Israeli Officials Did Not Congratulate Nowruz This Year

For the first time in recent years, none of the minor or major Israeli officials have sent a message for Nowruz to the Iranian people. In previous years, officials from this country, especially the Presidents of Israel, used to issue special Nowruz messages. The tradition of sending Nowruz messages to Iranians by foreign leaders began during the presidency of Chaim Herzog, one of the former Presidents of Israel. Before Herzog's Nowruz message in the early 1990s, it was rare for world leaders to congratulate Iranians on Nowruz. His successor, Ezer Weizman, did not pay much attention to this newly established tradition by Herzog. However, when Moshe Katsav, a Jew born in Yazd, Iran, became President of Israel, he resumed sending Nowruz messages to Iranians and continued this practice throughout his presidency. Shimon Peres, the next President of Israel, also emphasized the need to differentiate between the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian people in all his Nowruz messages, advocating friendship with the Iranian nation. Shimon Peres congratulated Nowruz in the seventh year of his presidency in 2014 and participated in special Nowruz interviews with Radio Farda and Israel Radio. His Nowruz message and interview coincided with Barack Obama's message and interview for Iranians, gaining additional significance. However, Reuven Rivlin, who took over the presidency from Shimon Peres a few months ago, did not mention Nowruz this year. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, who recently won the general elections for the fourth time and seems to still hold the position of Prime Minister, also made no mention of Nowruz this year, contrary to previous years, and did not send a message to Iranians. Nowruz 2015 coincided with the continued efforts of the Israeli government to oppose a potential agreement between the global community and Iran regarding the country's nuclear program. Netanyahu stated during his election campaign that he views the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program as a 'vital threat to Israel's existence' and 'will never come to terms with it.' In recent weeks, when rival politicians criticized Netanyahu for not doing anything to improve the economic situation, he responded, 'First, we must protect the home against the threat of Iran, and then think about its economy.' However, Isaac Herzog, Netanyahu's main rival who lost the election, stated that Netanyahu maintains his power only by scaring people about Iran's nuclear program and relies solely on this tactic. On the other hand, Yuval Steinitz, Israel's Strategic Minister, said on Sunday, March 22, in an interview with Israel Radio that he would be traveling to several European countries on behalf of Netanyahu to oppose the potential signing of a final nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers. Despite the silence of Israeli officials regarding Nowruz, Barack Obama and several other world leaders have continued the tradition of speaking to the people and even delivering their messages to the leaders of the Islamic Republic. In his Nowruz message, Barack Obama selected the famous poem by Hafez: 'It is springtime, strive to be cheerful, for many flowers will bloom, and you will still be in bloom,' emphasizing that 'the best opportunity in recent decades for improving relations between Iran and the United States' and for Iran's return to the international community has arisen. Obama's efforts to persuade Iranian leaders to choose the 'path of engagement' with the global community come at a time when Benjamin Netanyahu has been working to impose more sanctions and isolate Iran in recent years. Furthermore, the refusal of Israeli officials to refer to Nowruz or send messages comes amid escalating disputes between Israel and the United States over various issues, including those related to Middle East peace, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Iran's nuclear program.