JEWISH LIGHT EDITORIAL

We all should be alarmed over recent events involving the theocratic regime in Iran, where things have gone from bad to worse since the rigged June “re-election” of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The potential of a possible new and violently unpredictable war in the already war-torn Middle East, and the nuclear threat to Israel from the Ahmadinejad regime, have all Americans deeply concerned.

Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, September 24. The same day, rallies in opposition to Iran’s conduct and rhetoric are taking place here and across the nation, with the main demonstration taking place in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

The Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis is coordinating a “Stand for Freedom in Iran” Rally, at noon, Thursday, September 24, 2009 at the Jewish Federation Kopolow Building, 12 Millstone Campus Drive. The Rally will allow participants to stand together for:

* An end to limitations of freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Iran.

* Immediate cessation of human rights abuses, the release of demonstrators from prisons and protection for minority communities.

* Full compliance and cooperation by Iran with the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) and United Nations Security Council regarding the cessation of its development of nuclear weapons.

* An end to incitement to genocide and support of terrorist groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Ahmadinejad and the radical regime he fronts for have shown no signs of moderating their fanatic views. If anything, their perverted sense seems to be that the sham election gave Ahmadinejad a mandate to devolve even further into hate-based governance.

Another recent indicator is the naming of Ahmad Vahdidi as Iran’s Defense Minister. Vahdidi is wanted by Interpol in connection with the 1994 bombing of the Jewish Comunity Center Complex in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in which 85 people, most of them Argentinian Jews, were killed, and hundreds wounded. Vahidi is one of five Iranian officials sought by Interpol on Argentine charges of “conceiving, planning, financing and executing” the 1994 attack, according to a statement issued by the Anti-Defamation League condemning this outrageous nomination.

The Iranian pot is on the verge of boiling over. Last week, St. Louis native and Middle East expert David Makovsky, while stressing he was “not an advocate” for such an action, said there is a “better than 50-50 chance” that Israel may feel compelled to take military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities in the absence of meaningful international sanctions. And Hugo Chavez, the radical President of Venezuela, recently signed an “Axis” (yes, Axis!) agreement with Ahmadenejad, in which Chavez promised to run any blockade and supply Iran with gasoline if an attempt is made to embargo imports into Iran as part of a sanctions strategy.

We urge all of our readers to take part in the local “Stand for Freedom in Iran” Rally, and let your voices be heard on behalf of freedom for the Iranian people and for international action to prevent a nuclear Iran.