The U.S. and Israel allegedly had a plan to prop up Ahmadinejad as Iran’s next leader. Those who lived under his presidency—and protested against it—explain why they're shocked by this secret plot.
When I was young, my Prime Minister, Yitzchak Rabin, decided to negotiate peace with our worst enemies, the terror organisation then known as the PLO. I was young and very patriotic then, and opposed the move. I joined the massive protests, organized by the opposition leader back then, Benjamin Netanyahu, who replaced Ariel Sharon as the leader of Likkud.
Later Rabin was assassinated. I already had a computer with a Modem back then, and engaged with political debate with many young people in the percursor of social media, the Fido-technology-based Echomail exchange that networked Bulletin Board Systems across my country. My political views gradually underwent a radical change.
When I became aware of the injustice of our legal system, which discriminates against Arab citizens, and that policy manifested itself in an evacuation order against residents of the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrakh near my home, I joined the protests every Friday afternoon. I never sought to confront the law enforcemnt forces and never got hurt, though some of my fellow protesters did encounter violence. Eventually some Extreme Right youngsters identified me and tried to stalk me on my way back from such a protest, and I decided the risk wasn't worth it. I also realized that the evacuated residents declined generous offers to settle their dispute and chose to turn their personal plight into a political struggle.
Several years ago, when my government tried to force an unconstitutional regime change (that's my personal take. Our country doesn't really have a constitution so technically the government could do it), I again joined the protests. I was careful to avoid areas known to stage violent clashes with the police and only joined peaceful protests. This struggle was partially successful, as the regime change was slowed down and most of it hasn't been achieved yet.
My country now faces elections, and I support one of the many opposition leaders, hoping he wins. It's sad that while the Right wing has an established leader, Bibi, around whom they all rally, our side is divided and the leader of every faction only cares about his own party and position. And they refuse to cooperate with the Arab parties, because the Jewish opposition here is entirely Zionist while the Arabs oppose Zionism (And no two parties totally agree on the exact meaning of "Zionism"). This is just sad.
First, thanks for your reporting. In 1969 while at the University of Colorado, I attended a protest against the Viet Nam war. (Yes, I'm old.) Recently, I have been attending the No Kings Day protests to voice concerns about unprecedented corruption, ICE and the authoritarian drift of the U.S. Living in a small town in a red state, there aren't very many of us, and most of the people we're trying to help don't turn out because of fear of being picked up by ICE. Citizenship doesn't seem to be a factor in who gets arrested, and even if the person arrested is a citizen, it's likely a family member is undocumented. We get supportive honks from passing cars which is an indication that there is more support than is obvious.
Thank you for this reporting. I just can’t even imagine watching as people are beaten or killed for protesting. I feel very fortunate to be here in America where for now, we are still allowed to protest without that fear. I know that if Trump had his way it would not be. We will continue to protest Trump and all of the policies and wars he is pushing us into. I learned long ago that Donald Trump only cares about one thing….Donald Trump. I hope you are all able to stay safe.
When I was young, my Prime Minister, Yitzchak Rabin, decided to negotiate peace with our worst enemies, the terror organisation then known as the PLO. I was young and very patriotic then, and opposed the move. I joined the massive protests, organized by the opposition leader back then, Benjamin Netanyahu, who replaced Ariel Sharon as the leader of Likkud.
Later Rabin was assassinated. I already had a computer with a Modem back then, and engaged with political debate with many young people in the percursor of social media, the Fido-technology-based Echomail exchange that networked Bulletin Board Systems across my country. My political views gradually underwent a radical change.
When I became aware of the injustice of our legal system, which discriminates against Arab citizens, and that policy manifested itself in an evacuation order against residents of the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrakh near my home, I joined the protests every Friday afternoon. I never sought to confront the law enforcemnt forces and never got hurt, though some of my fellow protesters did encounter violence. Eventually some Extreme Right youngsters identified me and tried to stalk me on my way back from such a protest, and I decided the risk wasn't worth it. I also realized that the evacuated residents declined generous offers to settle their dispute and chose to turn their personal plight into a political struggle.
Several years ago, when my government tried to force an unconstitutional regime change (that's my personal take. Our country doesn't really have a constitution so technically the government could do it), I again joined the protests. I was careful to avoid areas known to stage violent clashes with the police and only joined peaceful protests. This struggle was partially successful, as the regime change was slowed down and most of it hasn't been achieved yet.
My country now faces elections, and I support one of the many opposition leaders, hoping he wins. It's sad that while the Right wing has an established leader, Bibi, around whom they all rally, our side is divided and the leader of every faction only cares about his own party and position. And they refuse to cooperate with the Arab parties, because the Jewish opposition here is entirely Zionist while the Arabs oppose Zionism (And no two parties totally agree on the exact meaning of "Zionism"). This is just sad.
First, thanks for your reporting. In 1969 while at the University of Colorado, I attended a protest against the Viet Nam war. (Yes, I'm old.) Recently, I have been attending the No Kings Day protests to voice concerns about unprecedented corruption, ICE and the authoritarian drift of the U.S. Living in a small town in a red state, there aren't very many of us, and most of the people we're trying to help don't turn out because of fear of being picked up by ICE. Citizenship doesn't seem to be a factor in who gets arrested, and even if the person arrested is a citizen, it's likely a family member is undocumented. We get supportive honks from passing cars which is an indication that there is more support than is obvious.
Thank you for this reporting. I just can’t even imagine watching as people are beaten or killed for protesting. I feel very fortunate to be here in America where for now, we are still allowed to protest without that fear. I know that if Trump had his way it would not be. We will continue to protest Trump and all of the policies and wars he is pushing us into. I learned long ago that Donald Trump only cares about one thing….Donald Trump. I hope you are all able to stay safe.