Down with Israel or Death to Israel is a political slogan against Israel, which is also used in Iran[1][2][3][4] and other countries such as Iraq[5] and Mexico.[6][7] Every year, Iranian pilgrims sing the slogan of "death to Israel" during the Hajj rituals and the ceremony of disavowal of polytheists.[8][9] This slogan is especially chanted against Israel by demonstrators on Quds Day and is often accompanied by the burning of the Israeli flag.[10] This slogan has also been used in the atmosphere of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran.[11] In the film released from Iran's missile exercise during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, the slogan "Death to Israel" was written on ballistic missiles that were fired at replicas.[4] This slogan in Iran does not mean a mere political slogan, but an expression of the vision of the Iranian government towards Israel's current in the region.[12]

The slogan of Down With Israel in three languages: Persian, Arabic and English; Written on a poster related to a march in Iran. (2017, Bojnord, march condemning the transfer of the capital of Israel to Jerusalem)

Other uses

Houthi movement

 
The slogan on the flag of the Houthis in Yemen is as follows: "God is greater, Death to America, Death to Israel, curse to the Jews, victory to Islam."

The slogan of the Houthis, the Shiite rebel group in Yemen, which Iran also supports,[13] is "God is greater, death to America, death to Israel, curse to the Jews, victory to Islam".[14][15][16] This slogan is also one of the slogans used by Hezbollah in Lebanon.[17] Tariq Alhomayed believes that the slogan of death to Israel in the Arab world has lost its function and holding reconciliation agreements between the Arab countries of the region with Israel is proof of this claim.[18] This slogan, as one of the symbols of hatred against Israel, has been noticed by the rulers of the Middle East region.[19]

Reactions

Opponents

Nikki Haley, the former representative of the United States in the United Nations, in a tweet, considered this slogan, along with the slogan of death to America, as a reason to oppose Iran. She believes that Iran is looking for nuclear weapons and is seeking to realize these two slogans.[1] Akram Meknes, one of the Arabic language writers, considers the slogan of death to Israel as an erosion slogan that does not convince even children these days and has lost its effectiveness.[20] Karim Sadjadpour considers the slogan of death to America, along with death to Israel, as well as the hijab, to be the main foundations of the Islamic Republic of Iran's ideology, which remains for them in the 2020s.[21] Benjamin Netanyahu, referring to this slogan, considers it a proof of the radical atmosphere ruling in Iran.[22]

 
The slogan of death to Israel in the parade of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Supporters

According to the Islam Quest website, this slogan is permissible due to the "tyranny of the Israeli government".[23] Ali Al Bukhaiti, the former spokesman and the official media face of the Houthis, said: "We really do not want anyone's death. This slogan is only against the intervention of those governments [i.e. the United States and Israel]."[24] Ali Khamenei also considered this slogan as the "slogan of the Iranian nation" and does not consider it specific to one of the Iranian cities.[25] Masoud Jazayeri, the spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces, also claimed in an interview that: "Cries of death to America, death to England, death to Israel, etc. did not arise overnight; That by saying this reason and that reason, it should be removed from the political discourse of nations wounded by imperialism and arrogance and domination regimes."[26]

Margins

One of the students of the University of Adelaide in Australia, named Habibah Jaghoori,[27] who was the editor of that university's magazine, was expelled from the university for publishing an anti-Semitic article titled "Death to Israel" in it. This incident is related to September 15, 2022.[28][29]

In an article entitled "Death to Israel" dated August 4, 2022, Jaghoori wrote in the journal of this university:

The solution to achieving peace and establishing justice for Palestine is to demand the destruction of Israel.
Free Palestine and death to Israel.

— Jaghoori, The Times of Israel[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "تحلیل نیکی هیلی از شعار "مرگ بر آمریکا" و "مرگ بر اسرائیل" ایرانی‌ها" [Nikki Haley's analysis of the Iranian slogans "Death to America" and "Death to Israel"] (in Persian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  2. ^ "ما در ایران شعار «مرگ بر اسرائیل» می‌دادیم ولی رؤیای آزادی داشتیم" [In Iran, we chanted "Death to Israel", but we dreamed of freedom] (in Persian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  3. ^ "قتيل باحتجاجات زاهدان الإيرانية.. ومظاهرات تندد بهجوم شيراز" [One killed in Iranian Zahedan protests.. and demonstrations denounce Shiraz attack] (in Arabic). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b "When Iran Says 'Death to Israel,' It Means It". The Atlantic. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  5. ^ "شعار مرگ بر اسرائیل در اعتراضات عراق / تاکید الفتح بر دخالت کشورهای غربی-عربی" [The slogan of death to Israel in Iraqi protests / Fatah's emphasis on the intervention of Western-Arab countries] (in Persian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  6. ^ "'Death to Israel' daubed on Mexico City embassy during protest". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  7. ^ "شعار «مرگ بر اسرائیل» مقابل سفارت رژیم صهیونیستی در مکزیکوسیتی" [The slogan "Death to Israel" in front of the Zionist embassy in Mexico City] (in Persian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  8. ^ "شعار "مرگ بر آمریکا" و "مرگ بر اسرائیل" حجاج ایرانی در مراسم برائت از مشرکین" ["Death to America" and "Death to Israel" chanted by Iranian pilgrims during the ceremony of acquittal] (in Persian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  9. ^ "برائت در حج امسال همان شعار مرگ بر اسرائیل است" [Acquittal in this year's Hajj is the slogan of death to Israel] (in Persian). 7 May 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  10. ^ ""الموت لإسرائيل" هتاف الملايين بإيران في يوم القدس العالمي" ["Death to Israel" chanted by millions Iranian on International Quds Day] (in Arabic). 29 April 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Iranian officials chant 'death to America, death to Israel' in government body". Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Iran anniversary marchers chant 'death to Israel' amid regional tensions over Gaza". Reuters. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  13. ^ "With Arms for Yemen Rebels, Iran Seeks Wider Mideast Role". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Yemen's 'Death to America' rebels bring calm to northern Yemen". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  15. ^ "الكاف: بيان مجلس الأمن الدولي في غاية الأهمية لكن الحوثيين ضربوا كل القرارات الدولية عرض الحائط" [Al-Kaf: The UN Security Council statement is very important, but the Houthis have ignored all international resolutions] (in Arabic). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  16. ^ "حقيقة شعار الموت لأمريكا الموت لإسرائيل" [The truth about the slogan Death to America Death to Israel] (in Arabic). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  17. ^ "الترسيم و«خرافة» الانتصار .. والشعارات!" [Demarcation, the “myth” of victory... and the slogans!] (in Persian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  18. ^ "جائزة نوبل للأوهام" [Nobel Prize for Illusions] (in Arabic). 5 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  19. ^ "'Death to Israel, death to America': Iran marks anniversary". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  20. ^ "ما بني على باطل فهو باطل" [What is built on falsehood is falsehood] (in Arabic). 29 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  21. ^ "هل یصمد النظام الإیرانی؟: احتجاجات إیران ۲۰۲۲ نسخة من انتفاضات الربیع العربی" [Will the Iranian regime survive?: Iran’s 2022 protests are a copy of the Arab Spring uprisings] (in Arabic). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  22. ^ "Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the current state of the Middle East". PBS. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  23. ^ "آیا شعار مرگ بر آمریکا، باعث هتک حرمت و ناراحتی حداقّل تعدادی مردم مسلمان و با ایمان در این کشور نمی‌شود؟" [Doesn't the slogan of death to America insult and upset at least a number of Muslims and people of faith in this country?] (in Persian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Rise of the Houthis". Newsweek. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  25. ^ "Tehran's Doomsday Theology: Last night on "The Rosenberg Report," I explored Iran's apocalyptic, genocidal eschatology" [روز رستاخیز در تهران: شب گذشته در «گزارش روزنبرگ»، آخرالزمان و نسل کشی ایران را بررسی کردم.]. October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  26. ^ "شعار «مرگ بر آمریکا» در ایران یک شبه ایجاد نشده که کسی بخواهد آن را حذف کند" [The slogan "Death to America" was not created overnight in Iran that anyone wants to remove] (in Persian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  27. ^ a b "Australian university student magazine calls for 'death to Israel'". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  28. ^ "Australian University Magazine Editor Fired After Writing 'Death to Israel'". Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  29. ^ "Student magazine editor at Australian university fired for writing 'death to Israel'". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 October 2024.