in the first place? Oh let me repeat my previous point: because of Israel’s ethnic cleansing policy as well as opposing Palestinians’ return to their homes.
Do you know under what conditions does Israel accept peace proposal? Demilitarization of Palestine, which of course, no country would agree with that. Israel is not criticized for its democracy or prosperity, but for its crimes (e.g. killing of ~300 children in 2014 Gaza war) and apartheid policies.
I did not take the Iran’s nuclear deal to Israel issues; our friend in the first comment did. Go ahead label me Israel destroyer, pro Hamas, anti people, etc. but know that wouldn’t change the truth. I definitely agree with you on crimes committed by Hamas. That is why I’ve not gone into a debate with you on that. However, some aggressive Israeli policies have escalated the situation. You mentioned your points and I did the same, so let’s finish it here. Otherwise, we would set a record commenting on daily bruin 🙂
Another traitorous terrorist apologist in the Daily Bruin. What else is new? Just like UCLA’s Muslim Student paper Al-Talib lionized Osama Bin Laden as a freedom fighter and hero after his multiple terrorist attacks (before 9/11). I’m all for free speech, but the fact that this drivel is printed with student fee dollars is enough to make me lose my lunch.