New York, NY, April 15, 2024... ADL's (Anti-Defamation League) Task Force on Middle East Minorities condemns the Islamic Republic of Iran’s attack targeting Israel. This unprecedented attack not only is an unjustified act of war against Israel but also poses a great threat to the region's stability.
Reverend Johnnie Moore, member of ADL’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities and president of the Congress of Christian Leaders stated:
“The Ayatollahs abuse the name of God and use religion only as a weapon of terror. It is time for all people of faith to join their voices with the voices of the Iranian people and say: ‘Not in our name!’ Our political leaders need to recognize this for what it was: an unprecedented action by the Ayatollahs which needs to be met with a joint reaction of the free world.”
ADL’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities member, and a senior fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies Behnam Ben Taleblu noted the contrast between the views of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian people:
“Iran’s leaders have shown that they will put their money where their mouth is when they chant ‘Death to Israel.’ This was on full display on April 14 as the Islamic Republic conducted a historic overt and direct strike from its territory against the Jewish state using drones and missiles. This attack could have killed thousands in a land sacred to the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. Tehran’s escalation was not driven by some form of domestic pressure. After all, Iranians have been chanting ‘Not Gaza, Not Lebanon, My Life Only for Iran’ in street protests since 2009. It was instead born of the clerical regime’s deeply unpopular anti-Israel ideology and revolutionarily foreign policy.”
Marjan Keypour, ADL’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities member and director of Alliance for Rights of All Minorities (ARAM), underscored:
“Time and again, the people of Iran have rejected the enmity toward Israel that is forced upon them. We join the people of Iran and all those affected by these hateful attacks in rejecting hate and division among all people regardless of religion and belief and recommit ourselves to promoting peace and coexistence among all people.”