The Iran-Israel Faceoff: The Roots of the Conflict and What May Lie Ahead

On Thursday, November 15th, 2024, the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center co-sponsored a lecture presented by the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism with Roya Hakakian on the roots of the Iran-Israel conflict and what may lie ahead. Ms. Hakakian, was born and raised in an Iranian Jewish family. She was still a child when the 1979 Iranian Revolution began. The revolution was especially tragic for both her family and community who faced increasing antisemitic sentiments. After Ayatollah Khomeini’s return and the subsequent Iran-Iraq war, Ms. Hakakian emigrated to the U.S. on political asylum. When asked whether she would erase the memories of these tragic experiences, Ms. Hakakian expressed that she wouldn’t, that such experiences provided her with the opportunity to step up and shape herself. Similarly, she spoke of the silver lining of the current Iran-Israel conflict in that it provided people a similar opportunity to self-reflect and decide on the values and principles that defined them. Ms. Hakakian emphasized that Iranian-Jewish relations were not always hostile. That as far back as Achaemenid times, the Jewish people enjoyed a close relationship with the Iranian people that continued into the time of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. However, as the Shah pursued a relationship with Israel, far-right segments of Iranian society grew weary of his regime and its policies. Yet, Ms. Hakakian asserts that Khomeini’s initial concerns were not about Israel, but about the increased freedoms enjoyed by Iranian women. She argued that Khomeini only turned his attention towards Israel after failing to garner support for his anti-women beliefs. Ms. Hakakian claims that an anti-Israel, anti-Western agenda propelled Khomeini’s movement into the mainstream, enabling him to co-opt genuine concerns among the Iranian public. However, this formula, in her opinion, may be reaching its end because the Iranian people are weary of foreign conflict, and are calling for domestic investment, as well as wishing for an end to hostilities.