The most odious use and continued reuse of any quote by any political leader of any country in recent history is certainly that quote by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that has so often been deliberately misquoted as "Israel must be wiped off the map." Such is the fate of any foreign lanuage, subject to the malicious intent of translators. This article is worth reading to show exactly what I mean...http://www.mohammadmossadegh.com/news/the-jerusalem-post/ .
Iran is, most assuredly, a country controlled by a despotic regime with a loathsome man as the spokesman of the government (Ahmedinejad is, in fact, NOT the executive decision make of Iran); but it is a rational actor (not a suicidal nation of martyrs, if they wanted to be eliminated they would have already made a deliberately stupid move that would have brought about their destruction).
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From the link and through a sub-link:
“In his speech, Ahmadinejad declares that Zionism is the West's apparatus of political oppression against Muslims. He says the "Zionist regime" was imposed on the Islamic world as a strategic bridgehead to ensure domination of the region and its assets. Palestine, he insists, is the frontline of the Islamic world's struggle with American hegemony, and its fate will have repercussions for the entire Middle East.”
So, in the 1890’s ‘The West’ established ‘Zionism’ as an apparatus of political oppression against Muslims. Hah! ;-) I find it ironic that a region that gave us Cyrus The Great, who restored the Jews to Jerusalem from their long exile in Babylon, and financed the reconstruction of the their Temple, should now so ardently wish their demise.
Oh Persia, how far thou hast fallen! And thou hast not remembered thine ancient proverb:
“Man who spit against the wind of God gets phlegm on face”.
But then Cyrus knew that, and was advised as much in my beloved Isaiah (see Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1-5).
Thanks for clearing up the meaning of Ahmadinejad’s quote of Khomeini's statement reading:
“"The Imam said this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time. This statement is very wise".
I agree that this is far from ‘"Israel must be wiped off the map.” Actually, it seems Khomeini wanted to wipe them off the map AND off of recorded history as well.
Ah, now –that- is a common strategy for conquerors. ;-)
Ok well where to begin...
The quote does not even mention Israel it does not say that Israel should be wiped from the page of history, it says that the REGIME should be wiped from the page of history. That is the regime that has oppressed palestinians for the past 60 years, the regime that carried out the Nakbah, the regime that has turned the West Bank into A GHETTO, A regime that kills innocent palestinians (check the numbers on that, nearly 6 to 1 Palestinian deaths for EVERY Israeli death). To say that a regime should disappear from the pages of history is not to say that all the people in the country from which that regime rises should also disappear. The US government more or less said that the Taliban should disappear from the pages of history when we went to war in Afghanistan.
And does it say JEWS anywhere in the quote? You have taken the quote entirely out of context and are now deliberately misconstruing it to justify your viewpoint. It's ok, as Edward Said, their is a pervasive fear and misrepresentation of Muslims in the West. Zionism has taken the tragedy that the Jews endured and turned it into a political tool! To associate Zionism with all Jews is a horrible injustice! Zionism was and remains an atheistic, purely political philosophy. Have you read about Ben Gurion's meetings with Hitler? You should probably do that. Have you read about the council that met in the 1890s, the majority of which rejected Zionist claims that Palestine was "a land without a people for a people without a land?" Also should probably read about that. The bottom line is this, Zionism is NOT Judaism.
I won't even contend that Israel has no right to exist, but the Zionist philosophy that there can be only one state, a "Jewish" state, is absurd and cannot be perpetuated indefinitely. Had Ariel Sharon had his way there would be no Palestinians left in Israel. Israel has every right in the world to exist and the people have every right to live free of fear, BUT SO DO THE PALESTINIANS.
You mystify me mystic. What REGIME? Did he not say 'Zionist Regime'? What is that exactly? How would you define it? Exactly, please. It sounds like you need to stretch it over 60 years.
For example, if I said "I do not like the America Regime that has oppressed Indians for 250 years" . . . what would I be saying, EXACTLY? Sounds like I pretty much don’t like the U.S. form of government . . . perhaps Communism might be more to someone’s liking, or perhaps, a fiercely fundamentalist Islamic state?
Seriously, you mystify me. Did he say, or did he not say (or mean) 'Zionist Regime'? I don’t speak Persian; I can only read and believe what the link you provided said.
Ok let's be clear on this, Zionism is the belief that there can be only a single state. A single state that would be completely free of all Palestinians. To say that the Zionist Regime should disappear from the pages of history is to say that the Israeli government, which yes you are right has committed egregious human rights abuses over the course of the past 60 years, should be removed. That is that the government, not the people or the state, should be eliminated.
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