by Boaz Bismuth
Some 360 kilometers
(224 miles) southeast of Tehran sits the ancient city of Hamedan. I
visited it twice after the revolution. The Jews of Iran identify it with
the city of Shushan from the book of Esther, and believe Mordechai the
Jew and Queen Esther are buried there.
Upon entering the city,
visitors are greeted with giant murals featuring an Iranian boy and
girl: They are helping a blind man cross the road; they are brushing
their teeth; they are reading the Quran; they are burning the Israeli
flag. In the Islamic republic, this sequence of images is only natural.
The only thing missing was a boy and girl burning the American flag, so
that we get a better sense of the perfect Iranian child in the era of
the revolution.
But slogans against the
great devil, America, are not lacking in Tehran. The copywriter that
brought "Down with the U.S.A." to the Iranians is surely retired already
and counting rials. On Monday, that slogan once again made a star
appearance during national U.S. hate day. The telephone conversation
between U.S. President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hasan Rouhani
did not really affect America's image in Iran. As far as Iran is
concerned, America is still the same.
Americans woke up on
Monday with the harsh images from the rallies in Tehran. It is a little
difficult for the average citizen in Nebraska, Illinois or Oregon to
understand what is going on here: On the one hand, the media explained
that there is a new Iran, open and smiling and believing in nuclear
negotiations. On the other hand, suddenly they hear that this new and
affable new Iranian president "isn't optimistic" at all and, moreover,
American flags are still being burned ... so what else is new?
More nuclear talks will
be held this weekend. The Iranians are now projecting pessimism after
discovering that their charm offensive has not resulted in the desired
results, the easing of sanctions, so easily. What to do then? Clearly,
act offended and play hard to get. We must hope that this time as well
the West does not let up, even if, as intimated by a European diplomat
with knowledge of the talks, a breakthrough is not expected during this
round of discussions either.
"The Iranians have
changed their method: They are smiling and speaking in English. In the
meantime, though, the centrifuges are spinning. The regime has not given
up on acquiring a nuclear bomb." This quote is not from an Israeli
source, rather from a senior French diplomat of all people, and it was
printed in the daily French newspaper Le Figaro. Apparently not all is
lost and Israel is not alone in being concerned.
On paper, things seem
promising for the upcoming Geneva talks: The Nobel Peace Prize laureate
(Obama) is on one side of the table, while his "liberal" and cheerful
negotiating partner (Rouhani) is on the other. Indeed, talks should be a
blast with this dynamite duo.
In actuality, however, we have
the United States versus the Islamic Republic of Iran. And this is a
very unnatural pairing for our two little cutie-pies from Hamedan.
Boaz Bismuth
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=6207
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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