Israeli journalist in Iran

[GBU-28]

Shame on the Iranians to allow the Zionist entity into their country

She has previously been barred from entering Saudi.

The Iranians are praying for an agreement

Orly Azoulay finds herself watching Netanyahu's Congress speech from the lobby of an Iranian hotel, and encounters a country desperate for a deal that will free it from crippling sanctions.

The minute or two during which the passport control official at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport scrutinized my foreign passport felt like an eternity. He didn't look me in the eye; he didn't smile; and he didn't say what he was looking for. And then he suddenly stood up and walked over to consult with a second official at another counter.

A further two officials soon joined the group. One of them approached me and asked if I was born in Israel. I nodded. I couldn't deny it; it says so in my passport. I tightened the hijab covering my hair so as not to give him any reason to arrest me.

The centrifuges in my mind kept spinning, enriching the fears and prejudices I brought from home to the highest level. I thought about Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent who was arrested in Iran some four months ago and hasn't been seen or heard of since. Several more minutes went by, and then the official ushered me into a nearby room to be fingerprinted.

A young stern-faced woman pressed my hands firmly onto the ink pad – first my right hand, then the left, and then both together. A few minutes later, one of the officials returned with my passport in hand. He handed it to me and spoke three words in English: "You can go."

Thus began my visit to Iran – 14 days and nights in Tehran and Shiraz, Isfahan and Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Persian Empire; a 5,600 kilometer journey through the land of the ayatollahs and centrifuges, a country whose people eagerly await an agreement to rescue them from the stifling sanctions.

We arrived in the city of Hamadan, the burial place of Queen Esther and Mordechai, in the evening. Hanging above the reception desk of the small motel at which we were staying was an American flag – a rare sight in a country where Stars and Stripes are still set ablaze at demonstrations.

After taking my suitcase up to my room, I went back down to the lobby and couldn't believe my eyes: There on the giant TV screen, in front of framed photographs of Ayatollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was the face of the Israeli prime minister.

Iran's English-language television network, Press TV, was carrying a live broadcast of Benjamin Netanyahu's address to the US Congress; and out of all the places in the world, I found myself watching him from the lobby of an Iranian hotel, on the road between Tehran and Baghdad.

Dozens of Iranians were standing in the lobby and watching the speech. And they didn't like what they were hearing.

But despite the venom and hatred, one should also read between the lines – no longer "the Zionist entity," but the State of Israel. Nuances. And the newspapers tell the Iranians that when the agreement is signed, most of the sanctions will be lifted.

"Obama is strangling us," said one man I met in Tehran, near a kebab restaurant. He saw me with a box of Marlboro and asked for a cigarette. When I gave him one, he ran his fingers over it longingly and told me he hadn't seen an American cigarette in years. I gave him the box.

"I have four children," he said. "I want to give them a good education, but the sanctions have killed us. It's impossible to save money, the prices are sky high, and wages are only $50 a month. I'm not only hoping for an agreement; I'm praying for one."

The Iranians are praying for an agreement - Israel News, Ynetnews


Good to see the Iranians allowed her into the country.

 

[runa moosani]

There are many zionist in Iran,she is another one.

 

[Madali]

Orly Azoulay has a duel citizenship of France & Israel. She has traveled on her French passport.

The difference is that Iran allows a journalist that has a French passport to enter her country, while Saudi Arabia allows a US army base the holy land.

Also, if she wanted to travel to Morocco, she wouldn't even have to use her French passport, she could use her Israeli passport, because visas are given for Israelis.

 

[Sage]

There are many zionist in Iran,she is another one.

Yes, there are many....they are well-kept

 

[Madali]

Also, I read more on this, she DID travel to Saudi Arabia in 2007,

"When I discovered that the UN secretary general was planning a tour to the Middle East I asked to join his delegation. Within two days I received a positive and welcoming response: "You are on the plane," his office informed me. I handed over my passport to apply for a visa along with the other journalists.

All their passports were handed back in time, but my application was rejected. The Saudi representative in the UN made it clear to the secretary general that my presence was not quite welcomed. The secretary general didn't give up. I was invited to board the plane with an assurance that he would try to exert pressure on the Saudis during the trip in a bid to allow my entry. The Saudis were not quick to respond
.
Last Sunday, while still in Jerusalem, the secretary general called the Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud Al-Faisal. Ban told me that he had asked him to grant me a permit because I was part of the delegation, and that he was coming with many journalists. The minister assured him that he would consider this. Warren Hoge of the New York Times, who is also a member of the delegation, published an extensive report on the efforts involved in obtaining the visa.

During his meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Ban told him about the efforts to take me to Riyadh. He said he had tried everything, but had not received an answer and therefore was not very optimistic.

Just a few hours prior to departure an email arrived from the Saudi minister's office with the announcement: I was invited to the summit. The secretary general received the notice and made the "V" sign to his aides.1

On Tuesday afternoon we landed in Riyadh. The route leading to the congress center was decorated with the flags of all the Arab states participating in the summit. Four thousand people and an additional one thousand journalists arrived at the city, which became crowded and jammed.

The representative of the Saudi Information Ministry, who picked us up in his car, asked one of the journalists if he knew anything about an Israeli journalist that was due to arrive.

"She very much wanted to but was not granted a visa," the representative said. The journalist burst into laughter: "She received a visa and an invitation from the Saudi foreign minister." The official opened his eyes widely and went on to ask when the journalist would arrive and where she was. "Here she is sitting in your car," the journalist pointed to me.


Had his seat not had a backrest he would have fallen over. He looked at me, remained silent for a moment and then said: Welcome to Riyadh. Welcome, you have nothing to worry about; we shall all look after you. You are our guest."

 

[GBU-28]

Orly Azoulay has a duel citizenship of France & Israel. She has traveled on her French passport.

The difference is that Iran allows a journalist that has a French passport to enter her country, while Saudi Arabia allows a US army base the holy land.

Also, if she wanted to travel to Morocco, she wouldn't even have to use her French passport, she could use her Israeli passport, because visas are given for Israelis.

Read the article. Her passport gives her place of birth as Israel. The Iranian authorities saw this but allowed her to continue her journey.

Don't be ashamed that your country didn't act like a backward state in this situation

Also, I read more on this, she DID travel to Saudi Arabia in 2007,

Had his seat not had a backrest he would have fallen over. He looked at me, remained silent for a moment and then said: Welcome to Riyadh. Welcome, you have nothing to worry about; we shall all look after you. You are our guest."

Ah, my mistake. Thanks for correction. I thought she had been rejected and that was the end of it.

 

[Madali]

Yes, there are many....they are well-kept
View attachment 209726

Thanks for posting that picture. Iran doesn't hate Jews. Iran hates Zionists.

"In March 2006, several members of a Neturei Karta's faction visited Iran where they met with Iranian leaders, including the Vice-President, and praised Ahmadinejad for calling for the Zionist regime occupying Jerusalem to vanish from the pages of time. The spokesmen commented that they shared Ahmadinejad's aspiration for "a disintegration of the Israeli government". In an interview with Iranian television reporters, Rabbi Weiss remarked, "The Zionists use the Holocaust issue to their benefit. We, Jews who perished in the Holocaust, do not use it to advance our interests. We stress that there are hundreds of thousands Jews around the world who identify with our opposition to the Zionist ideology and who feel that Zionism is not Jewish, but a political agenda. ... What we want is not a withdrawal to the '67 borders, but to everything included in it, so the country can go back to the Palestinians and we could live with them ..."

Read the article. Her passport gives her place of birth as Israel. The Iranian authorities saw this but allowed her to continue her journey.

Don't be ashamed that your country didn't act like a backward state in this situation

Ah, my mistake. Thanks for correction. I thought she had been rejected and that was the end of it.

Her French passport showed her place of birth as Israel. It did not say that the Passport was Israeli.

Iran's policy denies access to Israeli passports, not people who were born in Israel and are traveling with a French passport.

 

[Serpentine]

Yes, there are many....they are well-kept
View attachment 209726

Not all Jews are Zionists. That's ISIS-style mentality.

 

[raptor22]

Yes, there are many....they are well-kept
View attachment 209726

It's not Iran, it's NY ... and they are Jews who oppose zionist regime , do you hate Jews? more over many Jews live in Iran peacefully.

 

[500]

Thanks for posting that picture. Iran doesn't hate Jews. Iran hates Zionists.

Iran does not hates Jews, but wants to destroy the only country of Jews.

The only difference between you and ISIS is that you are more hypocrite.

 

[Madali]

Iran does not hates Jews, but wants to destroy the only country of Jews.

The only difference between you and ISIS is that you are more hypocrite.

Iran wants the Zionist regime to change, not to go to Israel and kill every Jew. Iran was also against South Africa under apartheid, USSR, and Saddam's Iraq, and all of them have now disappeared, but the people living there did not all die.

 

[SOHEIL]

Iran does not hates Jews, but wants to destroy the only country of Jews.

The only difference between you and ISIS is that you are more hypocrite.

Destroy !?

 

[raptor22]

Iran does not hates Jews, but wants to destroy the only country of Jews.

The only difference between you and ISIS is that you are more hypocrite.

Yes you are right we don't hate Jews they've lived in Iran peacefully for thousands years ... and we don't want to destroy anyone ... we want you to stop occupation ... even your friends call for end of occupation.

White House chief demands end to 50 years of Israeli occupation

 

[500]

Iran wants the Zionist regime to change, not to go to Israel and kill every Jew. Iran was also against South Africa under apartheid, USSR, and Saddam's Iraq, and all of them have now disappeared, but the people living there did not all die.

Strange comparison. There is no any "Zionist regime" in Israel. We have a parliamentary democracy with free elections, freedom of protest, freedom of religion, free press, independent courts.... None of it exists in Iran, thus Iran is similar to regimes above. Israel has nothing to do with them.

Hen Mazzig‏@HenMazzig3h3 hours ago
#TelAviv today, I saw 2 arab girls with #hijab playing by themselves. No man as escort. That's #Israel, #MiddleEast

and we don't want to destroy anyone ... we want you to stop occupation ...

Really? If Israel returns to 1967 borders Iran will recognize Israel? Or it will send rockets to wipe out the remaining like it did when Israel went out of Gaza?

 

[Madali]

Strange comparison. There is no any "Zionist regime" in Israel. We have a parliamentary democracy with free elections, freedom of protest, freedom of religion, free press, independent courts.... None of it exists in Iran, thus Iran is similar to regimes above. Israel has nothing to do with them.

Really? If Israel returns to 1967 borders Iran will recognize Israel? Or it will send rockets to wipe out the remaining like it did when Israel went out of Gaza?

Its not about the borders. It's about finding a permanent solution for the Palestinians, including the refugees. If the crisis is resolved, I don't think Iran would have any problem with Israel, the same way Iran has no problem with South Africa after the apartheid issue was resolved. Islamic Republic of Iran never recognized South Africa when it was an apartheid state (but Israel had very good relationship with it).

History proved us right on that score. History will prove Iran right also in regards to Israel.