KHATAMI PRAISES HEZBOLLAH AT HARVARD ... SUED BY PERSIAN JEWS

Khatami calls Hizbollah symbol of resistance
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami said on Sunday Hizbollah was a symbol of Arab resistance and that groups or nations fighting oppression could not be equated with terrorists.

Khatami said there was a difference between those who “strive for the territorial integrity of a country and those who kill only to kill.” His comments, through an interpreter, came in reply to a student question after he delivered a speech at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

He called Hizbollah, which fought a 34-day war with Israel in Lebanon this summer and is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, “a symbol of Arabic resistance.” Washington has accused Iran of arming Hizbollah guerrillas. ...

JAMES TARANTO OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL POINTS OUT THAT KHATAMI'S LOGIC JUSTIFIES AN ATTACK ON IRAN...

Khatami: Thumbs Up on Attacking Iran
"On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami condemned Osama bin Laden and suicide bombing
but also defended groups such as Hezbollah for what he characterized as resistance against Israeli colonialism," the Associated Press reports from Harvard, where Khatami spoke last night.

But wait a minute. Hezbollah is from Lebanon, a country from which Israel withdrew in 2000. The only place Israel can be said to be practicing "colonialism" is in the West Bank, a Palestinian area.

Khatami's argument, then, is that it is legitimate for party A (in this case Hezbollah) to attack party B (Israel) because of Party B's conflict with Party C (the Palestinians). By this reasoning, it would be acceptable for America to attack Iran because of Iran's threats against Israel.

SEE ALSO: Families Of Kidnapped Persian Jews Sue Khatami In US Court.
NEW YORK, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ — Seven Jewish-Iranian families have filed suit in an American federal court against former President Mohammad Khatami over charges that he is responsible for the kidnapping and torture of their missing family members. The families, currently residing in Los Angeles and Israel, contend that Khatami instituted the policy of imprisoning their relatives without trials and refusing to provide them any information concerning their whereabouts. The Jews were arrested on different occasions during the years 1994 through 1997, as they sought to leave Iran across its border with Pakistan.

On Friday evening copies of the complaint and summons were served on Khatami at a reception in Arlington, Virginia hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Khatami has twenty days to file an answer denying the allegations or default the case.

The plaintiffs, who are not U.S. citizens, brought the suit under special laws - the Alien Torts Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act - which permit foreigners to sue their tormentors for torture and kidnapping in American courts. The lawsuit filed in the New York District Court is being represented by attorneys Robert Tolchin of New York, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Jerusalem and Pooya Dayanim of Los Angeles. The plaintiffs are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages against Khatami for his role in the on-going disappearance of their loved ones.

Since the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, millions of Iranian citizens have sought to escape from the Islamic regime. In normal circumstances when Muslim citizens are arrested attempting to leave without official permission, the established punishment is a small fine or a short jail term. However, in the instances where Jewish citizens have been similarly arrested, the Islamic government has instituted much harsher penalties. The Plaintiffs allege that Khatami has singled out the Jewish community and authorized the policy of secretly imprisoning the Jews indefinitely.

Khatami, a cleric who was Iran’s president from 1997 to 2005 and was considered a reformist, also denied Iran financed terrorist groups, contradicting assertions by the United States.

Replying to the same student, who repeated allegations that Khatami’s government had financed terrorists, Khatami replied: “Are you sure I gave hundreds of millions in aid to terrorists? I assure you this has not happened and will not happen.”