Abrabanel: Musings on the Jewish condition

In an article unabashedly titled “Jewish lobbies make US support Israel,” Iran’s English-language Press TV website explained to its readers the following diabolical conspiracy:

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has given an approving nod to a Senate bid, which sides with Tel Aviv and “conveys America’s unequivocal and steadfast support for Israel’s right to self-defense.”

The resolution – which was sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell – justifies Israel’s raids on the coastal silver, which has so far killed 783 and wounded 3,050.

Note that (1) the article itself only accuses AIPAC of “approving” the resolution, not forcing the US Senate to pass it, as the headline suggest, and (2) you only discover in the second paragraph that, in fact, the leaders of both sides in the Senate actually sponsored the bill. Very diabolical, n’est-ce pas?

In a radio address on January 3, George W. Bush refused to offer any criticism of the saturation bombing of Gaza and refrained from commenting on whether he considers Israel’s response as proportionate to the scope of rockets attacks on Israel.

This paragraph contained a lie. Not that we’re too excited about this, but just for the record: saturation bombing is a term that actually means something, and it is not even close to what is happening in Gaza, as evidenced by the lack of 200,000 dead.

This news report pleased us. We figure if Iran is upset, the IDF must be doing something right.

In case you missed it, the Iranians are turning aggressive on the psychological front:

Senior Tehran officials are recommending a preemptive strike against Israel to prevent an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear reactors, a senior Islamic Republic official told foreign diplomats two weeks ago in London.

The official, Dr. Seyed G. Safavi, said recent threats by Israeli authorities strengthened this position, but that as of yet, a preemptive strike has not been integrated into Iranian policy.

The strategy seems to be multi-pronged. On the one hand, even if attacked Iran would target Israel alone (so what possible excuse does America have for participating in an attack?):

Safavi said Tehran recently drafted a new policy for responding to an Israeli or American attack on its nuclear facilities. While the previous policy called for attacks against Israel and American interests in the Middle East and beyond, the new policy is to target Israel alone.

On the other, the full power of a fatwa (which has been mentioned in the past but, strangely, not published) vouches for Iran’s peaceful intentions:

Safavi said that Iran’s nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes only, and that Khamenei recently released a fatwa against the use of weapons of mass destruction, though the contents of that religious ruling have not yet been publicized.

Surely the cool-headed Obama will understand:

Regarding dialogue with the United States and the West, Safavi said Iran’s decision would be influenced by the results of the U.S. presidential elections next month, as well as by the Iranian presidential elections in June and the economic situation in the Islamic Republic.

Safavi also said that a victory by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama would pave the way for dialogue with Washington, while a John McCain presidency would bolster Iran’s extreme right, which opposes dialogue.

Strengthening that “extreme right” would sure be terrible.

That’s the gist of an Islamic Republic News Agency report that claims “US Congressmen have made a request to Iranian parliament to hold negotiations with Iranian counterparts.”

After announcing the secret letter – without giving the congressmen’s names – an Iranian parliament spokesman decided to play hard-to-get:

“Due decision will be made in this connection,” the spokesman told IRNA adding that the number of the signatories of the letter is confidential.

The MP added that the request was handed over to Iranian MPs who had attended the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank held in Washington DC on October 13.

Kohkan said that Majlis representatives would consider the request and will make “final decision” about it. “We are not in a hurry to answer the request for the moment,” Kohkan added.

The report, which leaves something to be desired grammar-wise, quickly gets to the point: these unnamed congressmen are allegedly less averse to Iranian aggression than the current American administration:

Meanwhile, Chairman of Parliament Commission on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi said that the context of the letter is not in concord with the current approach of the US Administration.

He said that the context of the letter does not keep up with the current policy of the United States, highlighting the US anti-Iran propaganda and hostility.

A newspaper in Iran reported that security forces around one of the country’s nuclear sites arrested spy pigeons.

One of the pigeons was caught near a rose water production plant in the city of Kashan in Isfahan province, the report cited an unnamed informed source as saying, adding that some metal rings and invisible strings were attached to the bird.

“Early this month, a black pigeon was caught bearing a blue-coated metal ring, with invisible strings,” the source was quoted as saying of the second pigeon.

The Iranian government denied the report, but it never denied last year’s news that its security forces arrested 14 squirrels for the same crime.

Remember back a few days when Sunni Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi asserted that “the capitalist system based on usury and paper and not on goods traded on the market” has collapsed while “Islamic economic philosophy is holding up?”

It looks as though Iran’s Shi’ite leadership reached the same conclusion:

“The school of Marxism has collapsed and the sound of the West’s cracking liberal democracy is now being heard,” supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday, recalling the fate of the Soviet Union.

Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is backed by Khamenei, said on Tuesday that “it is the end of capitalism.”

“These people see the outcome of their bad deeds. This problem has spread to Europe now which makes us happy. The unhappier they are the happier we become,” Ayatollah Ali Janati, who heads the Guardians Council, said in last Friday’s prayer sermon.

Ahmadinejad has recently echoed that, saying “the reason of their defeat is that they have forgotten God and piety.”

The financial crisis should be a divine sign that “the oppressors and the corrupt will be replaced by the pious and believers,” he said, adding that “an Islamic banking system will help us survive the current economic crisis.”

Dang it:

Australia has dropped moves to take Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the International Court of Justice over comments he made about Israel, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Wednesday.

He said the government had dropped the bid because of the complexity of the issues involved and the high legal threshold required to bring forward a case.

Smith said in response to Iran’s ongoing defiance of the UN, Australia would impose new financial and travel sanctions on 20 Iranian individuals and 18 organisations which contribute to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, or otherwise assist Iran to violate its Security Council obligations.

So much for international law. If it can’t be used against Ahmadinejad, what exactly is it good for?

Reuters reports the court proceedings in London against a British spy for Iran in Afghanistan:

LONDON (Reuters) – A British soldier became a spy for Iran after becoming angry at being passed over for promotion and what he perceived as racial discrimination, a court heard on Monday.

Corporal Daniel James, 45, contacted Iranian officials in Kabul while working as an interpreter for General David Richards, the British commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, prosecutors told the Old Bailey.

“The allegation in this case is that during the latter part of 2006, the defendant’s loyalty to this country wavered and his loyalties turned to Iran, the country of his birth,” prosecutor Mark Dennis said. …

He was arrested in December 2006, a few months after contact had been made, so that his activities were “nipped in the bud,” Dennis said.

In case you thought it was just that rabble-rouser Ahmadinejad who’s the problem over there:

A month ago, the Iranian parliament voted in favour of a draft bill, entitled “Islamic Penal Code”, which would codify the death penalty for any male Iranian who leaves his Islamic faith. Women would get life imprisonment. The majority in favour of the new law was overwhelming: 196 votes for, with just seven against.

Imposing the death penalty for changing religion blatantly violates one of the most fundamental of all human rights. The right to freedom of religion is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in the European Convention of Human Rights. It is even enshrined as Article 23 of Iran’s own constitution, which states that no one may be molested simply for his beliefs. …

David Miliband, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, stands out as one of the few politicians from any Western country who has put on record his opposition to making apostasy a crime punishable by death. The protest from the EU has been distinctly muted; meanwhile, Germany, Iran’s largest foreign trading partner, has just increased its business deals with Iran by more than half. Characteristically, the United Nations has said nothing.

We highly recommend reading the article in full. It concerns a specific Iranian Christian family torn apart by the regime’s cruelty, and about to be struck again as another brother is arrested by the authorities for the crime of Christianity.

Iran has set preconditions for talks with the US.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Vice President for Media Affairs Mehdi Kalhor said on Saturday that Iran has set two preconditions for holding talks with the United States of America.

In an exclusive interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency, he said as long as U.S. forces have not left the Middle East region and continues its support for the Zionist regime, talks between Iran and U.S. is off the agenda.

It is the Americans who are in dire need of reestablishing ties with Iran, he underlined.

Iran is not obliged to reestablish ties with the U.S., he said.

“If they take our advice, grounds for such talks would be well prepared,” he said.

It is stupidity to hold talks without any change in U.S. attitude, he underlined.

Hat tip: Little Green Footballs.

Reports YNet:

“I can’t thank the Jewish people enough for all the love and support we’ve been getting,” said the father of the Iranian boy flown to Israel for emergency brain surgery over the weekend.

“I ask you, all of you, to pray for my son. A father’s love for his son goes beyond borderlines and religion… It is important to me that you know that the majority of Iranians don’t hate Israel. We are all people and we all have the same feelings.”