Israelis, Iranians try to avert war through Facebook.
by Golnaz Esfandiari
Amid the drumbeat of war between Iran and Israel, an Israeli couple has launched an online peace campaign in an effort to reach out to Iranians and say no to a military conflict.
Forty-one-year-old graphic designer Ronny Edry and his partner, 36-year-old Michal Tamir, launched the initiative last week by posting pictures of themselves with their children on a Facebook page with a simple message: "Iranians, we love you. We don't want to bomb your country."
Edry wrote, "To the Iranian people, to all the fathers, mothers, children, brothers, and sisters. For there to be a war between us, first we must be afraid of each other. We must hate. I'm not afraid of you. I don't hate you. I don't even know you. No Iranian ever did me harm."
“It’s our duty as the people to change the minds, to say out loud that we don’t want it.”
When he sometimes sees "an Iranian" on television talking about war, he wrote, "I'm sure he does not represent all the people of Iran… If you see someone on your TV talking about bombing you… be sure he does not represent all of us. To all those who feel the same, share this message and help it reach the Iranian people."
In an interview, the couple said their idea was to create a virtual "boxing ring" where, instead of fighting, one opponent would reach out with both hands to "the other side."
Tamir said it didn't take long for the other side to respond with "moving" messages that made her cry.
"In the last 24 hours, Iranians from inside Iran have been posting on the [Facebook page] pictures of their faces, sometimes half a face and sometimes their reflection through mirrors," Tamir says. "They don't want to be exposed. They ….upload in the same format, which is: 'Israelis, we will never bomb your country. We love you.' "
Facebook users inside Iran are afraid that any open contact with the Jewish state could result in spying charges against them. Iran does not recognize Israel and Iranian citizens are banned from traveling to Israel.
Some of the pictures posted by Iranians appear to be from those living outside the country who are not afraid of reprisal.
The couple, who have since begun a new Facebook page called "Israel Loves Iran," have also launched a blog and say they have received many private messages from Iranians who have asked them not to make their names or profiles public.
One message from a person in Tehran that the couple posted anonymously reads, "Some people said this is start of a friendship between two countries but I say (based on the two countries' history) this is reunion of brothers and sisters who lost each other over time and finally find each other."
Ronny Edry makes his case via YouTube:
Another Iranian woman wrote that she wanted to ensure Israelis that Iranians just want "peace and beauty on the Earth."
"We hate war and slaughter. We all are the parts of one body and it hurts when you see a human suffering, since she or he is a part of your soul," she wrote.
Tamil says the page has brought down "a wall" and now people from both sides can communicate directly and bypass politicians.
She says social media has empowered people like her and allowed her to raise her voice against "a war no one wants."
The couple plans to try and raise money to take the campaign beyond Facebook, possibly onto billboards so it can reach a wider audience.
Edry says he hopes it will eventually impact decision makers.
"It's our duty as the people to change the minds, to say out loud that we don't want it," Edry says. "For so many years, we are so afraid of just talking and they are saying the war is coming and the Iranians are going to bomb us and the Israelis are going to bomb back and everybody is afraid and waiting and no one says [anything].
"We just have to say it out loud: We don't want this war. Israelis and Iranians we have no beef one with each other."
About Golnaz Esfandiari
Golnaz Esfandiari is a Senior Correspondent in RFE/RL's Central Newsroom and editor of the Persian Letters blog. She served previously as Chief Editor of RFE's Persian-language service, Radio Farda and as head of the newsroom's Asia Desk. Born in Tehran, She has traveled to Afghanistan several times and reported on the country’s first parliamentary elections. An interview with the wife of Iran's most prominent investigative journalist, Akbar Ganji, was published in six languages (including English, German, Russian and Arabic) at the occasion of the 2006 World Press Freedom Day.
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