Showing posts with label Shia Muslim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shia Muslim. Show all posts

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Pezeshkian, Newest President of Iran From 2024 And His Part In Present War

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

Masoud Pezeshkian (born 29 September 1954)  71 years old,  is an Iranian politician who is the ninth and current president of Iran since 2024.Masoud Pezeshkian officially became the president of Iran on July 28, 2024, when he received the formal endorsement from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He was then sworn in before the parliament on July 30, 2024. A member of the reformist faction, he is the oldest person to serve in this position, taking office at the age of 69.  He had been a cardiac surgeon, so he should be pretty sharp.  Masoud had been a doctor for Iranian soldiers in the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988).  After taking office as president, he stated that Iran would continue to support the Palestinians in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.   Pezeshkian accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.                 

Iran's current Supreme Leader, the highest religious and political authority, is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has held the position since 1989, succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.  Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei (born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. His tenure as supreme leader, spanning 36 years, makes him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East and the longest-serving Iranian leader since Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.  He will be 87 years old on April 19, 2026.  

Since the Ayatollah holds so much more power than the president, how does he get along with him?  Pezeshkian is a teacher of the Quran, and a reciter of the Nahj al-balagha, a key text for Shia Muslims,    

Pezeshkian began his presidency by continuing support for the Axis of Resistance in the Iran–Israel proxy conflict. He presided over the October 2024 Iranian strikes on Israel in response to Israel's assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail HaniyehHezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and Iranian military officer Abbas Nilforoushan

Pezeshkian hoped to revive the agreement with the United States regarding Iran's nuclear program, in exchange for lifting the international sanctions against it.

Iran has launched several direct attacks on Israel involving missiles and drones, primarily in April and October 2024, and the June 2025 Iran-Israel War. 

  • Date: April 13–14, 2024
  • Details: This was Iran's first direct attack on Israeli territory in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus.
    • Munitions: Iran launched a large combined assault of approximately 170 drones (including Shahed-136 and jet-propelled Shahed-238 loitering munitions), over 30 cruise missiles, and more than 120 ballistic missiles from Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen.
    • Outcome: The majority (99%) of the incoming threats were intercepted by a coalition of forces including Israel, the U.S., UK, and Jordan, causing only minor damage to the Nevatim Airbase and injuring one Israeli civilian. 
    • Pezeshkian was sworn in as President July 30, 2024
    • Date: October 1, 2024
    • Details: The second direct attack, launched in retaliation for Israel's assassinations of the Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in the preceding months.
      • Munitions: Iran fired about 200 ballistic missiles (including Fattah-1 and Kheibar Shekan types) at targets in Israel in at least two waves.
      • Outcome: Most were intercepted, but some hit targets like the Nevatim and Tel Nof airbases, a school, and areas near intelligence headquarters, causing two fatalities (a Palestinian man and an Israeli man who had a heart attack) and several injuries. 
The Iran–Israel war (13 June – 24 June 2025), also known as the Twelve-Day War, was an armed conflict in the Middle East.
Following Israel's major offensive into Iran on June 13, 2025, a series of intense, daily Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel began as part of a short, high-intensity war. 
  • June 13, 2025: Iran launched over 100 Shahed drones and around 150 ballistic missiles in two waves targeting military and intelligence sites in Tel Aviv and elsewhere. Some landed in residential areas, causing injuries and damage.
  • June 14, 2025: Iran fired another 200 ballistic missiles overnight and another barrage later in the night. Some landed in residential areas of Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Rishon LeZion, killing two people and injuring over 60, as well as damaging oil facilities in Haifa.
  • June 15, 2025: Iran and Houthi allies in Yemen fired missiles simultaneously, striking buildings in Bat Yam, Rehovot, and Tel Aviv, killing nine people and injuring about 200. Later barrages injured seven in Haifa.
  • June 16, 2025: Iran launched another barrage that damaged a school and homes in Bnei Brak, Haifa, and Petah Tikva, killing eight civilians and injuring over 90.
Eight Israeli Air Force F-15I Ra'am strike fighter jets of 69 Squadron "Hammers" at Hatzerim Airbase high above Israel on their way to attack Iran in mid June 2025, probably June 16, 2025.  


Sunday, November 02, 2025

Why Mamdami Is Not Good For New York City

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                 

Zoran Mamdami was born in 1991, only 34 years old!  He is a  politician who has served since 2021 (4 years) as a member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district, representing the Queens neighborhood of Astoria. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, he is the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election.  His campaign platform includes support for fare-free city busespublic child carecity-owned grocery storesLGBTQ rights, a rent freeze on rent-stabilized units, additional affordable housing units, comprehensive public safety reform, and a $30 minimum wage by 2030. Mamdani also supports tax increases on corporations and those earning above $1 million annually.

 His mother is a Punjabi Hindu who was born in Rourkela and raised in Bhubaneswar, and his father is a Gujarati Muslim who was born in Bombay and grew up primarily in Uganda, where Mamdami was born as a Muslim.                      

  He is Shia Muslim and identifies with the Twelver branch.   This is the state religion of Iran! I feel that by voting for him, it will bring Iran closer than ever, a country out to destroy the USA and Israel. Iran is Israel's enemy, and also the USA's.  

Shiism has a complex relationship with Israel, primarily driven by the geopolitical actions of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah. While Shiites are a minority within the global Muslim population, and there is virtually no presence of Shiites in Israel itself, Hezbollah and other factions have historically opposed Israel, leading to increased regional tension. Shias of Iran blame Sunni Islamists for teaching them to hate Israel.   

Palestine, whose Muslim population is predominantly Sunni, was thus exclusively a Sunni issue, never a Shia problem, at least until 1979, when Shia firebrand cleric Ruhollah Khomeini came to power in Iran. Khomeini preached a version of militant Shiism that incorporated Muslim Brotherhood doctrines alien to the traditional Shia creed as upheld by Iraq’s Najaf, the Vatican of the Shia world.

Zohran Mamdani, a New York City mayoral candidate, has a long history of strongly pro-Palestinian activism and criticism of Israel. His views include calling Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide and stating he cannot support it as an officially Jewish state, which has drawn both praise and sharp criticism from various communities. His past statements have also faced scrutiny, such as a remark linking the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during a 2023 speech. Connection to NYPD and IDF: He has explained a 2023 comment linking the NYPD and IDF as a reference to training exercises between the two, though some critics remain concerned about his views on the relationship between the two forces. 

  • Views on Israel as a Jewish state: Mamdani has stated he would not recognize any state's right to exist based on a system of hierarchy of race or religion, leading to the criticism that he is questioning Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.  (Is he forgetting how many states are listed as Muslim states?)  
  • Eight Islamic states have adopted Islam as the ideological foundation of state and constitution.  There are about 50 that are Muslim majority states. How about Iran?   Yes, Iran is a Muslim state, officially a Muslim theocracy whose legal system is based on Islamic law (sharia). Its constitution declares Twelver Ja'afari Shia Islam as the official state religion, and all laws are supposed to be based on Islamic criteria. The government is structured as a religious democracy, combining elected institutions with an unelected supreme leader and a Guardian Council that vets all candidates for public office.    
  • Israel's actions: He has called Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide and is critical of its treatment of Palestinians.
  • Past legislation: In the New York State Assembly, he sponsored the "Not On Our Dime" Act, which aimed to strip tax-exempt status from charities with ties to Israeli settler groups.
  • Oh G-d !  This man has the mouth of Iran!  So many people have already joined him in this  acceptance of nonsense, but he has been first as a Muslim that following Iran's thinking patterns, I'm afraid. This may be why he's running in the first place! 

 A July 2025 poll indicated a shift in Jewish American political attitudes, with 43% of Jewish New Yorkers and 67% of Jewish voters under 44 planning to support Mamdani — levels of support suggesting waning attachment to traditional pro-Israel politics, while many Jewish leaders and voters remained critical of Mamdani.  This is why these Jewish youth especially are Regressive Jews.

They know nothing about Israel and seem to not care about learning at all.  They are believing all the misleading anti-Israel news reports from other people other than the Jews themselves.  This way, they are getting more  social approval from their peers.  They are joining them!  In a way, they feel ashamed of their Jewish inheritance.  I am really disappointed that this is what theyturned out to be.                            

                  Portland, before assistance, in Japanese Gardens

And why should I care?  I'm living in Portland, Oregon, 91, living in Assisted Living, and hold dual citizenship with Israel.    What has this election got to do with me?  New York has been the center of Jewishsociety since its beginning; creating the acceptance of the Jewish peoplethere.  Jews makeup 2% of New York's population, of which we are only 0.02% (2/10 of one%) of the world's population.  As they feel and treat Jews in New York soas they will treat Jews in Portland, Oregon.  Is it progress these days to follow others like sheep do?  

So between his socialistic outlook, and his anti-Israel upbringing, no thankyou in choosing Mamdami  in the Mayor election. Here is more informationof how he feels about Israel.

Unlike his opponents in the mayoral race, Mamdani has offered perspectives on Israel, Zionism, and antisemitism that have upset and even alarmed some voters. Although he has never denied that the state of Israel has a right to exist, he simultaneously has not affirmed that it should exist as a Jewish state. Mamdani is forthright in his opposition to Israel’s use of weapons that he calls "violence" against the Palestinian people, and has classified the ongoing war in Gaza as a “genocide.” He also has not swayed from his support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, which aims to pressure Israel so that the state may comply with international law. When it comes to New York’s institutional ties to Israel, Mamdani wants to deviate from the past practice of the city’s mayors, who supported initiatives such as the NYC-Israel Economic Council and the NYPD’s police exchange programs. Perhaps the most remarkable promise Mamdani has made is to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he ever enters the city.

Instead of marketing himself as an ally to Israel, Mamdani has instead channeled his energy into targeting many of the everyday concerns of Jewish New Yorkers. According to data released by the NYPD, Jews were the primary target of hate crimes reported (hate crimes remain largelyunderreported across the board) in the city in 2024, constituting nearly 54 percent of the hate crimes counted. He has called for increasing funding for hate violence programs from $3 million to $26 million. He has also signified support for the implementation of the “Hidden Voices” program, which would teach students from kindergarten through 12thgrade about Jewish Americans in U.S. history (but teaching them what about Jews? 

On the second anniversary of the October 7th attacks, Mamdani released a statement mourning those killed in both Israel and occupied Palestine, and he has repeatedly expressed a continued commitment to condemning antisemitism across the country. 

Update 5:30am 11/5/25: Mamdani won, even with Trump behind Cuomo., and I hope for all of us 

that he will keep his promise of ridding New York of anti-semitism;  however,

he will be the first shi'a Muslim who will have all Jews in New York available

through the web, phone, etc, and he will know where they are.  Just hope

no Iman calls for a Jihhad against Jews.  Mamdani was not born in the 

States, you know, but Uganda. Sorry to be so leery of a Shi'a Muslim at the

head, but we are at war with Iran and it is a Shi'a country.  

  • Global Threats: Israeli intelligence (Mossad) has recently revealed that Iran has expanded its efforts to target Israeli and Jewish interests worldwide, thwarting dozens of attack channels across Europe and Australia in the past year.
  • Nuclear Posturing: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed the world saw only a fraction of Iran's power during the June 2025 conflict and warned Iran is now "even more prepared for any potential new conflict," while denying its nuclear program poses an imminent threat.
  • War with the US: Senior Iranian officials, including former IRGC commander Major General Mohsen Rezaei, have stated that if Israel initiates a war, Iran will also enter a war with the United States.

Resource:

https://israel-nadene.blogspot.com/2025/11/they-are-called-progressive-jews-but.html

https://prospect.org/2025/10/30/mamdani-and-the-jews/

https://www.fpri.org/article/2010/05/shiism-what-students-need-to-know/