Iran in Trouble
I ran remains in the headlines. And the
theocratic regime is taking a beating.

But instead of criticism focused on the polit-
ically divisive nuclear deal — which has gener-
ated fi ts and starts of possible agreement, only
to fall victim to Iran’s intransigence and unrea-
sonable demands — the focus has been upon
the mass outpouring of rage over the murder
of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the
regime’s morality police.

Amini was arrested for allegedly violating
Iran’s strict rules on how to wear a hijab. She
died while in police custody, reportedly suf-
fering multiple blows to the head. The mass
Demonstrators in Toulouse, France, gather in support
protests have spread to at least 50 Iranian
of Iranian women, and in protest of the death of Mahsa
cities. For the conservative Islamic theocracy,
Amini, on Oct. 2, 2022.

these spontaneous acts of rebellion are a sig-
nifi cant challenge to the state. Iranian law forbids clubs and, in some instances, live ammunition.

any dissent and imposes fearsome punishments
Revolutionary Iran, now 43 years old, has proved
for those deemed a threat to the state. But the as implacable as the old Soviet Union. And we are
protests are growing nonetheless and are a clear left to ponder how to restrain this international
reminder that Iranian citizens don’t all see eye to outlaw whose goal of staying in power means
eye with their insular Islamic thought police and turning its back to the world and arresting, impris-
government. oning and killing the opposition.

While Iran watchers warn not to misread the
But there are some things Iran can’t control —
hijab protests as opposition to the scarf itself, like the complication that the unrest coincides with
there is no mistaking the message conveyed in reports of the ailing health of Iran’s top authority,
the videos that show women burning their head- 83-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. There are
scarves and crowds chanting “death to the dic- reportedly deep divisions in Iran’s “ruling elite”
tator,” unfazed by security forces using tear gas, over Khamenei’s eventual successor — including
high-level negotiations and jockeying for infl u-
ence within the country’s Assembly of Experts,
the 86-member body that is supposed to
decide succession. All of that is reportedly dis-
tracting regime leaders from unifying around
security issues and the best way to deal with
the growing protest movement.

Among the things Iran has done in reac-
tion to the protests is to cut off the internet
and block social media. The hope is that by
restricting communication about the protests,
they will die down. In response, Secretary of
State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S.

will ease restrictions on technology exports to
help counter Iranian state censorship activi-
ties. Which then prompted tech billionaire Elon
Musk to announce that he was “activating
Starlink” in order to save the Iranian people.

Starlink is Musk’s satellite internet company, and
his announcement implied that his non-govern-
ment service could solve Iranians’ tech problems.

But it can’t. Among other things, Starlink custom-
ers need a special dish to send and receive inter-
net data. Those dishes are not available in Iran,
and the regime won’t let them in. Indeed, Iran has
already blocked Starlink.

While Iran may be able to block Musk, it hasn’t
yet fi gured out how to explain Amini’s violent
death or how to deal with the mounting outrage it
has engendered. JE
An EU Opportunity
I n 1995, Israel and the European Union entered
into an Association Agreement which called
for ministerial-level meetings between EU
representatives and Israel at least yearly, at which
issues of mutual concern were to be discussed.

For a number of reasons, it took almost fi ve
years for the Association Agreement to be rat-
ifi ed. And then in 2013, Israel canceled further
meetings in reaction to the EU’s promulgation of
a policy that prohibited EU funding for or coopera-
tion with an Israeli body that operates or has links
beyond the Green Line.

But now, thanks to eff orts by Israel’s prime
minister, Yair Lapid, and support from EU lead-
ership — particularly representatives of France
— the freeze has thawed and Association Council
meetings are back on track. The fi rst meeting in
a decade was held in Brussels earlier this week.

Among the issues scheduled for discussion
were the war in Ukraine, the global energy cri-
sis and food insecurity. EU representatives also
made clear their interest in discussing the Middle
East peace process, in the hopes of building on
12 OCTOBER 6, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
what they saw as encouraging remarks by Lapid
during his recent United Nations address, in which
he called a two-state solution “the right thing for
Israel’s security, for Israel’s economy and for the
future of our children.”
Historically, the friction between the EU and Israel
has centered on various aspects of Israel’s rela-
tionship with the Palestinians. EU member nations
overwhelmingly support a two-state solution and
oppose Israeli settlements in the West Bank. There
were also economic tensions, driven by Europe’s
thirst for oil, and EU member deference to the his-
toric antagonism of Arab oil states to Israel.

Much of that seems to have changed with the
regional embrace of the Abraham Accords, a height-
ened need for Europe’s cultivation of alternative oil
sources because of the war in Ukraine and the shift
in Israel’s leadership from the hardline positions of
former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the
more moderate positions of Lapid.

From the EU’s perspective, the stars may have
aligned to off er an opportunity for a reboot of
Europe’s relationship with Israel: Israel’s current
leadership is receptive to the idea of a two-state
solution, and Lapid is seen as a leader with
whom they can pursue that approach. In addition,
Israel has increasingly strong connections to
and business relations with Arab oil producers,
and is increasingly seen as a possible partner
in Europe’s developing approach to a growing
Russia-triggered energy crisis. Indeed, this past
summer, Israel and Egypt signed a memoran-
dum of understanding with the EU to boost gas
exports. All of that said, we hope that eff orts toward
renewed EU-Israel cooperation are not short
lived. While the benefi ts of a meaningful joint
eff ort are clear, there remain members of the
EU who continue to vilify Israel and oppose rap-
prochement and there is the increasing likelihood
that a less EU-sympathetic Netanyahu-led coali-
tion will retake control of the government follow-
ing next month’s elections.

Both sides should therefore seize the current
opportunity to create facts on the ground that
strengthen EU-Israel relations. JE
Photo by Patrick Batard / Abaca/Sipa USA
editorials