WATCH: Netanyahu Praises Iran Protesters For Their ‘Noble Quest For Freedom’
Image by getty images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — “I wish the Iranian people success in their noble quest for freedom,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu, in a video posted on social media on Monday, denied an Israeli connection to the anti-government protests in Iran, which have reached their fifth day with 12 reported dead.
“I heard today Iran’s President Rouhani’s claim that Israel is behind the protests in Iran,” Netanyahu said in the 90 second video. “It’s not only false. It’s laughable.”
Netanyahu saluted the “brave Iranians” who “are pouring into the streets. They seek freedom. They seek justice. The seek the basic liberties that have been denied to them for decades.”
He called the Iranian people “smart,” “sophisticated,” and “proud.”
Netanyahu, who also chastised European governments for not being supportive enough of the protests, also said: “when this regime finally falls, and one day it will, Iranians and Israelis will be great friends once again.”
The protests, led by young people, are being held against the backdrop of moderate President Hassan Rouhani’s failure to bring more political change and economic opportunity.
In a crackdown against the protests on Monday, dozens of protesters were arrested and the Telegram messaging app, which has been used as a way for protesters to communicate, continued to be blocked.
Iran last faced mass popular protests in 2009, following the election to a second term of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a hardliner. Up to 70 protesters were killed in those protests.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
