Leap of faith: The crisis before us (no, not that one)

One of the great humanitarian crises of our era is taking place in Iran, with the loss of upwards of 30,000 lives and countless injured and imprisoned.

Without minimising other crises – of which we can name Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza as well as others – our reaction to what is happening in Iran will test our willingness to stand up in support of a people that has been struggling for freedom for nearly 50 years, and as we support the Iranian people, we would also be addressing some of the worst abuses in the international community.

The Islamic Republic’s development of nuclear weapons is certainly concerning and, as Michael Oren points out in a recent podcast, its stockpiling of ballistic missiles is even more worrying. But the primary international concern with Iran is not these issues, but rather the way the regime has, for almost five decades, shaped Middle-Eastern politics through proxies, propaganda and protests.

Iranian proxies pose a general threat not just to Israel and its other neighbours, but also to world peace. They have, paradoxically, reinforced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing right-wing coalition. Netanyahu seeks support from Israelis in response to the persistent menace of groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis to sustain his political standing – all of them proxies of the Islamic Regime in Iran. The hopes of those who want a less radical government in Israel, and success at peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis, may depend on what happens now in Iran.

Jews have come to rallies in support of the uprising in significant numbers, and Israeli flags flew alongside, and were welcomed by, those carrying flags of pre-revolutionary Iran.

If anyone has seen a comment, statement or response from any of the pro-Palestinian groups or celebrities in support of the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom – or against the regime’s massacring of tens of thousands of its own people – I would like to know about it. I have not myself seen any.

For me, this exposes the moral bankruptcy of the anti-Israel movement, which now appears to be less about humanitarian concerns and more about choosing an enemy – Israel – and supporting the Iranian regime against it, no matter how brutal it is to its own people.

It also demonstrates where the principal threats to Israel and to peace in the region have originated in the last 47 years: the theocratic tyranny that rules Iran and relies on hate of Israel and the West to stay in power. The Iranian people don’t hate Israel. It’s the regime that does.

Direct assistance on the ground is limited against the well-armed IRGC, yet solidarity matters. International acknowledgment can lift the spirits of those resisting oppression and remind them they are not alone.

Amplifying their voices, pressuring governments to condemn the violence, and insisting that the British government identifies the IRGC as a terror group are steps we can, and must, take now.

• Rabbi Gershon Silins, Senior Rabbi, The Liberal Synagogue Elstree