Ask An Iranian Jew What Ayatollah Khamenei Is Talking About When He Threatens To Destroy Israel!

No one like an Iranian Jew can get a feel of what they really mean when the Islamic president and the ‘spiritual leader’ of Iran threaten to destroy and eradicate the State of Israel from the world map. It just reminds the Iranian Jew of the centuries of ‘on and off ‘ pogroms against the Jewish communities in Iran (with the exception of the era of the late Shah) for reasons such as “not paying off certain ransom” to a “certain mullah” by a relatively wealthy Jew which usually led to a Fatwa to attack small Jewish communities as a collective punishment and forcefully taking away their possessions. These Fatwas were also meant as an opportunity to remind the Jews that they should always remember to maintain a low profile in the ghettos they lived and have fear of the dominant Muslims.
To Iranian Jews, this threat reminds them of the bitter memories their grandfathers told them that Jews living among Muslims did not and do not have equal rights and as a result, they must remain as second class citizens at the mercy and occasional compassion of the Shiite Muslims rendered towards them. For centuries this had become a norm and an unwritten code of conduct that Jews living among Shiites are considered “Najis” which means impure and dirty creatures who are not supposed to come out of their homes on rainy days as a precaution where drops of rain may fall on the Muslims hitting the Jews first. Also, the Jews were supposed to pay additional taxes beside the normal taxes paid like other Muslim citizens. These additional taxes were called “Jazieh” and they were meant to be a punishment to the Jews for not converting to Islam. There were other restrictions for the Jews such as not being able to ride horses and donkeys in a normal position (one leg on each side) to deprive them of a normal citizen status and as a symbol of humiliation to the Jews.
It is important to emphasize that these restrictions were ordered by the mullahs of the mosques and religious leaders and not necessarily by the government but the government closed its eyes on them in order to not alienate the mullahs. The fanatic Muslims enforced these restrictions while some who were more friendly toward the Jews ignored them.
As I said, the motivations behind these restrictions were only one thing:If the Jews were given equal rights and freedom, they would absolutely and most certainly flourish. They would flourish in trade, business, science and therefore become powerful and as a result, they would bypass the Muslims and the mullahs could not afford to let it happen for the reasons of jealousy and hatred toward the Jews. In larger cities like Tehran, these restrictions were milder but never the less they existed.
In 1979 Islamic revolution these restrictions and anti - Semitic measures took a turn and became an ideology of the new regime and were directed towards the State of Israel by Ayatollah Khomeini. It became the main strategic policy of the regime towards the very existence of the Jewish State. Khomeini realized it would be like hitting two birds with the same stone because it would undermine the Shah for having good relations with Iranian Jewry and the State of Israel and at the same time unite the fanatic Muslims who had the anti - Semitic sentiments toward the Jews and Israel. 
To Khomeini and his followers and for that matter, the rest of anti - Semites in the Arab countries, the very existence of a Jewish state and what Israel had accomplished in 31 years (1948 till 1979) was an evidence of failure of Muslim and Arab countries to accomplish the same in centuries of their existence since Islam was created. Israel’s democracy was also a thorn in their eyes since they could not allow democracy in a totalitarian regime. Khomeini figured, it would be a clever way to declare the elimination of this so called ‘cancerous existence’ (Israel) as means of defeating the Shah and rising to power.
From then on, he and his followers tried to change the political calculations of the Middle East policies and the peace process, from territorial dispute into an ideological dispute by investing billions of oil dollars into the Islamic and Palestinian terrorist organizations. They realized, their new regime could only survive through creating chaos and the export of terror into the Middle East and the whole world because they knew, in the long run and without this policy, they would not have the merit to a valid government with the majority of the Iranian people being, for the most part, a peace loving nation who have no dispute what so ever, geographically nor historically with the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
According to Khomeini doctrine and Shiite interpretation of the Quran, the Jews were and are the enemies of prophet Mohammed because they refused to convert to Islam 14 centuries ago and continue to refuse to accept Islam as the final word of Allah. Therefore until the Jews do that, they must remain second class citizens with limited rights not equal nor to exceed the rights of Muslims. This is precisely the reason that the Jews must not have independence or a state of their own particularly in the midst of Muslims and Arab territories. The very existence of the State of Israel and its unique accomplishments in 72 years are the undermining of the principles of Islam and its holy Quran and it simply can not be allowed by any means.
As a guarantee for the survival of their dictatorship, the new supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his president insist on acquiring the nuclear military capabilities not so much to use it against Israel (they are smarter than that) but as a mean to continue to spread fear over the Iranian nation, the neighbor countries, the region and perhaps the whole world as a show of force to indicate that this regime is here to stay and the world should come in terms with this reality.
However, The U.S. and the free world can not afford to take the risk of allowing such a regime to have nuclear military capabilities since history has proven that a dictator’s rhetoric, even if intended as a bluff, could one day become a reality which may lead to a catastrophe for the Iranian nation and another potential Holocaust for the Jewish people.
Edward Abraham 

* Edward Abraham is an Iranian born architect, musician and script writer residing in Los Angeles. He has written articles for the local Iranian Jewish magazines and newspapers and has been interviewed by Mr. Menashe Amir of Israel Radio in Persian regarding the Middle East politics

DreamHomeComeTrue