MSM is abuzz with the story of Iranian Jews supporting their country’s “right” to have a nuclear program, since Khamenei’s Fatwa is proof of it’s peaceful purposes:
Hundreds of Iranians including university students and members of the country’s Jewish community rallied Tuesday in support of the Islamic Republic’s disputed nuclear program on the eve of the resumption of talks with world powers.
Iranian state TV showed students gathered at the gate of Fordo enrichment facility, carved into a mountain south of Tehran. They formed a human chain, chanted “Fordo is in our hearts” and denounced the West, which has put pressure on Iran to curb enrichment activity which can be a step toward weapons development.
In Tehran, meanwhile, several dozen people identifying themselves as Iranian Jews gathered outside a U.N. building. It was a rare public display by the community, which tends to keep a low profile despite being the largest in the region outside Israel and Turkey.
Iran’s nuclear program is popular, including among critics of the clerically dominated system, but any major gatherings or demonstrations would need official approval.
This picture is accompanying the articles:
Only problem is that no such Fatwa exists.
A research organization disputed on Sunday the existence of a fatwa, or religious ruling, against the development of nuclear weapons by Iran’s supreme leader.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) said that Iranian references to such a fatwa by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei were an attempt to deceive the international community, particularly the United States, in order to persuade it to ease economic sanctions on Iran.
“An investigation by MEMRI reveals that no such fatwa ever existed or was ever published,” said a report released by the organization. “Media reports about it are nothing more than a propaganda ruse on the part of the Iranian regime.”
The Iranian Fauxtwa is so entrenched in the liberal mindset, it’s even quoted by Clinton and Obama:
Has Iran’s Supreme Leader issued a fatwa prohibiting the manufacture and use of nuclear weapons? U.S. policymakers, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, seem to think so. They believe that such a fatwa, or religious ruling, may prove critical in negotiations to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions short of a bomb.
Given that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not only Iran’s foremost political leader but also the country’s foremost spiritual authority, a ruling of this sort would mark a major breakthrough. Such a possibility has certainly been on Clinton’s mind. Earlier this month, on the eve of the first round of negotiations in Istanbul between American and Iranian diplomats, she explained: If the fatwa “is indeed a statement of principle, of values, then it is a starting point for being operationalized, which means that it serves as the entryway into a negotiation as to how you demonstrate that it is indeed a sincere, authentic statement of conviction.”
The fatwa is believed to date back to 2005—or at least that’s the date that Iranian officials cite. For instance, just two weeks ago a Washington Postop-ed (“Iran: We do not want nuclear weapons”) by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi referred to the 2005 ruling: “Almost seven years ago, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei made a binding commitment. He issued a religious edict—a fatwa—forbidding the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons.”
Well, that would seem to solve everything. If Iran doesn’t really want the bomb, then the confrontation that so many fear will have been averted. Indeed, if Khamenei has declared that a nuclear bomb is un-Islamic, then the second round of negotiations between Iran and the United States scheduled for Baghdad at the end of next month is unnecessary.
Unfortunately, no one can find the fatwa. And even if it did exist, it would appear that it is nothing more than a ploy to sow confusion among Iranian adversaries—especially the United States.
The Iranian Jews are a persecuted minority that will do whatever it takes to keep living, and openly supporting Iran and Khamenei like that is expected. I cannot blame them for the useful idiots they have become.
The media and anti-Semitic online hacks , however, will push this story as far as they can in an attempt to discredit Israel by claiming that “Real Jews support Iran”.
