Hannah Arendt, where are you?!

The other day, the president of Iran explicitly stated that he desired the destruction of Israel. Following that, demonstrators at Tehran University chanted death to Israel, Zionism, America and Britain, after the west expressed outrage.

Iran's statements are deeply disturbing, and should cause us to reread some literature written after WWII about Anti-Semitism, especially the work written before the US built up a relationship with Israel. There is a link between anti-semitism, totalitarianism and communism that Arendt, especially, explores.

The president's tactics reveal, especially, the tenuous hold of the clerics in their own society. It is probably true that most Iranians consider Israel to be an outpost of the west. But this demonstration was staged for the purpose of organizing Iranian society against an outside enemy, giving license to destroy internal opposition to any future conflict. The anti-trinity of Israel, the US and Britain [formerly, South Africa], is used as a convenient way to organize and prepare Iranian society to follow the revolution uncritically. If there weren't conflict internally, his statements would be unnecessary. And Israel is an easy rhetorical target.

Iran has revealed, in these statements, to be no friend of the Palestinians. The PA rejected these statements by Iran, and rightfully so. Iranian Rhetoric seriously undermines the political movement that the Palestinians have agreed to promote - a two state solution. Clearly, the audience was not the Palestinians, even though some Palestinians will enjoy the fantasy. So who was the audience of these terrible claims, these claims that implicity declare war on Israel?

Iran has made an implicit moral claim in the Muslim world that the west should understand. In Muslim code, they've said that they are the only nation not beholden to the west. Every other nation is. They are drawing a line in the sand. There is a reason for this: our soldiers have already crossed into Iran.

As they prepare themselves for war, they will continue to suppress their internal opposition - the educated elite [the people who conservatives HATE in this country]. Iran is preparing its soldiers for a holy war - and not mainly to engage the west, but to destroy those deeply dissatisfied internally. The west has already delivered what Iran wanted - a regime change in Iraq and the establishment of shia power.

I imagine that there are plenty of zionists out there looking at these statements, pleased that their foundational myths have been verified. It would be a mistake to assume that Israel and the Palestinians were the audience. It was both a warning and a distraction. A warning to the west and Iran's internal critics. And a distraction for the Palestinians and Jews who have to get their own house in order, regardless of what Iran says and does. In sum - this anti-semitism is about Iran's totalizing rule first, to organize against the US, and only trivially about their plan to take over Israel.

Anti-Semitism has a purpose. and often the main purpose is to destroy all dissent.

Israel could easily take the wind out of the Iranian sails by rewarding the Palestinians who rejected these statements outright. I doubt they will, for they can't distinguish between Palestinian realists and terrorists. and as they won't, the anti-semites will feed off Palestinian resentment and rage.

Hannah Arendt [and Sartre], where are you?

Comments

[Faithful Progressive]

Great post, Vicar. You are right on the historical uses of anti-Semitism and that this betrays the people of Palestine as well as Israel.

I have to give a talk on Religious Polarization this Sunday, and I may cite this fine post.

Best regards,
FP