"There is an interesting problem with selling the "Iran as Nazi Germany" line. If Ahmadinejad really is Hitler, ready to commit genocide against Israel's Jews as soon as he can get his hands on a nuclear weapon, why are some 25,000 Jews living peacefully in Iran and more than reluctant to leave, despite repeated enticements from Israel and American Jews?"
writes Jonathan Cook in his excellent piece 'Kosher in Tehran', published today on the Guardian's Comment is Free website.
Jonathan's observations remind me of the war lobby's ludicrous attempts to portray President Milosevic's rump Yugoslavia as the 'new Nazi Germany' in the 1990s. The weak point in the argument- aside from the fact that Yugoslavia was a thriving multi-party democracy led by a life-long anti-fascist whose parents were Partisans, was that thousands of non-Serb refugees from the wars in Bosnia and Croatia headed to guess where...? Yup, Milosevic's rump Yugoslavia. I might be wrong, but I can't recall any Jews emigrating to Nazi Germany in the 1940s, can you?
3 comments:
Dear Neil,
I'm sure you must be familiar with juliagorin.com, so I'm wondering why you don't have a link to that site on your blog. Certainly you have much in common with Julia's views on the former Yugoslavia. Perhaps you have some differences in other respects with her or maybe it's just a matter of space restrictions on your site. I think she's amazing. I think you are amazing. So, just wondering...
I think Neil's amazing too.
It's a versatile word, isn't it?
Genius. Golden nuggets of loveliness. Of course the Jews LOVE it in Iran...
"Despite the official distinction between "Jews," "Zionists," and "Israel," the most common accusation the Jews encounter is that of maintaining contacts with Zionists. The Jewish community does enjoy a measure of religious freedom but is faced with constant suspicion of cooperating with the Zionist state and with "imperialistic America" — both such activities are punishable by death. Jews who apply for a passport to travel abroad must do so in a special bureau and are immediately put under surveillance. The government does not generally allow all members of a family to travel abroad at the same time to prevent Jewish emigration. Again, the Jews live under the status of dhimmi, with the restrictions im posed on religious minorities. Jewish leaders fear government reprisals if they draw attention to official mistreatment of their community."
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/iranjews.html
I suspect no one died at Srebrenica and Mostar either.
Whoever is paying this guy, they are getting their money's worth. Fabulous.
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