by David Lentz

August 20, 2009

That whirring buzz from Iran just won’t go away. Iran is a lethal “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma,” to borrow Churchill’s description of the Soviet Union. We are told that the street demonstrations led by so-called reformists might herald the inevitable unfolding of change within the political hierarchy. Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic described opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi as espousing a “realist traditionalism” that has “parallels in American conservatism.”

The violent government-led repression that followed seemed to portend new political possibilities and, with it, the faint hope of Iran’s engagement with the world. After all, if an “Iranian street” is dedicated to political rights and freedom of expression, perhaps the theocracy with a chokehold on the country might be compelled to follow.

Then again, maybe not. Despite the protests in the spring — in which the West placed such great hope — the whirring noises continued. The centrifuges in the underground bunkers of the nuclear facility of Natanz continue spinning and enriching uranium.

What’s more, there has not been an iota of hope that any of the “reformist” leaders present a different approach to the nuclearization of Iran. One of the most prominent is Ayatolla Rafsanjani; the last time we checked, this great hope for Iranian reform was still subject to an Argentinean arrest warrant for his role in masterminding the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people.

When Mousavi served as prime minister in the 1980s, one of his prominent policy “achievements” was to initiate the county’s nuclear program. As prime minister, Mousavi termed Israel a “cancerous tumor” and called for the country’s annihilation — strikingly similar to the current policy positions of Iran.

While our president ponders his next move in this conundrum, we, members of the Jewish community, should not. We should be impelled to act.

We cannot be distracted by the background noise of policy considerations or diplomats deliberating the relative merits of waiting vs. engagement. Waiting is not an option; the centrifuges do not permit complacency.

Our community must educate, advocate, and mobilize. Activists from our community relations committees are going to our synagogues to ask rabbis and social action chairs to devote a portion of their public education time to the dangers and challenges presented by Iran since the election.

We are providing congregations with action kits with the key facts to inform the community about Iran’s danger to the world.

We are urging community leaders to remain vigilant despite our superficial appreciation for the public protests.

We are challenging each member of the Jewish community to be active in advocating among our elected officials and responding when e-mail action alerts are distributed. As individuals and as a community, we must be ready to urge our public officials to act.

We are calling upon community members to support and urge officials to enact two measures currently before Congress: the Iran Refined Sanction Petroleum Act, which would impose tough sanctions on companies transporting refined petroleum to Iran or helping Iran expand its refining capacity, and the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act, allowing state and local governments to divest from Iran’s energy sector.

On Wednesday, Sept. 9, a community briefing, “Post Election Iran: What’s Next,” will be held at Drew University in Madison.

And we will send as many community members as possible, in community-subsidized buses, to the Stop Iran Rally in New York City on Thursday, Sept. 24.

We will ask for each person to help the United Against Nuclear Iran registry by initiating and participating in campaigns to have local New Jersey businesses divest from doing business in Iran.

Educate, advocate, and mobilize. It is up to us to respond to the buzzing noise that continues to come from Iran.

David Lentz is chair of the Community Relations Committee of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ.

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