This article originally appeared in “The Landline,” +972’s weekly newsletter. Subscribe here.
For about a month now, the mass protests taking place in Iran under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom” have ignited the world’s imagination. The sight of brave Iranian women removing the hijab in the streets of the country, in open defiance of the tyrannical and violent regime, has sparked huge demonstrations of solidarity across the globe. And their call for freedom has turned into a demand by large swaths of the Iranian population to overthrow the Islamic Republic.
Demonstrations of solidarity with the women of Iran were also held in Israel — some led by women’s organizations, others by Israelis of Iranian origin. Even the Tel Aviv Municipality lit up its building in solidarity with the protests. And while the identification of so many Israelis with the protest in Iran is, of course, understandable, the fact that so many are going out of their way to show their solidarity should give us pause.
First, unlike other solidarity demonstrations across the world, a show of support by Israelis for Iranian protesters could be easily be manipulated by Iran’s leadership to portray the entire thing as a Zionist plot.
But the Israeli solidarity protests raise even more fundamental questions: what is the essence of the freedom in the name of which people are gathering across Israel in solidarity with Iranian women? Is the value of freedom truly dear to the hearts of Israelis, or is it simply an opportunity to tell a different story about ourselves?
A few days ago I received a request to add my name to an Israeli petition in support of the Iranian struggle for liberation. Under the title “In support of women, life, and freedom in Iran,” the petition began with these words:
“As human beings, cultured people, and Israelis who come from a variety of countries of origin, political opinions, religious beliefs and sexual definitions; we, elected officials, academics and researchers, artists and military officers, express our love and concern for the girls and the Iranian people who are currently fighting for their freedom and their lives.”