The news of the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation resonated with the Israeli occupation. Shortly after his official death announcement, reactions began to manifest clearly, with the most prominent and extreme being from Israeli rabbis.
Officially, no official statement was issued by the Israeli government regarding the death of the Iranian President. However, the official broadcasting authority conveyed what it described as the official source saying, “We are not involved in the death of the Iranian President.”
Schadenfreude from Rabbis
Expressions of joy and schadenfreude were evident in the statements of rabbis in the occupation. Rabbi Meir Abutbul blatantly referred to the Iranian President as “the executioner” due to his hostility towards Israel and the Jewish people, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.
In a Facebook post, Abutbul stated, “This dog wanted to hang the Jews, so God scattered him in the wind in a helicopter crash, him and his entire crew who hated Israel,” implying that the incident was a form of divine punishment, according to him.
Similarly, Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi linked the event to “divine displeasure” and warned in his Facebook post, saying, “Have mercy on yourselves, God said enough, you have angered Him,” indicating that the incident “came as a result of divine punishment for the actions taken by Raisi and his administration,” as reported by the Israeli newspaper.
In addition to these voices, Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri also shared his thoughts on social media, likening Raisi to the “Torah villain Haman.”
“A Great Earthquake in Iran”
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper saw in its report that the death of the Iranian President is akin to a major earthquake in the Islamic Republic, and that the event would shake the political system in Tehran.
The Israeli newspaper pointed out that Raisi’s exit from the scene at this time leaves Iran amidst significant developments on the domestic, regional, and international fronts. On the domestic front, the newspaper sees that the country is suffering from a severe legitimacy crisis, especially after the wave of protests that erupted in Iran in 2022 following the killing of the young woman Mahsa Amini, where the authorities managed to restore calm to the streets.
The newspaper also believes that Raisi’s government “failed to provide a solution to the worsening economic and social difficulties among citizens. The unprecedented low voter turnout rates in the recent parliamentary elections in Iran clearly indicate the continuous erosion of public trust.”
The newspaper also shed light on Raisi’s role in Iran’s foreign policy and the impact of Tehran losing its Foreign Minister Amir Hossein Abdollahian, who has deep knowledge of the Middle East and mastery of the Arabic language, in addition to his close proximity to the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
