Israel’s silence on Iran is deafening
John Lyons of The Australian recounts his recent meeting with a senior Israeli defense official, the analysis of state of the Middle East he received, and a curious refusal to discuss the subject of Iran.
“Perhaps the most important insight was the official’s refusal to discuss Iran. Iran’s nuclear program is clearly the most urgent and serious challenge that Israel faces. The official presented us with a series of slides, one of which described Iran as “an existential threat” to Israel.”
The world cannot lightly dismiss Iran’s death-to-the-Jews rhetoric
In a piece on cleveland.com Lee C. Shapiro, a director at the American Jewish Committee, says that as the world marks Holocaust Memorial Day, it cannot ignore the parallels of intent between Ahmadinejad and Hitler.
“Too many world leaders today, like their predecessors in the 1930s, interpret calls to kill Jews as empty rhetoric. But the clear message of International Holocaust Memorial Day is that state-sponsored anti-Semitism must be taken seriously—especially if the state will soon be ready to deploy a nuclear weapon to carry it out.”
Israel Isn’t Going to Attack Iran and Neither Will the United States
Barry Rubin of the nterdisciplinary Center, Herzliya writes on PJ Media that talk of an Israeli strike on Iran is merely a manoeuvre by Jerusalem to put pressure on the West.
“Of course, one might joke that the fact that Israeli leaders talk about attacking Iran is the biggest proof that they aren’t about to do it. But Israel, like other countries, should be subject to rational analysis. Articles written by others are being spun as saying Israel is going to attack when that’s not what they are saying. I stand by my analysis and before December 31 we will see who was right. I’m not at all worried about stating very clearly that Israel is not going to go to war with Iran.”
Israeli TV ad humor presses Iran’s buttons
And finally, the LA Times looks at an advert which proves that Israelis are not without a sense of humor even about the most serious of subjects.
“The advertisement for the Hot cable company stars the cast of “Asfour” – a wildly successful Israeli show recently sold to an American production company for adaptation – in the Iranian city of Isfahan, home to a uranium conversion plant and the site of a blast in November.”
