Every language has idioms, which are expressions that say
something different from what the words would indicate. For example, when you
tell someone to go to hell, you do not expect to see the person go to the
airline counter at the airport and book a trip to a fiery place run by demons.
It can happen at times that two different languages have
expressions that may translate somewhat differently from each other but are
used in similar contexts even if they mean something different from what the
words would indicate. One such expression in the Egyptian dialect would
literally translate as “go drink from the sea.”
In fact, when at one time, the late President Nasser grew
tired of the colonial Powers continually threatening Egypt, he told them to go
drink from the sea. Reporting the news and commenting on it, an English
publication translated the saying as “go jump in the lake.” Well, consider it
close enough. But as you can see, the expression in either language does not
mean what the words would indicate.
That event was a moment in time that most everyone forgot
about after a day or two, except for yours truly because these things used to
intrigue me so much, they remained stuck in my mind to this day. What kept
reminding me of the event over the years, however, was the incessant harking
back to the Iranian expression: “Death to Israel, death to America,” that the
Jews kept recalling when they had nothing interesting to say … which was most
of the time.
I do not speak Persian, so I cannot be certain what an
Iranian may think or feel when he utters those words. But this being clearly a
Persian idiom, I always believed it wasn't used to tell someone he must
assassinate Israel or America. I thought of the expression as one the Iranians
use to respond to the incessant Judeo-American threat: “All options are on the
table”.
That belief of mine has now been reinforced by the fact that
the Iranians who used to chant “death to Israel, death to America” are also chanting
“death to Palestine, death to the Supreme Leader.” This shows how trivial is
the expression that the Jews have been exploiting so much for so long. But why
did they do it? They did it to stir hatred for Iran, thus win the sympathy of
the American decision makers. These are the people who decide on compensating
Israel –– not for the damage someone has caused it but –– for the damage it has
caused others; usually the Palestinians it kills by the thousands using the
deadliest of American weaponry.
I was not surprised to learn that Iranian dissidents used
that expression to condemn someone other than Israel or America. But I was
surprised to see that a Jew exploited what appeared to her as an Iranian flip.
In fact, with the same zeal that the Jews have been exploiting, “death to
Israel, death to America,” Eliora Katz has now exploited, “death to Palestine,
death to the Supreme leader”.
She did so in an article that came under the title:
“Iranians Are Now Chanting 'Death to Palestine'” and the subtitle: “Khamenei
calls enmity toward Israel 'an issue of the heart.' There is reason to question
his sincerity,” The article was published on July 14, 2018 in the Wall Street
Journal.
Whereas it was simple to argue that chanting, “death to
Israel” meant that the cantors hated Israel, Eliora Katz was forced to take a
long detour to explain that chanting, “death to Palestine” still meant that the
cantors hated Israel. Katz began her reasoning like this: “Why would Iranians
care about 'Palestine' with such passion as to wish it dead? Because hatred of
Israel is a foundational idea of the Islamic Republic”.
This done, Katz started to quote from the history and
literature of Iran to highlight something she wants the readers to believe is
uniquely an Iranian habit when in fact, it is a universal habit. That is, she
wants the readers to believe that only the Iranians are so protective of their
culture, they fear seeing it invaded and overwhelmed by the Western culture. I
have news for Eliora Katz: everybody fears seeing their culture being invaded
and overwhelmed by an alien culture.
And so, after rambling for another 800 words that add
nothing to the understanding of her thesis, Eliora Katz made this
pronouncement: “Why do Iranians chant 'Death to Palestine'? Because the regime
that claims to champion Palestine has become the enemy of the people”.