Iran's Representative in the Knesset - Haneen Zuabi

Haneen Zuabi of the Balad party.

With a new parliament about to be sworn in in Israel, one member to watch is Haneen Zuabi of the Balad party. Her lesser distinction is as the first woman to represent an Arab party in the Knesset. Her greater distinction is as the voice piece for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Some of her comments, according to Samuel Sokol in the Jerusalem Post:

• The very concept of a Jewish state is "inherently racist." Israel must be turned into a "state of all its citizens," eliminating its Jewish or Zionist nature.

• Iran's role in Palestinian affairs is "more useful" than that of regimes like Jordan and Egypt, in that Iran stands more firmly "against occupation than a lot of the Arab countries." Egypt and Jordan, indeed, are scared of a free and democratic Palestinian state.

• It's not a good idea for Israel to be the region's sole nuclear power. "It would be more supporting me to have a [nuclear] counter-power to Israel. I need something to balance [its] power."

• Is she worrying about Tehran getting close to acquiring a nuclear weapon? "No, I am not." To the contrary, said is "more afraid from the Israeli nuclear [weapons]."

• Would the Israel Defense Forces use nuclear weapons? "The Israelis? I think yes. And I am afraid from real risk rather than from potential risk." More broadly, whereas the Iranian bomb is only "a potential" threat, the IDF is an actual danger. "Every day the Israeli [army] uses its violence, army violence."

• Israel is an aggressor state, so only something along the lines of Mutually Assured Destruction would restrain it.

• Would an Iranian bomb make Washington nervous, lead to more U.S. pressure on Israel, and that would be good thing? "Exactly."

Comment: Haneen Zuabi sitting in the same Knesset in which Avigdor Lieberman has a leadership role should make for a dramatic confrontation, given Lieberman's special focus on disloyal statements by parliamentarians. (March 31, 2009)

Apr. 3, 2009 update: Zuabi protests the interview with her in a letter to the editor, but I see little difference between what she is quoted as saying and what she insists she really said.

Related Topics:  Arab-Israel conflict & diplomacy, Iran receive the latest by email: subscribe to daniel pipes' free mailing list