The Gospel According to Ahmadinejad
The French paper Le Monde has just published the text of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush. Ahmadjinejad's missive skirts the central issue of the Iranian nuclear program and has been met with disdain by both the administration and the mullahs in Tehran.
But in repeatedly calling upon the President to heed the teachings of Jesus, the letter reveals how completely Ahmadinejad misunderstands George W. Bush and his core supporters. As I've written before, the President's evangelical supporters are not so much concerned with bringing the word of Christ to the Middle East as much as they are focused on fulfilling biblical prophecy about the End of Times.
Ahmadinejad's odd and rambling screed does little to unwind the tension between Washington and Tehran. The letter does, however, repeatedly try to emphasize the role of Jesus in the faith traditions of both countries:
"We also believe that Jesus Christ (PBUH) was one of the great prophets of the Almighty. He has been repeatedly praised in the Koran. Jesus (PBUH) has been quoted in Koran as well; [19,36] And surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serves Him."
The Iranian president then tries to hold Bush's feet to the fire (so to speak), claiming inconsistencies between Bush's Christian creed and American actions on the ground. "Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the great Messenger of God," Ahmadinejad asks, and "make 'War on Terror' his slogan?" On American support for Israel, he questions the President, "Is support for this regime in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH) or Moses (PBUH) or liberal values?" Regarding Bush's foreign policy, the Iranian president ponders:
"How can theses actions be reconciled with the values outlined at the beginning of this letter and duty to the tradition of Jesus Christ, the Messenger of peace and forgiveness?...Do such actions correspond to the teachings of Christ and the tenets of human rights?"
Perhaps sensing the two nations teetering on the precipice of war, Ahmadinejad asks President Bush how they will be judged in these and the End of Times:
"If prophet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph or Jesus Christ were with us today, how would they have judged such behaviour? Will we be given a role to play in the promised world, where justice will become universal and Jesus Christ will be present? Will they even accept us?"
Finally, in discussing the "promised world", Ahmadinejad is using language President Bush and his followers can understand. But given the analogous views regarding religious prophecy, second comings and the end of times, such talk is hardly reassuring. As I concluded last week:
While some wait for the arrival of the biblically mandated bovine, the apocalyptic theocracies of Washington and Tehran seem on a collision course. As President Bush's supporters view themselves as "Israel's only safety belt," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for Israel to be "wiped off the map." While the mullahs in Tehran look to the return of the Twelfth Imam to deliver them from evil, President Bush's allies await the Second Coming of Christ to usher in a millennium of peace. With their research institutes and breeding programs, the devout on both sides seek to accelerate the End of Times. And as their positions over the Iranian nuclear program harden, Presidents Bush and Ahmadinejad have more in common than they know.
For more background on eerie similarities between the fundamentalist followers of presidents Bush and Ahmadinejad, see "Iran, Bush and the Second Coming."
AND THE SILENCE WAS DEAFENING
BY: FERN SIDMAN
The history of the Jewish people is replete with scourges, haters and mass murderers of our people. The latest menace to our people is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He spews forth his vitriol against Israel and the Jewish people on a daily basis and has threatened to use his nuclear arsenal at will. There is no question that this latest madman must be taken seriously.
In his translation of a speech to the "World Without Zionism" conference held for students in October of 2005, Nazila Fathi of The New York Times' Tehran bureau reported Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying, regarding Israel, in part:
Our dear Imam (referring to Ayatollah Khomeini) said that the occupying regime (Israel)must be wiped off the map and this was a very wise statement. We cannot compromise over the issue of Palestine. Is it possible to create a new front in the heart of an old front. This would be a defeat and whoever accepts the legitimacy of this regime has in fact, signed the defeat of the Islamic world. Our dear Imam targeted the heart of the world oppressor in his struggle, meaning the occupying regime. I have no doubt that the new wave that has started in Palestine, and we witness it in the Islamic world too, will eliminate this disgraceful stain from the Islamic world. But we must be aware of tricks.
Ahmadinejad also claimed in the speech that the issue with Palestine would be over "the day that all refugees return to their homes [and] a democratic government elected by the people comes to power", and denounced attempts to normalize relations with Israel, condemning all Muslim leaders who accept the existence of Israel as "acknowledging a surrender and defeat of the Islamic world."
The speech also indicated that the Iranian President considered Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip to be a trick, designed to gain acknowledgement from Islamic states. In a rally held two days later, Ahmadinejad declared that his words reflected the views of the Iranian people, adding that Westerners are free to comment, but their reactions are invalid.
In December of 2005 and January and May of 2006 Ahmadinejad made controversial statements which denied the veracity of the Holocaust and criticized European laws against Holocaust denial. CNN and other media outlets reported that he stated concerning the Holocaust that "they have invented a myth that Jews were massacred."
In an interview with the German publication Der Spiegel, Ahmadinejad was asked, "Are you still saying that the Holocaust is just 'a myth'?" He responded, "I will only accept something as truth if I am actually convinced of it." In the same interview, he later stated, "We oppose every type of crime against any people. But we want to know whether this crime actually took place or not.. If it did not occur, then the Jews have to go back to where they came from".
In an interview with Iranian state television's Arabic-language satellite channel, Al-Alam, on December 8, 2005, Ahmadinejad referred to Israel as a "tumor", and suggested that it should be relocated to Europe. His other quotes concerning Israel and the Jews are as follows:
"You believe the Jews were oppressed, why should the Palestinian Muslims have to pay the price?"
"Germany and Austria, come and give one, two or any number of your provinces to the Zionist regime so they can create a country there... and the problem will be solved at its root."
"They have invented a myth that Jews were massacred and place this above God, religions and the prophets."
"If somebody in their country questions God, nobody says anything, but if somebody denies the myth of the massacre of Jews, the Zionist loudspeakers and the governments in the pay of Zionism will start to scream."
If these statements were not enough proof of the danger of the current Iranian regime, it has been recently reported by the Iranian news service that Mohammed Ali Ramim, a senior advisor to Ahmadinejad told students during a visit to the town of Rasht in Iran that, "Jews are a filthy people, and that is why they have been accused throughout history of spreading deadly disease and plagues."
Ramin, an alleged historian who serves as the president's most senior aide, is believed to be the man behind the regime's recent statements that the Holocaust is a myth. Ramin went on to say, "Historically, there are many accusations against the Jews. For example, it was said that they were the source for such deadly disease as the plague and typhus. This is because the Jews are very filthy people. For a time people also said that they poisoned water wells belonging to Christians and thus killed them."
Ramin also reiterated past statements made by Ahmadinejad regarding the Holocaust, saying it was the cause for the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, and claimed that Israel is responsible for the Middle East crisis. "So long as Israel exists in the region there will never be peace and security in the Middle East," he said adding, "so the resolution of the Holocaust issue will end in the destruction of Israel".
The Jerusalem Post reported on 6/16/06 that Ahmadinejad said during a news conference following a meeting with Chinese president Hu Jintao, that, "I think we have sufficiently talked about this matter and these Holocaust events need to be further investigated by independent and impartial parties." He added that, "An event that has influenced so many diplomatic and political equations of the world needs to investigated and researched by impartial and independent groups."
To those who are students of history, we know that this kind of propaganda is not new. It has been utilized against the Jews since time immemorial. We know that Hitler and his propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels honed this practice to a fine art. We also know that the current Iranian administration is well adept in this modality as well. We who know the truth, know that this kind of incendiary rhetoric is designed to create a dramatic rise in Jew hatred, thus facilitating their final goal, the eradication of the State of Israel and of the Jewish people. Yes, it is yet the latest round of modern day Hitlers. We are used to this. We must tell the Iranian madman that we're not going anywhere. We must tell him and the world that no one will eradicate the State of Israel and extricate the Jewish people from their home.
And to those who believe that this "blather" should not be taken seriously are in fact denying the real threat that this latest round of Jew haters represents. And we ask, "What does the world have to say about all this? Where are all the bold and unequivocal denunciations and condemnations from the leaders of the free world?"
The answer is clear to those who wish to see it. The world cares little for the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. This is not the first time in history that this kind of anti-Jewish invective has been promulgated by state leaders. This kind of anti-Jewish canard and propaganda has become standard fare for the wide variety of Jew haters that fill the world.
It is time to clarify our position and to announce without fear and trepidation what our position is. The modern Jewish State of Israel did not come into being because we needed a safe asylum for the thousands of survivors of Hitler's Holocaust. The Jews of Europe did not come to a country that did not belong to them and displace it's Arab population. The Jews of Europe and from around the world, came back to their homeland. They did not come as "occupiers" but they returned as the sole legitimate owners of a land that was given to them by the G-d of Israel.
Did the world feel sorry for the Jews and "allow" them to call "Palestine" their home and rename it Israel? We will never know the true motivation of the UN vote that established Israel as a Jewish State on May 14, 1948. We do however, know that the current state of affairs between the "Palestinians" and the Israelis has nothing to do with the Holocaust. We do know that it is yet another diatribe aimed at delegitimizing the right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. We do know that the Holocaust did indeed occur and has been documented and there is no need to investigate it's authenticity. Just ask any Holocaust survivor.
We do know that our claim and ownership of the Land of Israel was given to us by the Almighty G-d of Israel and our ownership is declared before any other commandment. One need only look at the first verse in the Book of Genesis, "In the beginning G-d created the Heaven and the Earth." The biblical commentator and great Torah giant, Rashi, tells us that this verse establishes the Jewish ownership of the Land of Israel. "If the world will say that we are robbers and stole this land, we know that it was G-d who created the world and it was He who first gave it to Canaanites and then gave it to Bnei Yisroel." It was He who said that "this land shall be yours for as long as the sky remains over the earth."
Yet, it is we who must acknowledge this and it is we who must declare to the world that our right to be in this land is from G-d and it is His rule that we must obey. No government or international body can declare our right to ownership of Israel, for the vacillating will of man can be easily refuted or reversed.. It is we who must know that this is the land in which Hashem Yisborach designated as a homeland for us for all time. It is we who must tell this to the nations of the world and to the Iranian dictator. For in the end, it is G-d who we must fear and not man. Ahmadinejad is just the latest in the never ending flow of Jew haters who seek our destruction. In His infinite mercy, it is Hashem alone who allows us to exist. It is Hashem who has brought down and destroyed all those who sought to annihilate His people.
It is only through faith and trust in the Almighty G-d of Israel and adherence to His commandments that will see us through this clear and present danger. We must raise our voices in prayer and supplication to the Almighty. Now is the time to gird our loins and prepare to defend our faith. May Hashem give us the strength and courage to overcome our enemies and to do His will.
Who Stole the Land of Israel?
Why do the anti-Zionists feel that a thousand-year old claim by Arabs who were never ruled by Palestinian Arabs has legitimacy, while a 1,900-year claim by Jews to the land should be rejected as absurd?
So let us see if we have this straight. The anti-Zionists claim that the Jews have no right to the land of Israel because before Israel was re-created in 1948, it had been almost 1,900 years since the last time that the Jews exercised sovereignty over the Land of Israel. And the anti-Zionists claim that it is absurd to argue that anyone still has rights to land that was last governed with sovereignty 1,900 years ago.
And on what basis do they argue that the Arabs have some legitimate claim to these same lands? On the basis of the claim that the Arabs last exercised sovereignty over that land 1,000 years ago.
Are you all with me? 1,900 year-old-claims are inadmissible. Thousand-year-old claims trump them and are indisputable.
Now let us emphasize that even the thousand-year-old Arab claim is not the same thing as a claim on behalf of Palestinian [sic] Arabs. After all, the last time that Palestinian Arabs held sovereignty over the lands of "Palestine" was ... never. There has never been a Palestinian Arab state in Palestine. Ever.
It is true that Arabs once exercised sovereignty over parts or all of historic Palestine. There were small Arab kingdoms in the south of "Palestine" already in late Biblical days, and they were important military and political allies of the Jews, who exercised sovereignty back then in the Land of Israel. After the rise of Islam, historic "Palestine" was indeed part of a larger Arab kingdom or caliphate. But that ended in 1071 CE, when Palestine came under the rule of the Suljuk Turks. That was the last time Palestine had an Arab ruler. After that, it was always ruled by a long series of Ottomans, Mamluks, other Turks, Crusaders, British, and — briefly — French. And in any case, why does the fact that Palestine once belonged to a larger Arab empire make it any more "Arab" than the fact that it also was once part of larger Roman, Greek, Persian, Turkish, or British empires? Now it is true that historic Palestine probably once had a population majority who were Arabs, but today it has a population majority who are Jews. So if population majorities are what determine legitimacy of sovereignty, Israel is at least as legitimate as any other country.
So why exactly do the anti-Zionists claim that a thousand-year old claim by Arabs who were never ruled by Palestinian Arabs has legitimacy, while a 1,900-year claim by Jews to the land should be rejected as absurd, even though the United Nations granted Israel sovereignty in 1947? The anti-Zionists say it is because the thousand-year-old Arab claim is more recent than the older Jewish claim. But if national claims to lands become more legitimate when they are more recent, then surely the most legitimate of all is that of the Jews of Israel to the lands of Israel, because it is the most recent!
The other claim by the anti-Zionists is that Jews have no rights to the lands of Israel (historic Palestine) because they moved there from some other places. Now never mind that there was actually always a Jewish minority living in the lands of Israel even when it was under the sovereignty of Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Crusaders, Turks or British. Does the fact that Jews moved to the land of Israel from other places disqualify them from exercising sovereignty there? The claim would be absurd enough even if we were to ignore that fact that most "Palestinian Arabs" also moved to Palestine from neighboring countries, starting in the late nineteenth century. But more generally, does the fact that a people moves from one locality to another deprive it of its claims to legitimate sovereignty in its new abode? Does this fact necessitate the conclusion that they need to pack up and leave, as the anti-Zionists insist?
If it does, then it goes without saying that the Americans and Canadians must lead the way and show the Israelis the light, by returning all lands that they seized from the Indians and the Mexicans to their original owners and going back to whence they came. For that matter, the Mexicans of Spanish ancestry also need to leave. The Anglo-Saxons, meaning the English, will be invited to turn the British Isles over to their rightful original Celtic and Druid owners, while they return to their own ancestral Saxon homeland in northern Germany and Denmark. The Danes of course will be asked to move aside, in fact to move back to their Norwegian and Swedish homelands, to make room for the returning Anglo-Saxons.
But that is just a beginning. The Spanish will be called upon to leave the Iberian Peninsula that they wrongfully occupy, and return it to the Celtiberians. Similarly the Portuguese occupiers will leave their lands and return them to the Lusitanians. The Magyars will go back where they came from and leave Hungary to its true owners. The Australians and New Zealanders obviously will have to end their occupations of lands that do not belong to them. The Thais will leave Thailand. The Bulgarians will return to their Volga homeland and abandon occupied Bulgaria. Anyone speaking Spanish will be expected to end his or her forced occupation of Latin America. It goes without saying that the French will lose almost all their lands to their rightful owners. The Turks will go back to Mongolia and leave Anatolia altogether, returning it to the Greeks. The Germans will go back to Gotland. The Italians will return the boot to the Etruscans and Greeks.
Ah, but that leaves the Arabs. First, all of northern Africa, from Mauritania to Egypt and Sudan, will have to be immediately abandoned by the illegal Arab occupiers and squatters, and returned to their lawful original Berber, Punic, Greek, and Vandal owners. Occupied Syria and Lebanon must be released at once from the cruel occupation of the Arab imperialist aggressors. Iraq must be returned to the Assyrians and Chaldeans. Southern Arabia must be returned to the Abyssinians. The Arabs may retain control of the central portion of the Arabian Peninsula as their homeland. But not the oil fields.
Oh, and the Palestinian infiltrators, usurpers and squatters will of course have to return the lands they are illegally and wrongfully occupying, turning them over to their legal and rightful owners, which would of course be the Jews!