Iran was an early supporter of the Jewish state

Is Israel Involved In Fueling The Protests In Iran, And If Not, Should They Be?

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Emanuel Engelmayer
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The ongoing civil unrest in Iran is perhaps, without exaggeration, the most significant development in the country since the Ayatollah’s takeover of the Persian people in 1979. At the very least according to the BBC, it is the “biggest challenge to his [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] rule in a decade”. The Ayatollah announced Israeli and American involvement in the unrest, claiming that “insecurity was engineered by America and the occupying, false Zionist regime."

For obvious reasons, neither the Israelis nor the Americans have confirmed or denied these allegations. The underlying question that should be on the minds of all who are following the recent developments should be, is Israel involved, and if not should it be? As always, the historical facts should be examined to receive a cohesive answer on the matter.

Israeli relations with Iran go back to 1947 when the Shah-ruled monarchy took part in a United Nations committee brainstorming the efficiency of the partition plan for the British mandate of Palestine. Iran, along with India and Yugoslavia, found the said plan to be a bad idea. However, the Iranian reasoning for their conclusion would not be considered hostile toward the future Zionist state in 21st-century terms. The Persians simply concluded that a two-state solution would only bring more violence and that the solution was one federally operated state. In other words, they concluded that the entire land of Israel should be one country, an idea that to this very day resonates with many Israelis, particularly, right-wing politicians.

Nevertheless, Iran was the second Muslim country to recognize Israel’s sovereignty, after post-Ottoman Turkey. The two countries maintained close relationships all throughout the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. Ties were so close that the two nations developed an oil pipeline from the Eilat port to the Mediterranean in order to transfer crude oil to desperate Europe, from Iran through Israel. Additionally, military projects were brought to life between the two, such as the “Flower Project” whose goal was to develop some kind of technologically advanced missile. Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, had a unique agenda of creating strong ties with non-Arab Muslim countries to counter the Arab hostility at the time, and Iran certainly was the perfect candidate.

In sync with today’s Iranian citizens, the Iranian people in the 60s and 70s had a strong disdain for the monarchy and the Shah’s tightly gripped rule. This was manifested in many political movements on all political sides that agreed on nothing but one thing, the Shah must be removed. Many of these movements were secular and most sought democracy, but one was neither, yet still managed to cultivate a massive following. Sayyid Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, the first supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was both a devout, eccentric Shiite Muslim and an anti-Shah figure.

Khomeini used manipulation and confusion between anti-Shah ideology and extreme Islam to rise to power. He was a great public speaker and knew his crowd very well. If he was to speak in front of a democracy-seeking political movement, he would tone down his Islamic rhetoric and if he was speaking to Muslim traditionalists he would do the same to any democratic “Shpiel”. A master manipulator of sorts.

In 1979, after a 14-year exodus forced upon him by the last Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Khomeini returned home and quickly got all his affairs in place to take power and create the new Islamist state he so desired. The Shiite and Sharia law desires of Khomeini were never hidden but perhaps masked through a strong united Iranian desire to rid themselves of tyranny. His intentions quickly became clear, but it was too late for those simply seeking democracy and the Persian lands entered a new, far more extreme version of tyranny.

Naturally, all Israeli ties were gradually cut as the Ayatollah and his regime strongly opposed the “illegal occupation of Palestine by the illegal Zionist regime.” The years went by and Iran increasingly became more openly hostile toward Israel, creating a network of gorilla militias to counter the Zionists. Hezbollah is a direct product of the ongoing useless Iranian attempts to destroy Israel.

There were a few signs of the Iranian people attempting to revolt against the extremist regime over the years, but the current rioting and unrest seem the most promising. The protesting began on September 13th when Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old, was arrested for not properly wearing her hijab as required by Sharia law in Iran. Amini was likely heavily beaten because her arrest resulted in her falling into a coma and later dying. Ever since, Iranians, predominantly led by the younger generation, have been protesting and rioting against the Ayatollah’s grip on their country. The police and military have been violently responding to the protests causing the global media to pay close attention.

The question at hand is whether Israel is involved in aiding the protesters or should it be.  Based on all historical evidence the answer is, it better be and the Ayatollah should be terrified. The Israeli Mossad since the rise of the Islamist movement in Iran has heavily facilitated itself there. Ben Gurion’s goal of befriending non-Arab Muslim countries perhaps is no longer valid due to the recent Abraham Accords, but the dream of a peaceful Middle East still lives. Many Israelis are of Persian descent and the connection to the land and the Persian heritage is strong.

Iranian-born-Israeli singer Rita most recently released a statement to the people of Iran on, of all networks, a Saudi-owned one, that really summarizes how most Israelis feel about the free-minded Iranian people. "The time will come when we will be friends, we have no reason to be enemies."

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