Sara Netanyahu, the white of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, shared a poignant Instagram post on Monday, reaching out to the Iranian public.
"We are not your enemy," Netanyahu appealed to the "people of Iran" worldwide on Instagram next to an image of showing Israeli and Iranian lion embracing. The choice of the lion appears to convey a reference to the symbol of the Shah-era Iran as well as Israel's name for the military campaign it launched on June 13 to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities: Operation Rising Lion.
The image itself shows two lions sitting side by side, wrapped respectively in the flags of Israel and the old imperial flag of Iran (featuring the Lion and Sun emblem), gazing into a sunset. The visual and caption convey a message of solidarity and a distinction between the Iranian people and their government.
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"To the people of Iran – As my husband, Prime Minister Netanyahu, often says: You, the people of Iran, are heirs to a magnificent culture,
a talented and accomplished nation with a rich history," she wrote. "We are not your enemy. Our fight is with the tyrannical regime that oppresses you,
not with you. We believe in a future of peace, freedom, and friendship between our peoples. ???????"
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ruled Iran until 1979, when the fundamentalist ayatollah regime staged the Islamic Revolution. His son, Reza Pahlavi has been recognized by many Iranians as the exiled king. Pahlavi has called on the world to help usher in a new era in Iran by toppling the ayatollahs, led by 86-year-old Ali Khamenei, vowing to lead a transition to democracy once the rulers in Tehran are gone.
The two lions in Netanyahu's post appear sitting side by side, wrapped respectively in the flags of Israel and the old imperial flag of Iran (featuring the Lion and Sun emblem that is in the Iranian flag from before 1979), gazing into a sunset.
