December 25 2020
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi has attacked the new Israel-UAE agreement and called Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser – as well as pro-Israel Americans – “filthy Zionist agents.”
Khamenehi’s use of the word “filthy” and also singling out “Jewish” members of the US government, as well as calling them “cruel” were all words used in his English language tweets to channel anti-Semitic tropes.
US Assistant Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism Ellie Cohanim tweeted that it was time for Twitter to permanently remove the “vile anti-Semite” Khamenehi from Twitter.
The Iranian leader has long expressed hatred for Israel using his official Twitter account, as well as during speeches and sermons. The official regime narrative presents the Islamic Republic as not being anti-Semitic, pointing to the Jewish community as evidence of the lack of anti-Semitism. It argues that in contrast to the Arab nationalist regimes of the 1950s, Tehran has had a more progressive policy.
However, the September 3 tweets in English using words like “filthy” and “cruel” appear to have been written by someone who has knowledge of traditional Western antisemitism—whether they represent Khamenehi’s thoughts cannot be determined.
Accusations that Jews are “cruel” or “filthy” are part of the Western anti-Semitic tradition, appearing prominently ever since the Middle Ages.
One day earlier, Khamenehi tweeted that the UAE had “betrayed the world of Islam, the Arab nations, the region’s countries, and #Palestine. Of course, this betrayal won’t last long.”
“The UAE rulers opened the door of the region to the Zionists, and they have ignored and normalized the question of Palestine, which is a question about the usurpation of a country,” Khamenehi added. “This stigma will remain on them.”
“I hope the UAE wakes up soon and compensates for what they’ve done,” Khamenehi wrote on Twitter, which he and other top regime officials use even though it is banned in Iran. He then attacked the Trump Administration for its involvement in the deal that saw Israel and the USA confer diplomatic recognition on each other.
“The nation of Palestine is under various, severe pressures,” Khamenehi said. “Then, the UAE acts in agreement with the Israelis & filthy Zionist agents of the U.S.—such as the Jewish member of Trump’s family—with utmost cruelty against the interests of the World of Islam.”
The White House has previously criticized Khamenehi for encouraging violence on Twitter, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was quick to jump on the Leader’s tweets.
“The world must reject and condemn @Khamenei_ir’s ideology of hatred,” Pompeo said. “The children of Abraham – Muslims, Christians, and Jews – rejoice at the prospect of peace, while @Khamenei_ir calls for more violence. The U.S. stands with the UAE and all those seeking a brighter future.”
He added: “And if you’re looking for those betraying Islam @Khamenei_ir, China is seeking to destroy the Uyghurs. Looking forward to your public callout for the CCP’s horrific treatment of those Muslims,” Pompeo said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
Iran is among the Muslim nations that have remained largely silent on China’s repression of Muslim ethnic minority groups in its far western Xinjiang province. Reports suggest that at least 1 million Muslims have been put in re-education camps there, in what campaigners have described as a “cultural genocide.”
Iran—and its hardline Islamist officials—have failed to speak out in support of the Uighurs. Last month, former Majlis Deputy Ali Motahari said it was a “failure” that Iran had not spoken out while the US led the pushback against Beijing.