{"id":181332,"date":"2018-12-30T07:30:34","date_gmt":"2018-12-30T07:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=181332"},"modified":"2019-01-02T05:50:37","modified_gmt":"2019-01-02T05:50:37","slug":"christmas-2018-iran-and-syria-show-respect-israel-and-saudi-arabia-dont","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=181332","title":{"rendered":"Christmas 2018: Iran and Syria show respect, Israel and Saudi Arabia don&#8217;t"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Neil Clark &#8212; Russia Today Dec 29, 2018<\/h1>\n<div id=\"attachment_144328\" style=\"width: 536px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Christmas-in-Iran3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-144328\" class=\"wp-image-144328 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Christmas-in-Iran3.png\" alt=\"christmas-in-iran3\" width=\"526\" height=\"190\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-144328\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christmas decorations in a Tehran shop window.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Christmas is a time of goodwill to all men. Or at least it should be. But while the West\u2019s Middle East \u2018bad guys\u2019 Iran and Syria, showed the Yuletide spirit, its closest allies, Saudi Arabia and Israel, failed to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Iran is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChrisCorney1\/status\/1077953699140517888\">demonized<\/a><\/strong><\/span> by Western neocons and we\u2019re meant to see the country as an evil, \u2018monster\u2018 regime of foaming-at-the-mouth religious fanatics who hate everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">So it goes against the dominant narrative somewhat that Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted a Christmas message and wished \u2018peace and joy to all in 2019\u2019, on Christmas Eve.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The angels said, &quot;Mary, God gives you good tidings of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary; high honored shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. (QURAN 2:45)<br \/>May the blessings of the birth of Jesus usher peace and joy to all in 2019. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NmUGAzqmQo\">pic.twitter.com\/NmUGAzqmQo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Javad Zarif (@JZarif) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JZarif\/status\/1077184958735757319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 24, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I<span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">t also goes against the narrative, that Zarif, back in September, wished Jews, in Iran and across the world, <em>\u201ca very Happy New Year filled with peace and harmony.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Iran&#39;s Zarif wishes &#39;happy Rosh Hashana&#39; to Jews worldwide <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eeCcaIcwgu\">https:\/\/t.co\/eeCcaIcwgu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Wondering Jew (@TheWonderngJew) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheWonderngJew\/status\/1041223923176660992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 16, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">We\u2019re told repeatedly that the Iranian \u2018regime\u2019 is \u2018anti-Semitic\u2019, but do \u2018anti-Semites\u2019 wish Jews a happy \u2018Rosh Hashanah\u2019? If so, it&#8217;s a rather strange definition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The Iranian Foreign Minister also tweeted on December 26 a message of goodwill to Iran\u2019s Zoroastrian community.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"und\" dir=\"rtl\">In commemoration of the passing of Zoroaster, great Iranian Prophet, the composer of the Gathas &amp; founder of principles of good thoughts, good words, good deeds.<br \/>\u06cc\u0627\u062f \u0632\u0631\u062a\u0634\u062a\u060c \u067e\u06cc\u0627\u0645\u0628\u0631 \u0628\u0632\u0631\u06af \u0627\u06cc\u0631\u0627\u0646\u06cc\u060c \u0633\u0631\u0627\u06cc\u0646\u062f\u0647 \u06af\u0627\u062a\u0627\u0647\u0627 \u0648 \u067e\u0627\u06cc\u0647 \u06af\u0630\u0627\u0631 \u0627\u0635\u0648\u0644 \u067e\u0646\u062f\u0627\u0631\u060c \u06af\u0641\u062a\u0627\u0631 \u0648 \u06a9\u0631\u062f\u0627\u0631 \u0646\u06cc\u06a9 \u062f\u0631 \u0633\u0627\u0644\u0631\u0648\u0632 \u062f\u0631\u06af\u0630\u0634\u062a \u0627\u0648 \u06af\u0631\u0627\u0645\u06cc \u0628\u0627\u062f. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qKbMaEUjHR\">pic.twitter.com\/qKbMaEUjHR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Javad Zarif (@JZarif) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JZarif\/status\/1077912406947520512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 26, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Contrast this consideration to people of different faiths from Tehran, with the lack of congratulations on other religious holidays from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A week before Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister was tweeting positively about Jesus, the KSA\u2019s Customs Authority was also on the social media platform, confirming that Christmas trees were <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/446616-saudi-christmas-tree-ban\/\">banned<\/a><\/strong><\/span> from entering the Kingdom for the festive season.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The US government spent years trying to destroy Syria \u2014 which protects religious rights for minorities and has a vibrant Christian community \u2014 while selling billions of dollars of arms to the Saudi monarchy \u2014 which bans Christmas trees and supported ISIS<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ba7MBLh8mX\">https:\/\/t.co\/ba7MBLh8mX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BenjaminNorton\/status\/1074351778374803459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 16, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In fact, despite the large number of Christians from other countries who work in the country, including many Britons, the holding of any Christmas-related services or commemorations in Saudi Arabia is strictly banned. <em>\u201cThe Christmas season \u2013 often a season where Christians around the world are most visible \u2013 is a tense time for Christians in Saudi Arabia, who have to celebrate the holiday in secret, risking arrest and deportation,\u201d<\/em> said Jeff King, President of the International Christian Concern, in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Imagine being a Christian and not being able to openly celebrate the birth of Christ. It happens in Saudi Arabia, yet Western leaders, so keen to lecture others about \u2018human rights\u2019 and \u2018religious freedom\u2019 stay silent, preferring to pick on Iran \u2013 where Christmas can be openly <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/christmas-iran-celebrate-christmas-eve\/\">celebrated<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Syria is another country \u2018monstered\u2019 by the endless war lobby but where, against all the odds, the Christmas spirit is still maintained. Big seasonal celebrations were held this year in Aleppo and Damascus. Remember <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/op-ed\/396295-mosul-aleppo-tale-liberated\/\">Aleppo<\/a><\/strong><\/span>?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">It was recaptured by the Syrian Arab Army from Islamist \u2018rebels\u2019 two years ago this month, and the neocon\/\u2019liberal interventionist\u2019 commentariat, and most of the political class portrayed it as a most terrible thing. Ian Austin MP said that people in Aleppo faced \u2018slaughter\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">John Woodcock MP called the Morning Star newspaper \u2018traitorous scum\u2019 for referring to the recapture of Aleppo by Syrian forces of their own territory, as a \u2018liberation\u2019. But if you look at the pictures of Christians celebrating Christmas there once again, which they were forbidden to do under the western-backed head-chopping \u2019rebels\u2019 you can see that the \u2018L\u2019 word was indeed appropriate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/sahouraxo\/status\/1077969621683261441<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">This year in Damascus though, the festive celebrations were defiled by another act of aggression against Syria from a Western-supported-country, one which incidentally Ian Austin and John Woodcock have been Parliamentary \u2018Friends\u2019 of.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">On the evening of December 25, loud explosions could be heard seven miles from the center of Damascus. Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/447423-israel-strike-syria-civilian-planes\/\">said<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that Israel\u2019s Christmas Day F-16 strikes endangered two civilian flights \u2013 as well as injuring three personnel at the logistics compound.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Whatever your stance is on Middle Eastern affairs \u2013 and leaving aside the illegality of the operation whenever it took place \u2013 the question is: did Israel really have to bomb Syria on Christmas Day?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Would Israel\u2019s \u2019security\u2019 have been lessened if the raid had taken place on December 28 and not the 25th? Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did tweet Christmas greetings out to \u2018Christian friends\u2019 in Israel and around the world on December 24, but why did his forces attack a country where Christians were celebrating one day later?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/sahouraxo\/status\/1077674795796447232<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Just imagine the enormous outcry if Russia had carried out air strikes on Ukrainian targets on the evening of 25th December. In fact, the US magazine Newsweek, doing its best to ratchet up East-West tensions still further, predicted such an event only last week. They <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/ukraine-russia-war-attack-christmas-1270621\">published<\/a><\/strong><\/span> an article on Christmas Eve which began with the words <em>\u201cAs people in Western Europe and the United States get comfortable for the holidays, the chances increase that Russia will take advantage of the distraction to launch attacks against its neighbor Ukraine, experts said.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">And who are these \u2019<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/op-ed\/447578-newsweek-atlantic-council-russia\/\">experts<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u2019, I hear you ask. Well, guess what, they were all from the Atlantic Council.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">How West&#39;s &#39;objective&#39; media works: Newsweek republishes Atlantic Council that is funded by Ukrainian World Congress <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Qwia9I4jFL\">pic.twitter.com\/Qwia9I4jFL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Nina \u2626\ufe0f Byzantina (@NinaByzantina) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NinaByzantina\/status\/686052687146659840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 10, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The \u2018experts\u2019, surprise surprise, were wrong. The \u2018monster\u2019 Russia did not launch attacks on Ukraine over Christmas. But Israel did attack Syria \u2013 and there was silence from those who would have screeched very loudly (and be calling for RT to be taken off the air immediately) if the Kremlin had ordered such a sacrilegious act.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Yes- I have an agenda. It\u2019s called humanity. Two civilian flights were threatened by the attacks on Christmas night. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/B1R08MZ7Fy\">https:\/\/t.co\/B1R08MZ7Fy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Neil Clark (@NeilClark66) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NeilClark66\/status\/1077952595778568193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 26, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS\/ISIL) were also busy bombing on Christmas Day. The genocidal group carried out suicide bomb attacks on Libya\u2019s Foreign Ministry in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/447399-libya-foreign-ministry-isis-bombing\/\">Tripoli<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>on Tuesday morning, killing three and leaving over half-a-dozen injured.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">One doesn\u2019t expect IS to respect Christmas, but you would expect Western leaders \u2013 of predominantly Christian nations to regard the group as public enemy number one. Yet in Syria, the US and its allies welcomed the group\u2019s growth precisely because it threatened the secular, Christian-protecting government of Bashar al-Assad. A declassified US intelligence <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Pg.-291-Pgs.-287-293-JW-v-DOD-and-State-14-812-DOD-Release-2015-04-10-final-version11.pdf\">report<\/a><\/strong><\/span> from August 2012 predicted the establishment of a <em>\u201cSalafist principality in Eastern Syria\u201d<\/em> and said that this is <em>\u201cexactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Furthermore, in a leaked tape <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=t3KfmjdviHM&amp;feature=youtu.be\">recording<\/a><\/strong><\/span> the former Secretary of State John Kerry admitted that the US allowed IS to expand its territory to threaten Damascus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">At the same time, those fighting IS, and other al-Qaeda-linked death squads in Syria, namely the Syrian Arab Army, Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, have been \u2018monstered\u2019 by the West and its regional allies\u2019 propaganda machines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Reflect on this: It wasn\u2019t Syrian, Russia, Iranian or Hezbollah forces or followers who slaughtered British and other Western holiday-makers on the beach in Tunisia in 2015 \u2013 but an IS terrorist who is thought to have trained at a jihadist camp in neighboring Libya and whose government had been forcibly toppled by NATO powers four years earlier. Similarly, it wasn\u2019t Syrian, Russian, Iranian or Hezbollah forces or followers who carried out murderous attacks against civilians in Paris, Nice, Brussels, and London, or at Christmas markets in Berlin and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/news\/world\/europe\/fifth-victim-of-strasbourg-christmas-market-attack-dies-1.3733343\">Strasbourg<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Respecting Christmas and what it stands for is an important litmus test, as it tells us a lot about the actors involved, especially if they are not themselves Christians.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The \u2018monstering\u2019 of those who do show the proper \u2018Yuletide spirit\u2019, and the turning of a blind eye to those that don\u2019t, highlights the spectacular hypocrisy of those in power in the West who profess to support &#8216;Christian values\u2019 but in fact do everything possible to subvert them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">If anyone needs an Ebenezer Scrooge-style epiphany this Christmas, it&#8217;s the &#8216;monster-slayers&#8217; themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/op-ed\/447671-christmas-iran-syria-israel-saudis\/\">Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Neil Clark highlights the West&#8217;s allies spectacular hypocrisy over Christmas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Commentary"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=181332"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":181338,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181332\/revisions\/181338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=181332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=181332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=181332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}