Why our president called for Israels annihilation.
The week's news at a glance.
Iran
It’s hard to see what all the fuss is about, said Tehran’s Resalat in an editorial. Western countries are pretending to be outraged at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent statement that Israel should be wiped off the map. France, Italy, and Russia summoned their Iranian ambassadors for an explanation; Britain’s prime minister, Tony Blair, threatened military action. But Ahmadinejad’s comment was neither new nor unexpected. He was quoting the words of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, and he was speaking on Quds Day, the annual holiday specifically set aside for demonstrations against the Zionist occupation of Jerusalem. It would have been odd had the president not made such a call. “Not recognizing Israel and stressing that the Palestinians should come back to their motherland has long been Iran’s irreversible policy.” The hysterical Western reaction is simply “stupid.”
Everyone knows that Israel is an illegitimate state, said Tehran’s Jomhuri-ye Eslami in an editorial. “The Zionist regime is an appropriator regime based on racism.” It has survived this long only by breaking international law—and by feeding off the United States. Any regime that is so blatantly illegal “can have no destiny but annihilation.” It is the duty of every Muslim to liberate any Muslim land occupied by foreigners. This is simple “scientific fact.”
That is not to say, though, that we literally intend to kill all the Jews, said the Tehran Times in an editorial. In the context of Iranian discourse on Israel, “annihilation” doesn’t mean “genocide of the Jewish people, but rather a nonviolent confrontation with Zionist schools of thought.” The Western countries know that perfectly well. They are purposely misunderstanding Ahmadinejad just “to raise a brouhaha” and divert attention from Israel’s many crimes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Keyhan
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Critics’ choice: Restaurants worthy of their buzz
feature A fun bistro, a reservation worth the wait, and a modern twist on Mexican dishes
By The Week US Published
-
Film reviews: Snow White, Death of a Unicorn, and The Alto Knights
Feature A makeover for Disney’s first animated feature, greedy humans earn nature’s wrath, and a feud between crime bosses rattles the mob
By The Week US Published
-
Bombs or talks: What’s next in the US-Iran showdown?
Talking Points US gives Tehran a two-month deadline to deal
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published