File spoon-archives/postcolonial.archive/postcolonial_2000/postcolonial.0006, message 13


From: "Able Unknown" <un_knowable-AT-hotmail.com>
Subject: Iranian Jews espionage case --revisited
Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2000 21:11:21 PDT


When I voiced my concern about the peculiar kind of attention the trial of  
13 jews accused of espionage in Iran was receiving by the western media, I 
received public (via the list) and personal (direct email) letters objecting 
furiously to what one of them called my latent anti-semitism.  I was 
intimidated enough by those reactions to discontinue my argument, feeling 
somewhat bullied.  I just came across a piece of news from CNN, however,  
that brought the issue back to my mind, and I thought I should share it here 
as well.  Hopefully CNN can help me make my point more safely  ;-)


Iranian spy suspects duped by Israel, visiting rabbis say

June 9, 2000
Web posted at: 6:16 PM EDT (2216 GMT)

TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- Four rabbis from an ultra-orthodox anti-Zionist 
Jewish sect said 13 Jews on trial in Iran for espionage had been duped by 
Israel, state television reported on Friday.

It said rabbi Yisrael Weiss told Yusef Hamadani-Cohen, the leader of Iran's 
30,000-strong Jewish community, the 13 suspects had been "tricked" by Israel 
into collecting sensitive information on Iran.

"Zionism is separate from the Jewish faith, and whoever becomes involved in 
Zionism ends up the loser," Weiss, the head of the delegation, told the 
Iranian rabbi.

The case of the 13 has aroused concern among mainstream overseas Jewish 
groups and Western officials, fearful the defendants will not get a fair 
hearing under Iran's system of Islamic justice. But Weiss and his three 
colleagues, from the Neturei Karta movement based in Jerusalem, publicly 
broke ranks over the emotionally-charged case.

Neturei Karta is a Hasidic sect that does not recognize the state of Israel, 
Iran's arch-foe. The sect considers it blasphemous to create a Jewish state 
in the Holy Land before the coming of the Messiah.

Weiss said Israel had usurped Palestinian land, with the backing of the 
United Nations. Like the sect and other similar Jewish groups, Iran argues 
the Jewish state is illegitimate.

Before leaving New York for Tehran on Monday, the rabbis told Iran's 
official news agency the trial of the Iranian Jews was one of their reasons 
for the trip.

"Taking into account the amount of publicity surrounding the trial, 
misunderstanding between Jews and Moslems has increased to a high level and 
it is our aim to...reduce this misunderstanding," the daily Entekhab quoted 
one of the rabbis as saying.

Nine of the 13 Jews have admitted guilt in the closed door hearings in 
presence of their lawyers, four others have denied the charges.

Lawyers for most of the Jewish defendants submitted their final defense plea 
on Tuesday, and the judge -- who also carries out preliminary investigations 
under Iran's legal system -- is expected to issue a verdict within two 
weeks.

The trials, monitored by diplomats and human rights groups, have focused 
unwanted attention on the comfortable lives many Jews have quietly carved 
out in the Islamic republic, home to the largest Jewish community in the 
Muslim Middle East. Iran's constitution guarantees its Jews a representative 
in parliament and recognizes Jewish laws on family matters including 
marriage, divorce and inheritance.

________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com



     --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---

   

Driftline Main Page

 

Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005