Jerusalem Day
What Part ...
From the New York Times report:
... of 'Death to America' ...
When the Iranian parliament went into session on May 28, 2005, all the delegates got up and chanted that, chanted it in unison, hard-liners and reformers alike.
"Death to America." That chant has been heard since 1979. And it's been acted out often in that interval.
The election in Iran was highly fractious. The hard-liners manipulated the process to marginalize the reformers. As soon as the gavel came down, independents and the hard-liners started squabbling.
"To cool down the atmosphere, some deputies proposed anti-American slogans be shouted loudly. His suggestion was immediately welcomed with a big 'death to America' from the audience."
Just think about that. They can't agree on anything else, but to restore unity, they reach out for the one thing they have in common.
You think Bush is a warmonger? Americans are militarists? Imagine sessions of U.S. Congress after the next election opening with chants of "Death to Iran!"
... Do We Pretend We Don't Understand?
Associated Press photo. "An Iranian woman fills in the papers of registration indicating her readiness for martyrdom, or to carry out suicide attacks against Israel, during an anti-Israeli rally marking 'Al-Quds Day' (Jerusalem Day), to support the Palestinian cause, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Oct. 20, 2006."
From the New York Times report:
Ahmadinejad made his comments at a rally called for Jerusalem Day, held here every year on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan in support of the Palestinian struggle against Israel.
Ahmadinejad told tens of thousands of demonstrators that Israel could not last long after its battle this summer against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. “Hezbollah shattered the myth that Israel is undefeatable,” he said. “Now Israel has no reason to exist.”
State-run television showed tens of thousands of demonstrators around Iran who chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
... of 'Death to America' ...
When the Iranian parliament went into session on May 28, 2005, all the delegates got up and chanted that, chanted it in unison, hard-liners and reformers alike.
"Death to America." That chant has been heard since 1979. And it's been acted out often in that interval.
The election in Iran was highly fractious. The hard-liners manipulated the process to marginalize the reformers. As soon as the gavel came down, independents and the hard-liners started squabbling.
"To cool down the atmosphere, some deputies proposed anti-American slogans be shouted loudly. His suggestion was immediately welcomed with a big 'death to America' from the audience."
Just think about that. They can't agree on anything else, but to restore unity, they reach out for the one thing they have in common.
You think Bush is a warmonger? Americans are militarists? Imagine sessions of U.S. Congress after the next election opening with chants of "Death to Iran!"
... Do We Pretend We Don't Understand?
Associated Press photo. "An Iranian woman fills in the papers of registration indicating her readiness for martyrdom, or to carry out suicide attacks against Israel, during an anti-Israeli rally marking 'Al-Quds Day' (Jerusalem Day), to support the Palestinian cause, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Oct. 20, 2006."
Labels: Iran
