Iranophobia : the logic of an Israeli obsession

242 Pages·2009·1.34 MB·English

by  Ram

Iranophobia
Stanford Studies in Middle Eastern and Islamic Societies and Cultures
Iranophobia
The Logic of an israeLi obsession
Haggai Ram
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
©2009 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ram, Haggai, 1960-
Iranophobia : the logic of an Israeli obsession / Haggai Ram.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8047-6067-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8047-6068-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Iran—Foreign public opinion, Israeli. 2. Social psychology—Israel. 3. Israel—Relations—
Iran. 4. Iran—Relations—Israel. 5. Israel—Politics and government—1993- 6. Iran—Politics
and government—1997- I. Title.
DS119.8.I7R36 2009
327.5496055—dc22
2008036649
Typeset by Bruce Lundquist in 10/14 Minion
For Ilana, who has taught me
the true meaning of love and companionship

I teach at the university . . . in the department of Middle
East Studies. First and foremost the Arabs, naturally, but
also Turks, Iranians, and all the other nut cases.
—Prof. Yohanan rivlin,
protagonist of a. b. Yehoshua’s The Liberating Bride,
explaining the essence of his craft to a shop vendor.
“Iran, Israel, and Zionism Since the Islamic Revolution:
From Rational Relations to Threat and Disaster.”
—The title of a keynote address given at a symposium on
iran, israel, and the arab World: The new Middle east,
netanya academic college, israel, 2008.

Contents
Preface xi
Introduction 1
1 Inaugurating Iran’s Radical Alterity:
Shifting Geopolitics, Oxymoronic Voices 23
2 Modernity in Crisis:
Israeli Pipe Dreams of Euro-America and the Iranian Threat 50
3 Iran and the Jewish State’s Repertoires of Violence
in the Post-9 / 11 World 73
4 The Unclassifiable:
Iran’s Jews in Zionist / Israeli Imagination 96
Postscript:
A Few Comments on a “Known Rapist” 120
Notes 135
Bibliography 187
Index 211