Who or what killed the Iranian president?

Many had a motive; let’s blame the Jews! Maybe Eli Kopter?

I don’t understand how the supreme leader of the world’s terrorism traveled by chopper. So careless. Ask Kim. Then, I doubt Israel has downed it. The Jewish State and Trump would not have restricted themselves to assassinating his main terrorist underling and killed him too already. Israeli involvement would become likelier if, in the coming weeks, more Iranian leaders would suddenly die unnaturally, though many have motives.

As the leading enemy of the Iranian people, there were so many Iranians who wanted him dead. If it was one of them, probably, we’ll never know.

And then, many would like to succeed him. That’s a motive.

He had just visited Azerbaijan. Crushed Azerbaijan opposition groups might have shot down the copter. The regime may have downed it to incriminate the opposition. Or France could’ve done it to implicate Azerbaijan. Two days prior, it accused it of interfering in the politics of New Caledonia. But none of these possibilities are likely since no such accusations are raised.

G^ddunnit? Very unlikely. Even Hitler didn’t die a supernatural death. G^d protects wicked people so much that Hitler and Arafat thought G^d loved them extra. Why would that be? I suggest that G^d needs evil in this world but hates to waste people on this. So, the rare super wicked ones He keeps alive, often against all odds, instead of needing more lesser villains with shorter lives. Iran’s FM died in the crash, too. He worked with Hamas and negotiated nuclear deals with the US it didn’t keep, among other evils.

Redemption? The Prophets tell us the Final Redemption will come with unseen turbulence and death. Yet, it seems G^d still trusts in humans and is waiting for us to bring world peace. Otherwise, He should have sent the Messiah right after or during WWII and the Holocaust.

Arrogance? Now we’re getting close, I feel. Who is so careless to fly in a helicopter during a thick mist in a mountainous region? The Dutch saying goes: Hoogmoed komt voor de val. [Pride comes before the fall.] This resembles Proverbs 16:18: Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. A false sense of invincibility. Possibly also carelessness and a lack of appreciation of the value of one’s life. Sounds plausible!

This was also just before Iran set to execute a Jew, Heaven forbid. If the Butcher of Tehran had to die, that’s a good moment. Just before the UN’s ICC announced its intent to arrest Israel’s leadership “for war crimes,” drowning out this Iranian news before they could say Jack bin-Robin.

I wouldn’t be surprised if G^d just let him go in a most unceremonious way. No body for a funeral, no location for a monument, cause: mountain.

I noticed that I felt a sense of relief and gratefulness, but we learn from our Sages to prefer repentance of the baddies over their death. Yet, I won’t blame Gazans or Iranians who suffered under him for rejoicing.

Reportedly, the Iranian junta is one or two weeks away from obtaining nuclear weapons. Now, instead, they will be very busy infighting about who gets the honor of being the next tyrant. If the attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis slow down, that could be the case. But if they continue to target Jews at the same pace, it shows the danger is still acute.

Meanwhile, I feel for the long-suffering people of Iran, who always were friends with the Jews and Israel until the extremist-Muslim coup removed the Shah. May we lock arms and dance in the streets soon!

___

I try to never name villains or help make the infamous famous, may their names be erased (Exodus 17:14, Deuteronomy 25:19).

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1