
"Death to Israel" (also "Down with Israel") is a political slogan against
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, which is most often used in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
.
[
][
][
][
] Every year, Iranian pilgrims sing the slogan of "death to Israel" during the
Hajj
Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...
rituals and the
ceremony of disavowal of polytheists.
[
][
] This slogan is especially chanted against Israel by demonstrators on
Quds Day
Quds Day (), officially known as International Quds Day (), is an annual pro-Palestinian event held on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to express support for Palestinians and oppose Israel and Zionism. It takes its name ...
and is often accompanied by the burning of the Israeli flag.
[
] This slogan has also been used in the atmosphere of the
Islamic Consultative Assembly
The Islamic Consultative Assembly (), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the unicameral national legislative body of Iran. The parliament currently consists of 290 representatives, an i ...
of Iran.
[
] In the film released from Iran's missile exercise during
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...
's presidency, the slogan "Death to Israel" was written on
ballistic missiles
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typica ...
that were fired at replicas.
[ In Iran, the slogan is not merely rhetorical but reflects the government's view of Israel's position in the region, and is a central component of Iran's policy of seeking Israel's destruction.][
]
Other uses
Houthi movement
The slogan of the Houthis
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadersh ...
, the Shiite
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
rebel group in Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
, which Iran also supports,[
] is "God is greater, death to America, death to Israel, curse to the Jews, victory to Islam".[
][
][
] This slogan is also one of the slogans used by Hezbollah
Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
in Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
.[
] Tariq Alhomayed believes that the slogan of death to Israel in the Arab world has lost its function and holding reconciliation agreements between the Arab countries of the region with Israel is proof of this claim.[
] This slogan, as one of the symbols of hatred against Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, has been noticed by the rulers of the Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
region.[
]
Reactions
Opponents
Nikki Haley
Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley (''née'' Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from Ja ...
, the former representative of the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, in a tweet, considered this slogan, along with the slogan of death to America
"Death to America" is an anti-American political slogan widely used in Iran,Arash KaramiKhomeini Orders Media to End 'Death to America' Chant, Iran Pulse, October 13, 2013 Afghanistan, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Pakistan. Ruhollah Khomeini, the f ...
, as a reason to oppose Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. She believes that Iran is looking for nuclear weapons
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...
and is seeking to realize these two slogans.[ ''Akram Meknes'', one of the ]Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
language writers, considers the slogan of death to Israel as an erosion slogan that does not convince even children these days and has lost its effectiveness.[
] Karim Sadjadpour considers the slogan of death to America, along with death to Israel, as well as the hijab
Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...
, to be the main foundations of the Islamic Republic of Iran's ideology, which remains for them in the 2020s.[
] Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
, referring to this slogan, considers it a proof of the radical atmosphere ruling in Iran.[
]
Supporters
According to the ''Islam Quest website'', this slogan is permissible due to the "tyranny of the Israeli government".[
] Ali Al Bukhaiti
Ali Nasser Qaid Al Bukhaiti (Arabic: علي ناصر قايد البخيتي; born 10 September 1976) is a Yemeni politician, journalist, and writer.
He was a spokesman for the Houthi movement, until deciding to split up from them. He moved ...
, the former spokesman and the official media face of the Houthis
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadersh ...
, said: "We really do not want anyone's death. This slogan is only against the intervention of those governments .e. the United States and Israel"[
] Ali Khamenei
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. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...
also considered this slogan as the "slogan of the Iranian nation" and does not consider it specific to one of the Iranian cities.[
] ''Masoud Jazayeri'', the spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces, also claimed in an interview that: "Cries of death to America, death to England, death to Israel, etc. did not arise overnight; That by saying this reason and that reason, it should be removed from the political discourse of nations wounded by imperialism
Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
and arrogance
Hubris (; ), or less frequently hybris (), is extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency, often in combination with (or synonymous with) arrogance.
Hubris, arrogance, and pretension are related to the need for vi ...
and domination regimes."[
]
Margins
Habibah Jaghoori, a student of the University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...
and the editor of that university's student magazine, was fired from the magazine after publishing an anti-Zionist article titled "Death to Israel".[
] That article contains the following content:
See also
* Little Satan
"Little Satan" (; ; ) is an anti-Zionist derogatory epithet used especially by Iranian leaders for Israel.
Usage history
According to some sources Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of Iranian Revolution, first used the term in its contemporary meaning. ...
* Political slogans of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Political slogans of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a list of government and anti-government slogans from the beginning of the Iranian Islamic repulic revolution until now. Shortly after the Iranian Islamic republic revolution of 1979 ( ...
* Death to America
"Death to America" is an anti-American political slogan widely used in Iran,Arash KaramiKhomeini Orders Media to End 'Death to America' Chant, Iran Pulse, October 13, 2013 Afghanistan, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Pakistan. Ruhollah Khomeini, the f ...
* The Zionist regime
* Israel won't exist in 25 years
References
External links
Anti-Israeli sentiment in Iran
Propaganda in Iran
Iran–Israel relations
Political theories
Political terminology of Iran
Political quotes
Phrases related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
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