Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on March 3, 2015

By Rachel Eliasi Kohan, New York

Netanyahu's last attempt against Iran's nuclear agreement (front page of Iran daily)

Deja vu all over again, the much hyped up appearance of Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the U.S. Congress, purportedly to warn the legislatures about the possibility of Iran developing its own nuclear arsenal, would only amount to his usual ostentatious rhetoric, bogus theatrical diagrams, and frivolous pontificating allegations for which he has no independently verifiable evidence. In fact substantial number of congress members have already boycotted tomorrows fiasco, in part to demonstrate their growing concerns for any foreign leader, the Israeli leader now included for the first time, to dictate how the sovereign U.S. should independently administer its own internal affairs and foreign policy.

As evidenced by the Israeli right of the past few decades, Bibis ulterior motive in reality is not the Iranian nuclear issue, but rather, keeping the water muddied up so as to once again push the U.S. into another costly but futile war of no end in sight. In reality however, unpopular by over half the voters, Bibi struggles to win reelection in two weeks by portraying the facade of his strong foreign policy through deterring the Americans from any rapprochement with anyone in the region let alone with Iran, which might as a result discount the power grip Israel has exploited over the U.S. and the region for decades. It must be equally stressed that IRI the current regime in Iran is no angel by any remote measure; its myriad failed economic and international policies, and its suppression of the aspirations of its nearly 80 million citizens for their basic human and constitutional rights (e.g., democracy, equality, empowerment, justice, etc.) 150 years lingering, are of grave concerns. That said, however, are other so-called allied governments in southwest Asia, be it Israel or Saudi Arabia just to name two, more democratic when it comes to safeguarding the same pillars of modern civil societies? Upon closer examination of Israel with over 8 million citizens as a self-proclaimed Jewish democratic state, one could discern the lack of equality and racial/ethnic/religion discrimination not only against the 25% indigenous Muslims and Christians, but also against many Jews whose origins are of Arab Jews, Sephardic-Yemeni-Mizrahi-Ethiopians and not of European immigrants.

Despite western pressure as illustrated by multi-layered international and American economic sanctions imposed on Iran, Iran has since the 70s remained a signatory to NPT and IAEA protocols on the development and use of nuclear technology. There has been excessive and unannounced number of IAEA inspections of Irans nuclear facilities for over a decade. Iran has further reaffirmed repeatedly its pledge to avoid a nuclear development policy that could lead to military applications. Paradoxically Hippocratic, Israel which has cried foul while declining to sign onto NPT and IAEA protocols since the 70s, has developed nuclear arsenals with the sole military purpose, and currently is presumed to hold to several hundred medium to long range ballistic nuclear warheads.

Israel, 70 years in the making and born out of a Eurocentric-ally inflicted holocaust should now feel sufficiently matured to realize that the U.S. diplomatic relations with others in the region must not be misconstrued as leaving Israel out of the equation. The U.S. and the west would inextricably remain supportive of Israels right to exist securely and peacefully. Such long standing commitment must not any longer be [mis-]interpreted by Israel as a carte blanche to get away from its chronic policy of apartheid against one third of its own populations, or to preemptively wage war inflicted on its own neighbors, and, or the inalienable right to coerce the U.S. and the west into futile wars of adventure against its fictitious or even real adversaries.

Is it not hypocritical that Israel which has continuously complained about the divisive strategy of the colonialists, namely, to divide and conquer, that has since inception resorted to same strategy?! The case of conceiving and supporting radical criminal Islamic forces is just one example. Is it not time that if Israel cannot finally accept a two states solution living side by side with mutual security, that it has to inevitably revert for the ultimate alternative of one secular nation for all where every citizen has one vote?

The need and merit for substantive peaceful American/western engagement in the southwest Asia, leading to the empowerment of grassroots for educational and socio-economic reforms and opportunities is more far urgent than ever.

The Author,born in Iran in a diverse family comprised of the Shiite and Sunni Muslims as well as Bahai, Jewish, Armenian/Assyrian Christian and Zoroastrian lineage, is a naturalized American who has resided in the U.S. for nearly forty years. As the steward of nature, she has come to believe in and advocate for secular universal humanism and equal [blind] justice for all on earth.

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The Israeli Prime Minister to appear before the U.S. Congress

Category: Sephardic
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