While
politicians in both countries continue to step up the rhetoric, ordinary people
in Israel and Iran have launched an initiative to express their respect for
each other and their mutual rejection of a possible war.
The
initiative was triggered by a video shared on the social media platform
"YouTube" by Ronny Edry and his wife Michal Tamir, who live in Tel
Aviv.
The 41 year
old graphic designer explains his motives in the video: "Lately in the
news you can hear about the war coming, a big one. Politicians talk about destruction,
about self defence, like this war is not about us." He goes on to appeal
to YouTube fans to make posters with their photos and express their love of the
Iranian people.
Ronny and
his wife have made a colourful poster with their photo, holding their little
daughter in their arms. Their message was: "Iranians, We love you. We will
never bomb your country…No Iranians ever did me harm."
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| Many people are worried a war between Israel and Iran could break out |
The
Israeli, who runs a small preparatory school for graphic design with his wife,
argues that Iranians talking about war on Iranian TV are not representative of
the Iranian people and what they think about Israel. At the end of the video,
he asks everyone who feels the same to share this message and help it to reach
Iran.
Reactions
in Israel have been extraordinary. A few hours after the video was posted on
YouTube, hundreds of Israelis started posting their own photos with expressions
of mutual respect and love. A Facebook page was also launched and #israellovesiran
became a trend on "Twitter."
"Iran
Loves Israel Too"
Since the
start of the "Israel Loves Iran" Facebook page, Iranians from all
around the world have started expressing their support.
"My
Israeli friends! I do not hate you; I do not want war. Love and peace" is
typical of many Iranian posts by Iranian Facebook users on a new sister page
called "Iran Loves Israel." Some other posters read: "Iranians
don’t want a war with any country in the world."
Most of the
Iranians who posted messages on the Facebook page from inside the country, did
so with their faces partially veiled for fear of Iranian security
forces."Espionage for Israel" is a common allegation used against
those critical of the regime’s policies.
Some of the
Iranian posters challenged the Islamic Republic’s view that nuclear energy is
the country’s "inalienable right." One poster caption reads:
"Dear Israeli friends and the world! Iranians love peace and we hate hate!
And we don’t need any nuclear power to show it!"
Another
photo shows a young couple, kissing each other while showing their passports to
the camer. The girl is holding an Iranian passport, the boy’s is Israeli. The
caption reads: "I believe in Love. Israelis and Iranians love each other.
Believe it."
Interestingly
some Iranian Facebook users have also made a clip with pictures of Jewish
synagogues, schools, shops and old houses all over Iran to give an unusual
glimpse of the life led by the 25,000 to 35,000 Jews living in Iran.
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| Ronny Edry and Michal Tamir started a 'campaign of love' |
"What
about Palestine?"
Like many
other online initiatives and ideas, satirical responses were also quick to
appear. A mock post by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned up reading:
"Iranians! I love you. I truly love you all. It’s my people I hate."
But some
Iranian and Israeli users injected the highly contentious Palestinian issue
into the campaign pointing out that the "Love Exchange" was ignoring
people living in the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank.
As an
Iranian Facebook user puts it: "As much as I am touched by the
Iranian-Israeli love affair, I have to say this to the Israeli and Iranian
people holding "I love you" signs, I love you too, but love isn’t
enough." She then launches into an attack on Israel’s policy against
Palestine emphasizing that democracy in Israel is "just a claim.
Unless you
(the Israelis) have a say in what your state does, saying "we will never
bomb you" is meaningless."
Others
believe such comments are counterproductive. An Israeli Facebook writes "I
fear that starting to involve the Palestine issue will decrease the power of
this campaign and a lot fewer people will sign and join the initiative. Let’s
stay narrow and focused."
 |
| The initiative aims at promoting peace |
Despite
these differences more than 14,000 people have "liked" the Facebook
page of the campaign since it went online a week ago.
Iran and
Israel have not had diplomatic relations since the 1979 Islamic revolution. In
the Shah’s day the two countries were viewed as allies in the Middle East.
Iranians
are not allowed to travel to Israel on an Iranian passport. No Israelis have
visited Iran for thirty years.
Author:
Farnaz Seifi
Editor: Grahame Lucas
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| An image from a poster on the 'Israel Loves Iran' Facebook page.Pushpin Mehina |
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