Almost everyone uses scapegoats. It is in our fabric. The word "scapegoat" has come to mean a person, often innocent, who is blamed and punished for the sins, crimes, or sufferings of others, generally as a way of distracting attention from the real causes. It is a potent human disposition to blame others for our failings.
The derivation of the term scapegoat also comes from the Old Testament-see Leviticus 16. During the Jewish high holy day of Yom Kippur in the Temple era high priests would sacrifice a goat that would be consigned "for Azazel" and would carry with it the sins of the nation.
Without scapegoats to blame, we are forced to look at ourselves for our problems. Examining ourselves can be very disturbing, particularly when we either lack the resources or the willingness to tackle them. So, we take the good old easy way out of the mess by shifting our focus to the outside world for targets to blame.
Look at young kids. They are expert blamers. They always have an answer, someone or something to blame in self-defense. We, the chronological adults, don’t completely abandon our childish strategy of ascribing blame to external sources. We simply do so with a greater degree of sophistication by finding, if at all possible, a grain or two of truth to legitimize our attributions.
One of the most notorious persons who used the Jews as scapegoats was the Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler. In his infamous book Mein Kampf (My Struggle) he blamed the plight of Germany at the end of World War I on an international Jewish conspiracy and used terms such as extirpation and extermination in relation to the Jews. Unfortunately, we have seen in recent years the emergence of a number of such assaults, indeed, conspiracy theories, targeting the Israel lobby and the American Jewish community. Over and over throughout history, this small group of human beings have been used as scapegoats for the problems of the world.
Even our former President Jimmy Carter in his book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid and John J. Mearsheimer, an American professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt, professor of international affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government coauthored The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy use the scapegoating of Israel, the Israel Lobby, and American Jews.
Sadly, the Jewish people have been used as scapegoats for many centuries by a variety of non-Jews. Regrettably, Muslims for their part and have adopted scapegoating as an article of faith. The Muslims blame the Jews for all kinds of heinous things, dating back to the time of Muhammad himself. They say that the Jews of Medina betrayed the holy prophet by their treachery. They charged the poor exorbitant sums for their goods; did no productive work, yet made fortunes through money lending. To make matters worse, the Jews refused to embrace Muhammad’s religion, they say. The story of Banu Qurayza’s Massacre from Quranic verses, is very clear how Allah actually rejoices this in slaughter and enslavement of the tribe of Banu Qurayza’s Jews.
Quran-33:25- “Allah turned back the unbelievers [Meccans and their allies] in a state of rage, having not won any good, and Allah spared the believers battle. Allah is, indeed, Strong and Mighty.”
Quran-33:26- “And He brought those of the People of the Book [Jewish people of Banu Qurayza’s] who supported them from their fortresses and cast terror into their hearts, some of them you slew (beheaded) and some you took prisoners (captive)”
Quran-33:27- “And He made you heirs of their lands, their houses, and their goods, and of a land which ye had not frequented (before). And Allah has power over all things.” [Merciful Allah asked Prophet Muhammad to confiscate entire properties of surrendered Jews.]
Hence, following the example of Muhammad, many Muslim societies have been blaming the Jews for everything and find them deserving of victimization. The litany of atrocities committed against the Jews by the followers of Muhammad is long indeed.
Regrettably, ascribing blame to others and legitimizing their victimization has become a way of life with the rabid Islamists. As sick as scapegoating is, it confers advantages to its practitioners. For one, it rallies the faithful against an enemy portrayed as depraved and dangerous. That’s how Hitler and his gang of thugs aroused the German nation against the Jews. They falsely, yet successfully, blamed the Jews for Germany’s economic problems.
The Islamists, for their part, are still playing the Jewish blame card as best as they can. The State of Israel, by its very existence, has provided the inept and habitually devious Islamists a palpable target to blame and attack. Yet, Israel still not only exists, but thrives in their midst. None of the dastardly actions of the Islamists has been effective at realizing their dream of pushing the children of Israel into the sea.
Islamic turbaned villains in Iran and their hired thugs have done a great job of basically eliminating a lot of internal opposition by their brutality and have murdered thousands of innocent people in the name of Islam. They have also chased the majority of the Iranian Jews out of the country by making their life as miserable as possible. The few remaining Jews are still used as whipping boys from time to time. Contrary to the Islamic dogma, the Iranian people are proud of their historical friendship with the Jewish people. The bond of friendship goes back to the landmark action of King Cyrus the Great of Persia. In 537 B.C., having, conquered Babylon, the benevolent King Cyrus freed the Jews from captivity and empowered them to return to the Promised Land and build their temple and have a peaceful life and worship their God.
The return of the Jews to the Promised Land did not mark the end of their ordeal. Successive waves of ill-wishers, notably the Romans and then the belligerent Muslims, unleashed their unjustified wrath on the Jews. The Jewish people, in spite of suffering huge losses at the hands of their enemies, remained resilient and, with one exception, outlived their tormentors. The Pogroms in Russia, the ghettoization in much of Europe, and even the genocidal Hitlerism failed to wipe out the Jews. One diehard enemy, Islamic scriptures, has been hard at work for some 1400 years to complete the work of finishing off the Jews that Prophet Muhammad himself had started.
Iranians are saddened and ashamed both by the appearance of Ahmadinejad on the international scene and his declared intent to wipe out the Jewish homeland from the face of the earth. Ahmadinejad repeatedly says that the Holocaust is a myth. In this respect, he is in good company with a number of other fanatics. It goes without saying that Ahmadinejad does not represent Iranian people and he is not an Iranian himself.
Ahmadinejad is an Islamofascist whose aim is to have a practice run, first on the Iranian Baha’is before embarking on destroying the Jews and other “undesirables,” following in the footsteps of the German Fuehrer. Being Iranian is defined by a state of mind, not by a place of residence. In fact, Ahmadinejad despises anything Persian. Numerous photos show him proudly donning the Arab headscarf around his neck—a Palestinian headscarf that presently stands as a symbol of the Arabo-Islamic genocidal hate campaign against the Jews as well as non-believers of all stripes.
The 2006 circus in Tehran, billed as a “Holocaust Conference," was nothing more than a disgusting attempt by the barbaric inheritors of Muhammad’s hate to continue in this tradition of wanton attacks on all unbelievers, particularly the Jews. Regrettably, their journey from their early beginning to the present has been fraught with great suffering. It is a tribute to the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people that they persisted in their valiant struggle to re-gather again in the land of their birth. They should also be applauded for affording millions of Israeli Arabs opportunities denied to them in many other lands. Many of us Iranians co-suffer with this tragic state of affairs that harms the Jews.
We, free Iranians, express our deepest sympathy to the Jewish people for what they have suffered and have been used as scapegoats throughout history. We also condemn, in the strongest terms, the new coalition of fascists that is brewing under the disgusting and dangerous banner of Islamofascisim.
Posted by Melanie Phillips, on 04/12/2010 at 09:51
Thank-you for this article A. Imani. I didn't realize that many of the Iranian people do not support Ahmadinejad who is a sick and delusional individual. You are correct in stating that the Jews have a resilient nature, which is God given, for standing up to the bullies of the world, both past and present.
Posted by Miss K, on 03/29/2010 at 02:06
Dear Amil, many thanks for putting an informative and well written piece on paper for the public to know. As a Jew, I am thrilled to know that many Iranians stand directly opposite Ahmadinutjob aka Ahmadinejad. I have an idea to counteract the Palestinian headscarf that stands as a symbol of the Arab-Islamic genocidal hate campaign against the Jews. I am looking for someone with financial backing to help me putting it together. Jews and all supporters of Israel will buy it.
Posted by Nurit Greenger, on 03/28/2010 at 21:49
Callie
Besides the Muslim terrorists who have occupied Iran, no Iranian ever hates the Jews. In fact, we love the Jews and despise the Arab terrorists and Islamic dogma. We want to leave Islam as fast as we can in Iran. We are not Muslims, we are Iranians first and Zoroastrians second.
Bahman
Posted by Callie, on 03/26/2010 at 20:51
Hi great article, just brilliant and so true. When I lived in LA I knew many wonderful Bahai and Zoroastrian people who were devestated by what had happened with the Islamic revolution in Iran. Its good to see not all Iranians hate Jewish people! Thank you so much.
Posted by callie, on 03/26/2010 at 15:29
At this time of grievous trial and peril for the Jewish people, when the leaders of the western world appear to have tossed both reason and conscience overboard, it is left to an Iranian, the ever prescient Amil Imani, to raise his voice for decency and justice. Writing about the fact that the Jews have been the scapegoats of the world since time immemorial, he observes:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/5866866/a-light-in-the-gathering-darkness.thtml
Posted by A light in the gathering darkness, on 03/26/2010 at 10:33
Zoroastrianism is a far superior religion to Islam. It produced wise Magi rather than narrow-minded mullahs, is tolerant of other faiths (hence what Cyrus said) and is possessed of all kinds of subtleties absent in Mohammedanism, which is a religion ready made for bigots. If modern Persians really want to reclaim their heritage, they need a Zionist kind of approach, which would resurrect from the practically dead not a language, as the Jews did with Hebrew, but a religion, one that bespeaks of their greatness before Islam stole the Persian's heritage away from him. Time for a renaissance in Iran.
Posted by Wellington, on 03/25/2010 at 18:17
You know, when the Iranian Revolution occurs and the thugs of Shia Islam are thrown out, the words of Cyrus the Great would be a good foundation for the new Iranian Constitution.
Posted by CYRUS THE GREAT, on 03/25/2010 at 18:15
Persia ranks up there with the United States in its history of tolerance of religious minorities, friendship to Jews and impressive attainments of freedom and civilization. When the current band of Islamofascist scum are kicked out, it will be back again.
Posted by JG, on 03/25/2010 at 18:14
Kristin, although there are some Jews who are certainly well to do, the vast majority are not. Check out the Commentary Magazine article at: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/the-high-cost-of-jewish-living-15372
In it Jack Wertheimer notes that according to the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Parity 350,000 of 1.4 million Jews living in New York live at or below the federal poverty level. In Chicago 20 % of the local Jewish population lives at this level as well. I live in Canada and in my community, there are so many Jews who can barely make it financially that the community must help them out. Although my husband and I are very middle class financially, helping those who are in need takes up a large part of our income. I'm really quite tired of these truisms that abound sometimes by well-meaning individuals who believe that Jews are by definition rich.
Also, Leonardo, I'm certain that Larry Silverstein knows just about as much as we do about who was behind 9/11. It was Osama Bin Ladin and Al Quaeda. How do we know? Because he said so -- he actually gloried in giving over this information. Those of his hit squad who were captured by the Americans confirmed this as well.
By suggesting that somehow somebody like Larry Silverstein knows something we don't is suggesting that he was somehow responsible for the Twin Towers to be terrorized in order to get a 'juicy' contract in rebuilding it. That kind of suggestion is not only ridiculous -- but antisemitic.
Posted by marilyn, on 03/24/2010 at 08:40
Regarding the comment made by Rachelle Mand, I'll add:
God protect me from my friends, I know how to deal and protect myself from my enemies!!!
Posted by Raam, on 03/24/2010 at 05:26
great article as always, Amil. Jews would have an easier time these days if the Leftist Jews would stop their vilification of Jews and Israel. The Leftist Jews bother me just as much as the Islamists.
Posted by Rachelle Mand, on 03/24/2010 at 00:59
The Quranic verses cited were the most telling in reference to day's situation in the Middle East. Quran-33:27- “And He made you heirs of their lands, their houses, and their goods, and of a land which ye had not frequented (before)' - in other words, according to the Koran, not only did slaughtering the civilian Jews of Banu Qurayza yield slaves and access to their wealth, but also sets the stage for indefinite dominion of Islam over Judaism, including any Jewish land and wealth. It is THIS very verse that propels Islamic thinking that ancient Jewish land is really Muslim, and their Temple Mount will also belong to Islam. It's not a war of land or self-determination, but Islamic dominance and supremacy that began 1400 years ago. Very nice Amil for referencing these Suras.
Posted by William, on 03/23/2010 at 21:45
That was well written and good.
I'm so sick of people hating the Jews. If they'd do a little bit of research they'd know that the Almighty calls them His chosen people. I'm so tired of people I know saying 'the f#*king Jews' usually in reference to their wealth. They've only been scholars of prosperity for 6,000 years and their traditions have passed from generation to generation...of course they are wealthy! We even have the term 'Jew em down' because they are notorious for being frugal.
I'm just ranting. Good article.