Leo Hansen

My use of the word illegal is not the right word with regard to the Ultra Orthodox Jewish belief. Their word is illegitimate. I not sure if there is any real difference between illegal and illegitimate. The point is that the Jewish belief is that the Messiah has to establish the state of Israel, not men. Others who do not accept the state of Israel, like Iran, believe that the United Nations partitioning of Palestine into a Jewish state and a Palestinian state was illegal. That discussion is for international legal scholars. My point about the Jewish population in Iran is just to establish that Iran seems not to have a problem with Jews per se but with the state of Israel; otherwise they would be rounding them up and either expelling them or killing them.

Excellent analysis. I believe that the leaders of Iran have been misquoted about their opposition to Israel’s existence. They seem to believe that Israel is an illegal state. This is also the view of Ultra Conservative Jews who believe that only the Messiah can establish the state of Israel. As further evidence that the leaders of Iran are not anti-Semitic, Tehran has a significant Jewish population who are not subject to treatment like the Jews received at the hands of the Nazis. This analysis should be read by Mitt Romney and advisers who project the intent to attack Iran over this Nuclear program.