What do the leaders of Iran and Israel have in common? Both sides foresee a short lifespan for the Zionist state. On Aug. 25, Iran’s military chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, predicted, “Israel will cease to exist within the coming 25 years.” Two years ago, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, said, “God willing, there will no longer be a Zionist state in 25 years.” Back in 2008, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had forecast, “Israel will be wiped off the map of the world,” with or without Iran’s involvement.
Iranian leaders do not hide their desire for Zionism’s demise, but they also do not identify Iran as what will actively bring about this demise. On the other hand, Israel’s leadership works diligently and effectively to accelerate the elimination of the Zionist state.
On Aug. 28, at a ceremony in one of Israel’s settlements in the occupied West Bank, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “This is the heritage of our forefathers, this is our land. We came back in order to remain for eternity.” Using the biblical name of the northern region of the West Bank, the prime minister explained that Samaria is a strategic asset for Israel and further pledged, “There will be no more uprooting of settlements in the Land of Israel.’’
Netanyahu appears to have forgotten that Israel, according to his own supposed viewpoint, has no desire to control a large Palestinian population, to run their lives, to impose on them its own flag and culture. That was the “vision of peace” he articulated in his landmark speech at Bar Ilan University in June 2009. Now, in the summer of 2017, Netanyahu views the stillborn “vision” he described — “two free nations” living side by side in good neighborly relations and mutual respect — as heretical to the principles of the Zionist vision. He not only vowed to never evacuate a settlement in the occupied territories, he also announced to the celebrants gathered at the Barkan Industrial Park that he has plans to deepen Israel’s roots, to build, to strengthen and to settle even more Jews in the West Bank.
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