World
A Nuclear Iran?
Art Aisner
Special to the Jewish News
T
here is time to stop the tick-
ing clock on a nuclear Iran, but
it will take resilient grassroots
advocacy from Jewish communities will-
ing to do their part, according to members
of the Israeli Foreign Ministry who spoke
recently in Metro Detroit.
"The politicians here and in Israel
need to see that this is of great impor-
tance or else they won't see a need to
take it any further. Not without public
demand," Jonathan Miller, senior deputy
director general for the Israel Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, told 24 local leaders
and news media members at the Max M.
Fisher Federation Building in Bloomfield
Township on June 24.
"This is an issue that must remain at
the top of the agenda, that must remain
part of the public debate."
The Israeli government is doing its part,
placing Iran above the global economic
crisis and peace negotiations with the
Palestinians as national priorities, Miller
added. It's why the Foreign Ministry sent
him and Ofer Moreno, its deputy director
for non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, on a 10-day jaunt across the
Midwest and parts of Canada briefing
communities about the scope of the prob-
lem and the need for advocacy.
The duo gave a 90-minute Powerpoint
presentation that laid out Iran's known
nuclear capability along with how and
why it intends to nurture it. They also
chronicled the known efforts by the
Iranian regime to deflect attention
brought by the international community.
The local, by-invitation event was
sponsored by the Jewish Community
Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit.
It concluded the duo's journey, which
included stops in Minneapolis, Chicago,
Indianapolis and Toronto.
Don't Be Fooled
The recent images of protests and civil
unrest beamed across the globe after
Iran's national elections were unprece-
dented displays of dissatisfaction with the
ruling regime. But there is little positive to
take from them in terms of either nuclear
proliferation or Israel's long-term security,
said both Miller and Moreno.
For starters, the larger protests and
Sta ff p hotos by Ang ie Baa n
Jews urged to pressure Obama and Congress to increase sanctions.
Ofer Moreno
Jonathan Miller
security crackdowns occurred in Iran's
major cities. However, the majority of the
Iranian people live in more rural areas
where information doesn't flow readily
and is subject to censors due to state-con-
trolled media, Miller said.
The protests are also more of a political
statement against how the government
ran the electoral process, and not at all to
do with Iran's nuclear development, which
has become a source of great national
pride.
Lastly, they argued, the policy differenc-
es between Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, the victorious incum-
bent, and main challenger Mir-Hossein
Mousavi were negligible at best.
"Maybe there would be a little change,
but from what we know, things shouldn't
be any different with a new president
because they all follow the supreme leader
[Ayatollah All Khamenei], who stands
above democracy. They're all on the same
side of the equation where Israel is con-
cerned," Moreno said.
Thus political pundits and concerned
Jewish Americans believed the Israeli
government would be discouraged and
highly concerned by U.S. President Barack
Obama's recent comments supporting
engagement with Iran to reach an ami-
cable compromise on nuclear weaponiza-
tion.
But it's not the case, Miller said.
"Israel has no problem with engage-
ment, but certain conditions must be met
before it's worth proceeding:' he said. "The
aim is to prevent Iran from achieving
nuclear capability and not as a way to buy
more time, which is giving Iran exactly
what it wants."
Stepping Up Pressure
The key to preventing further delays
that further embolden the Iranian
government and allow centrifuges to
produce more weapons-grade nuclear
material is international pressure, they
argued.
Iran is the world's fourth-largest
exporter of crude oil and has the sec-
ond-largest natural gas reserve on the
planet. Yet it imports roughly 40 percent
of its refined gasoline and diesel fuel that
keeps its military machine and critical
civilian infrastructure running.
Other countries, ranging from world
powers to its Arab neighbors, are begin-
ning to worry about Iran's improving
technology and military capabilities,
including the launch of long-range rock-
ets and a space satellite this spring.
Miller said they also fear a nuclear Iran
would dominate the region and spark
an arms race with cataclysmic reper-
cussions, considering the ideological
regime's historical support for terrorist
organizations.
The consequences of inaction are grave
enough that there is a historic opportu-
nity for organizations of varied interests
— whether peace groups, environmen-
talists or human rights watchdogs — to
band together, said Miller.
Jeannie Weiner of West Bloomfield
compared the scope of the effort to the
vast undertaking by the Soviet Jewry
movement in the 1970s and 1980s.
"We're concerned that public opinion is
going to be let's just wait and see:" said
Weiner, a longtime activist, organizer and
past president of the Jewish Community
Council, the JCRC predecessor. "I learned
you have to keep issues out in front of
Congress, the administration and the
State Department to make change. But
that kind of change took time and we
don't have that luxury now."
Miller and Moreno urged citizens to
encourage their congressional repre-
sentatives to support the following bills
introduced this year:
• The Iran Refines Petroleum Sanctions
Act (H.R. 2194; Senate 908): Though
it exports much of the world's crude
oil, Iran's economy depends heavily on
imported refined gas and diesel fuel. This
act would require the president to restrict
companies from exporting gas and diesel
to Iran and limits it's overall ability to
import and produce refined oil.
• Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009
(H.R. 1327; Senate 1065): This act would
authorize state and local governments to
divest from companies investing in Iran's
petroleum and natural gas industries. If
passed, the bill would protect fund man-
agers that divest from such companies
from potential lawsuits.
• Iran Diplomatic Enhancement Act
(H.R. 1985): This act supports expan-
sion of economic sanctions to include
penalties for any person, company, or
organization contributing to Iran's oil-
refining efforts. 1-1
Answering
Israel's Critics
The Charge
The international organization Human
Rights Watch announced last week that
its investigation of Israel's actions dur-
ing last December's Gaza war found
evidence of missiles fired from drone
aircraft that killed civilians.
The Answer
As always, the Israeli army acted only
against military targets during that war.
Army spokesmen said Human Rights
Watch had succumbed to Palestinian
propaganda.
- Allan Gale, Jewish Community Relations
Council
of Metropolitan Detroit
0 Jewish Renaissance Media, July 9, 2009
Jul
July 9 • 2009
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