Why is Ahmadinejad so Preocuupied with Israel?
By Jason Raede
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be “wiped off the map” so many times that it now surprises me more when he leaves his trademark line out of speeches than when he first added it to them. Nonetheless, the general international consensus is that Iran’s government intends to do more with its nuclear program than it has led us to believe, and that is cause for concern among the pro-Israel camp.
So why exactly does Ahmadinejad despise Israel so much? It is fairly clear what the Arab problem with Israel is – the land dispute is a legitimate reason for disposition. But Iran, while a Muslim country, is predominantly Shi’a (the rest of the Muslim world is predominantly Sunni, and the two sects have historically been at odds), with an almost insignificant population of Arabs and no real economic or other claim to the land of Israel. In other words, there is no real reason as to why Iran’s government should be so anti-Israel except for the grievances of its religious brethren. But even with the staunch brotherhood that Muslims have exhibited in the past century, transcending even the divisive Sunni-Shi’a relationship, the intensity of President Ahmadinejad’s sentiment is yet hard to explain.
In times of hardship, people look for someone to blame. The same can be said for governments with wavering support from their constituency. When things are difficult and popular support is low, scapegoats have historically worked wonders to perpetuate the life of the government in question. So now, when the unemployment and inflation rates in Iran are pushing 20% and the government is facing heavy opposition from the fast-growing student population, Ahmadinejad needs a scapegoat.
And he found one.
Israel is perfect. It wins him support from devout Muslims in his own country as well as from Muslim governments around the world. Most importantly, with Iran’s nuclear program becoming a real threat to Israel, Ahmadinejad has earned his regime the respect from the world powers that it has been desiring for years. Because Israel is such an integral part in the U.S. and E.U. plan for the shaping of the international system, Iran’s sudden intense hatred of Israel has left the international community no choice but to view Iran’s threats as credible and respond accordingly.
Is President Ahmadinejad bluffing? Maybe. If so, he is doing a brilliant job, because for now, the focus has been taken off his mismanagement of the country and put on his policies on Israel.
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