Hey Ahmadinejad, see how it’s done, how simple it is?
Or is that really too fucking difficult for you to comprehend?
Though a stark improvement, we are admittedly starting at a pretty low base here.
Today I learned there are jews still living in Iran.
I’m not sure there’s anywhere in the world that Jews aren’t living. They diaspora’d pretty good, and not all of them were able or willing to up stakes and “return” to Israel.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s too complicated.
My mother-in-law visited her family in Tehran a few years ago. When she came back, she brought back a lot of the jokes on the street, which all basically involved the punchline: “Ahmadinejad is an idiot.” I wish I could recall them.
“What’s the difference between Ahmadinejad and George W. Bush?”
“Ahmadinejad is an idiot.”
?
I’ve heard that they actually have seats reserved for them in the Iranian parliament (along with Iran’s other religious minorities).
Iran has the largest Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel. They are free to leave but choose not to, because they are well treated there. Iran’s president has little political power.
Israel passed laws to muzzle outspoken Jewish holocaust deniers. The Haganah and Irgun assassinated anti-Zionist Jewish leaders. The Stern Gang offered to make a deal with Hitler.
If any of these things are news to you, maybe you should start thinking about where you get your ideas about the Middle East, and about Persia. It’s hard to find trustworthy information.
Do note that the infamous destroy Israel line was quite clearly in the same context as the USSR being destroyed, the USSR is clearly gone, but no one died in the process.
It has always been the Iranian government’s position that it is not anti-semitic, but strongly anti-Zionist. Even Ahmedinejad met with leaders of anti-Zionist Jewish groups (for instance here, meeting with Neturei Karta leaders: http://rense.com/1.imagesH/nket2.jpg). These groups are a lunatic fringe, to be sure, but it’s something. It would be news if Rouhani had made any positive comment on Israel, or even referred to the place as Israel instead of Palestine (which Iran uses to refer to the entire territory, not the West Bank and Gaza).
Hmmm… how long before the CIA is instructed to help overthrow this potential peacenik? Can’t have this guy being a cog in the works. War is profitable and creates military jobs. Can’t have this shit…
No, I think Fars is, to be charitable, mistaken. By all other accounts that is Rouhani’s official twitter profile. As I understand it the Fars news agency is aligned with the conservative old-guard which explains why they’re trying to downplay this.
Unfortunately, it appears to be a hoax: http://www.ibtimes.com/no-hassan-rouhani-didnt-wish-jews-blessed-rosh-hashanah-iranian-president-has-no-tweeter-account
Actually, he does have an account.
This is the real message from, appropriately, @TheRealHassanRouhani:
As the sun is about to set here in #Tehran I wish all Jews, those of
you who are not spies, heretics, and terrorists, especially Iranian
non-spy, non-heretic, non-terrorist Jews, a blessed Rosh Hashanah.
pic.twitter.com/tmaf84x7UR
Does indeed seems to be a hoax or misunderstanding, per the article:
“President Hassan Rouhani has no tweeter account,”
The condition of the Jews in Iran would appear to be rather worse than Iran likes to suggest, but rather better than Israel likes to suggest.
"A new leaf, as they say. "
No, not really. The anger from Iran has been directed at Israel, not Jews in general and that anger is borne out of actions of the country not antisemitism.
Equivalent confused logic would be “The US is hostile towards Cuba, the Cubans are Hispanic, therefore the US hates all Hispanic people.”
