Quds Day in Iran is a gesture of solidarity with the Palestinian cause against Israel — that is, its drive to annihilate the Jewish state — and an attempt to make it appear as if it is a justifiable resistance against “oppression.” At the core of the Palestinian resistance is another chant: “From the River [Jordan] to the Sea [Mediterranean], Palestine will be free”; ie. when Israel is obliterated.
Some senior Islamic clerics have tried to minimize the seriousness of the chants “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” by saying that not all Americans should take the cursing personally because it does not mean death to all the American people – just the government. The chants, meanwhile, are drilled into the minds of regime loyalists. The Iranian regime also routinely refers to America as “the great Satan,” and to Israel as “the little Satan,” as it claims that both countries are “oppressors”; what they actually constitute are obstacles to Shia Iran’s quest for regional and global dominance.
“Iran Road Rage: Protesters Told to Drive in Convoys and Shout ‘Death to Israel! Death to America!’”, by Simon Kent, Breitbart, May 17, 2020:
Rallies next week across Iran to mark the annual Quds Day mass protest against Israel and its allies will involve protesters driving in packed motor vehicles while shouting “Death to Israel! Death to America!” through the windows at startled pedestrians rather than taking to the streets on foot.
The change is a result of the need for isolation during the Chinese coronavirus epidemic and protesters will still be required to wear masks while driving. The same applies to those traveling in buses chartered for the same purpose.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on state television Saturday the elite Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) would be in charge of organising the car and bus rallies, adding those joining in could still chant the slogans from their vehicles and wave flags as long as they strictly obeyed road rules and regulations at all times.
Reuters reports Rouhani said Quds Day, held each year on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan which falls on May 22, would go ahead as normal in 218 other towns and cities, with certain conditions applied.
“The coronavirus danger is still there, but our situation is better than before,” he said. “”We have crossed the main peak.”
Crying “Death to America” or “Death to Israel” is a popular pastime in Iran, sometimes used as a greeting between friends and at other times as an opener or closer to large public gatherings.
Family events are also common venues for the chants where it is used to enliven proceedings, although senior Islamic clerics have in the past made clear not all Americans should take the cursing personally because it does not mean death to all the American people – just some, as Breitbart News reported.
In April last year, Iranian lawmakers opened a new session of the country’s Parliament with chants of “Death to America.”….
Peter Buckley says
Please follow the links, as always:
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16043/iran-anti-israel-agenda
commonsense says
Three cheers for the sorely missed American hero and patriot, Obama, whose Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, had it not been mocked and rescinded by the orange troglodyte currently in the White House, would have certainly put an end to Iran’s nuclear and genocidal ambitions. …Seriously – when, if ever, will the damage caused by that jug-eared traitor ever be sufficiently understood to motivate the DOJ to prosecute? Execution would be the desired outcome.
Westman says
“Americans should take the cursing personally because it does not mean death to all the American people – just some, as Breitbart News reported.”
So, they mean real death to Israel, actually killing its citizens from,”the river to the sea”, but not the US?
Let’s see, Iran’s population is 80 million and Israel’s is 9 Million, about 8.8 to 1. Somehow the Mullahs and IRGC think that it’s possible to annihilate Israel which has an ally of 330 million and that ally has the world’s most powerful military. If Iran tangles with the US, the ratio is now 4.2 to 1 in favor of the US and Israel. Realistically, it’s even more unbalanced since Muslim women, generally, are sidelined.
Iran, despite all the self-flagillation and boasting, will never attack Israel directly unless the US becomes an unreliable ally. This is too likely if liberals gain control of the US government.
It seems that Allah can’t hear jihadis calling for the death of Israel unless the car window is open. Based on all past attempts to annihilate Israel, Allah isn’t listening, doesn’t exist, or, doesn’t like Iran’s regime and doesn’t share their objectives.
Advice for Quds Day: Shout louder, flagellate yourselves, use all those other tricks from the priests of Baal, and see what happens. We’ll watch.
Walter Sieruk says
What a total tyranny this “mullah regime” of Iran is They tell the Iranian people how to dress,how to be religious ,in the Shiite way. Now they tell,demand,to scream from the car driving “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
This shows the unreasonable irrational tyrannical religious/political mindset of the dictators of Iran .
For by forcing the people to yell out words of hate,or yell out anything while driving is a distracting driving hazard .This exposes how little to nothing the tyrants how have all the power care about the safety of the Iranian people.
Furthermore , the question should be asked “What does all such yelling while driving in car actually accomplish for anything of value of worth ? The answer is nothing of value or worth at all.
This further exposes the irrational mindset of the Ayatollahs,mullahs others in power in this Islamic tyrannical regime of Iran.
Westman says
Agree, Walter. It also exposes the Ayatollah’s paranoia and fear of another revolution by beating the worn out, “Death to ….”, rhetoric into oblivion and constantly bloviating. The slimy regime might do anything to distract the citizens from the death and hardship it brought upon the nation. The Sunnis are probably LOL every time they hear Iran’s “Death to …” chant.
The end is coming for the Iran Mullah regime, one way or another. If Kamenei passes away, the IRGC will take over rather than lose its gravy train. The Mullah train has run out of track.
It seems that the Hidden (12th) Mahdi and Allah remain hidden to the Mullahs.
DHazard says
It must be weird living in a country with a theocracy that pretends like it’s always on the verge of war with non-Muslims who have been out to get them for centuries, and you know it’s not true. These chants lost their ring after the third time and now are just a reminder of how hatred can be normalized and a revolution to free people ended up enslaving them.
gravenimage says
Quds Day amid pandemic: Iranians told to drive cars and scream “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” out windows
……………………
There is a meme right now in the US, #Solidarityat8, that asks Americans to make some noise at 8pm every day in support of health care workers:
https://www.today.com/news/social-trend-solidarityat8-asks-americans-make-some-noise-health-care-t176584
It is also a nice way to say “hello neighbor” in a time when we aren’t seeing very much of each other. Every evening, there is a chorus of whistles, cheers, bells, and other noisemakers from surrounding houses and apartment buildings. We often set up on the porch and join in with cowbells and make some joyful noise ourselves.
Now, let’s contrast this with the festival of threats of death going on in Iran…
tim gallagher says
What a pointless exercise. Yeah, let’s all go and chant “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”. How moronic these Iranian leaders, and the citizens who actually follow their imbecilic garbage, are. I think this pathetic, pointless chant might have lost its impact by now. After all, it seems to be something that is done at the drop of hat in Iran. Yawn. Iran is led by some of the dumbest people on planet earth. It must be what living a 7th century life in the 21st century does to people.
James Lincoln says
tim gallagher,
Since 1979, 41 years and still counting.
I can hear the average Iranian citizens now driving around the neighborhood:
Hey wait a minute Fahad, where’s my coffee? Oh yeah, I almost forgot, role that window down “Death to America”.
Hey Hamza, you ate the last jelly donut!
Oh yeah, let’s see if I can remember, oh yeah…“Death to Israel”. Hey, stop the car, I gotta go pee…
tim gallagher says
Well said, James. That’s how I feel about unbelievably dumb chanting that seems to be so popular in Iran. Plenty of them, I mean some must have an IQ over 50, must surely be bored to tears with this repetitive crap by now. But, I suppose anyone who didn’t go out and chant along with the crowd would be beheaded or have to endure some other Islamic punishment. Thinking about it, many Iranians, like the clowns that you portray, probably have nothing else to do with their time but to do this idiotic chanting.