Iranian demonstrators must be supported

By Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel

CHULA VISTA, California — Some of us may not have heard about the news unfolding in Iran.

Protests in Iran,  triggered by soaring fuel prices, have spread across at least 100 cities. The people expressed not only their contempt over the gas prices, but also called for destruction of the Islamic clerical regime that has cruelly oppressed them for four decades.

Once again, the Iranian people have taken to the streets of their country, demanding change, According to one source:

• Protesters were chanting, “The police are our disgrace.” I saw with my own eyes that people torched two municipalities and the governor’s office. People of all ages were standing together chanting, “Down with dictatorship!” and “mullahs must get out.” Security forces killed a lot of protesters, but this did not deter the protesters. They really aren’t afraid of anything anymore’. The Iranians have silenced the Internet, yet the freedom fighters are smuggling the images out of their country—even as thousands have been shot, wounded, and killed.[1]

This is important news, but the western media has for the most part barely mentioned it.  Britain, France–even the media in the United States–has kept dangerously silent as the Iranian people have taken to the streets. This is puzzling as it is disturbing.

Although the map of the world has changed considerably since WWII, the same ethical challenges that confronted the civilized world then still confront the civilized world today. Again, Europe’s cowardice should not come as a surprise; they never seem to learn from history.

When mass protests in Iran happened the first time, I knew they would be President Obama’s first real moral test. Would he stand up for the Green Revolution in achieving their objectives? He did for the Muslim Brotherhood, when he insisted that Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak step down from his presidency.[2] Unfortunately, the first time the Iranian people marched in 2009, the Mullahs of Iran brutally put the rebellion down—without so much as a complaint from the west. The Obama administration preferred staying in a supine position; he remained mute and indifferent.

But now the Iranian regime is very much weaker.

Today’s situation has changed—potentially for the better. The very thing so many have so long hoped for, that the Iranian people would rise up against the regime, is happening.[3]

From Iranian-controlled portions of  Iraq to Lebanon, people are marching; women are tearing off their hijabs, while dancing to the sound of western music with their male friends. Iranian corruption and brutality have alienated the entire Muslim world in those countries. They demand a change.

Since Jews have often been in the forefront of revolutionary movements, would it not be a welcome change to see Jews push our leaders to support the latest revolution for freedom in Iran?  Israel’s safety may depend upon the success of this revolution for freedom.

For Jews, the collapse of mullahs would dramatically reduce the possibility of another Holocaust. Additionally, the collapse of Iran would force Palestinians to take a more pragmatic approach and risk for the sake of peace. The forces of terrorism would receive a mighty blow.

But what are we prepared to do? Will we add our voices and show moral support? Or will we hide our heads in the sand and make believe everything is as it should be?

When the Jews were being herded to the concentration camps, few people whimpered or protested. The German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) poetically expressed the moral dilemma that Western countries faced in a confession he wrote in 1946 about the cowardice and apathy evident in Germany where he castigated the religious leaders—along with himself — following the Nazi rise to power.

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out–
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Niemöller’s words remains as an admonition for those of us living today.

One week later after the demonstrations started, President Trump condemned in a Tweet the “death and tragedy that the Iranian Regime is causing” and the European Union has called for restraint.  Trump further noted, “Iran has become so unstable that the regime has shut down their entire Internet System so that the Great Iranian people cannot talk about the tremendous violence taking place within the country. . . They want ZERO transparency, thinking the world will not find out the death and tragedy that the Iranian Regime is causing!”[4] Had the President not been in the maelstrom of the impeachment hearings, one suspects we would have heard something sooner from him.

When one considers the billions in dollars that Iran received from Obama, it is surprising the mullahs did not use the money to better their people’s lives; instead, they used it to produce weapons of war and mayhem.[5]

And while some people blame the President’s economic sanctions against Iran, the counter approach says the sanctions may have the same effect in producing a regime change, much like what President Reagan did to the old Soviet Union. But the Europeans, Americans, Saudis, and Israelis must also keep up the pressure. Former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman (D, I-Connecticut) has lavished praise on Trump for keeping the maximum pressure on Iranian mullahs.[6]

President Trump has a historical opportunity to rid the civilized world of a movement that is at the epicenter of almost every terrorist movement of the world. The collapse of the Iranian mullahcracy would be a great blessing for all people—Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.  That is why we ought to support the people’s desire for change.

Jewish communities and their leaders can ill-afford to remain silent. The fate of over eight million people in Israel depend upon our activism. The collapse of a nuclear-armed Iran would be a blessing for the world.

History has given us a second chance and opportunity to see whether we have learned anything practical from the ashes of the Shoah victims.  When our people said,  “Never again,” we really meant, “Never again!”

Let us pray that the President’s continued pressure placed on the Iranian mullahcracy succeeds. I realize many people may not like the President for many reasons, yet when you fly in an airplane, you had better hope the pilot succeeds without any mishap.

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NOTES:

[1] https://thefreeiranian.org/irgc-basij-and-hezbollah/mass-protests-continue-in-iran-islamic-center-torched-protesters-shot-iranians-chant-neither-threats-nor-prison-have-any-power-over-us-anymore

[2] This was a cowardly moment in recent memory. Mubarak did more to keep the peace between Israel and Egypt than any American, foreign—or even Israeli leader accomplished. He deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for a Life Achievement.

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTj-Njh0Tlc

[4] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/trump-iran-twitter-eu-protets-rouhani-impeachment-a9213126.html

[5] https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/apr/27/donald-trump/donald-trump-iran-150-billion-and-18-billion-c/

[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAe86kxkWfQ

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Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista.  He may be contacted via michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com