Unpacking Iran’s confused attitudes to themselves and Jews

A new study released by World Public Opinion finds encouraging support for an Iranian/American rapprochement: A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of Iranians finds that six in 10 favor restoration of diplomatic relations between their country and the United States, a stance that is directly at odds with the position the Iranian government has held for three…

Not all Islamists see Israel and Jews in the same way

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continues his foul Holocaust denial during a speech today for “Jerusalem Day” at the University of Tehran. The Hamas leader, interviewed by Ken Livingstone in this week’s New Statesman, offers many insights, including this: The conflict is the outcome of aggression and occupation. Our struggle against the Israelis is not because…

Iran’s true face is not hard to see

The New York Times writes a spot-on editorial: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran is preparing to come to the United Nations this month where he will enjoy the freedom to speak his mind. Back home, far too many people are denied their basic rights and are deprived of their freedom. Since fraudulent presidential elections in…

Iran about to be pounded

This news will only bring belligerence on all sides (Iran, Israel and the US), though the hardline Zionist lobby will be rapt: A new round of international sanctions against Iran looked almost inevitable today, after the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei said talks with the Islamic republic were at a “stalemate”, and…

Naomi Klein speaks for many of us on Palestine

Canadian journalist and author Noami Klein, one of the world’s leading critics of Israel and militarism and a relatively recent supporter of a boycott movement against Israel, tells Alternet why highlighting Israeli “normality” is so essential: Well, it has to do with the fact that the Israeli government openly uses culture as a military tool.…

Iran (may not be the) centre of terror

Here’s what the global media has reported over the last days: Argentina expressed outrage Friday over Iran’s nomination of a man wanted in connection to a 1994 Buenos Aires bombing that killed 85 people as the next defense minister. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tapping Ahmad Vahidi for the post is “an affront to Argentine justice…

Ahmadinejad will remain on notice

Iran’s political situation is currently in turmoil. This, though, could be a welcome development: The Iranian opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi announced the formation of a new social and political movement on his Web site on Saturday, following through on a promise made last month and defying a renewed government campaign of intimidation aimed at…

Ahmadinejad the Jew

An intriguing new report by Global Voices writer Hamid Tehrani on the myriad ways in which anti-Jewish sentiment is alive and well in the Islamic Republic: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a Holocaust denier who, for many, is the living symbol of anti-Semitism, has recently become the target of an anti-Semitic attack. Mehdi Khazali, the son of…

Israel close to bombing Iran?

A story to be placed in the “what the hell?” file: Israel last month asked the United State for permission to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida reported on Friday. The paper quoted a “US diplomatic source located in Jerusalem”, but the report’s credibility was not confirmed. According to the sources, after the opposition…

When the lobby likes to tell lies

The following letter appeared in the Australian Jewish News on July 10: Last week a member of the Jewish community was slandered in the media but I’m not expecting Jamie Hyams’ “Media Week” column to point out the glaring unfairness of the description. Why? Because the person was the community’s enfant terrible, Antony Loewenstein. I…

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