Similarities Between Iran And Israel

On the surface, Iran and Israel have much in common. They are both Middle Eastern countries that are steeped in history. They are both countries in which much of society revolves around religion. In both countries some segment of the population fights daily to be accepted as and treated as equals. Even with those similarities, there are some glaring differences that have accounted for many years of tension amongst the two nations. Where once these two countries were able to find some common ground and accord, there now exists if not outright war, deep seated resentment and hostility. At the root of much conflict in the Middle East is the very land each of these countries is built upon. The area encompassing the ancient lands of Israel and
Iran was largely Jewish until the Jewish-Roman wars. After this time, the Jewish people became the minority in the region. The area transitioned to largely Christian before gradually changing over to Muslim rule for the majority of the early to middle 20th century after years of Arab aggression. The Israel we know now was born in 1948 after a mandate from the UN ended British control of the area (which had existed since the end of World War I) and established a separate Jewish state (Trimnell, 2007). The current area encompassed by the modern Israeli state is fairly small and is located primarily in the same area of the ancient civilization of Israel. Not only is this area the homeland and birthplace of the Jewish people and their faith, it is also considered to be the birthplace of Christianity and a sacred area for Islam (Held, 2000). Upon creation of the Israeli state from the British Mandate of Palestine, the Arab countries in the area refused to accept the decision of the UN and marched upon Israel. It was only in 1949 after several Armistice agreements were reached that outright hostilities ceased (Hitchcock, 2013). For Iran a somewhat similar history exists insofar as they are also a victim of Arab insurgence.
Iran was historically known as Persia and practiced a religion known as Zoroastrian. Between the 7th and 10th centuries various Islamic countries gained power over Iran and converted the country to Islam (Hitchcock, 2013). From that time on until 1501, Iran was occupied by many different foreign nations. In 1501 Iran was reunified as an independent state and at that time Shi’a Islam was established as the official religion. The majority of Islamic people practice the Sunni faith; this has caused Iranians and Shi’a Muslims to be persecuted and singled out as different from their other Muslim neighbors (Held, 2000). In a region in which the vast majority of nations all practice and follow the same religious doctrine, Israel and Iran are two nations separated by their faith; yet it has not served to draw them any closer together. One of the most striking similarities between Iran and Israel is their gender inequality. Women’s rights are largely limited under religious law. Because of the connection between religion and culture which exists in each of these societies, any change in the legal treatment of women is unlikely to take hold. Israel is a Jewish state, which means that there is no separation between religion and state. Israel does have a constitution that grants women equality, however it does not apply to any matters that could be considered as “family law” (Trimnell,
2007). In Iran, since the revolution in 1979 in which the monarchy fell and an Islamic Democracy took over, the government has been elected. However, all laws in Iran have to be approved and agreed upon by a council that is made up of Islamic clerics. This means that the law of the land and treatment of women will always be ruled by religious norms. In Iran this means that unequal treatment of women will continue to exist particularly when it comes to matters involving family. An Iranian husband can divorce his wife at any time and he will most likely retain custody of all children. He can also have relations with women outside of marriage by entering into a “Sigheh” or temporary marriage. In contrast, an Iranian woman who has sex outside of marriage could literally be signing her own death certificate. One of the major differences between Israel and Iran and likely the cause of Israel’s continuing concerns over Iran’s nuclear program is a glaring size difference. Iran has a population that is 10 times that of Israel. In addition to their population, their land itself is about 80 times the land area of Israel. Iran has a military number over 3.8 million whereas Israel’s military numbers less than 1 million. It is this inequality in size and resources that has led to Israel’s concerns over Iran’s actions. Israel has sought and continues to seek allies in the west in order to nullify what they perceive as Iran’s greater natural resources (Hitchcock, 2013). In closing, the similarities that exist between these two nations are not likely to lead to an accord any time soon. Even though they have in common a shared history of conquest by Arab nations and even a brief history of working together their current ideologies differ too greatly. Israel is moving toward becoming a more modern nation where equality for all is more available. Iran on the other hand seems destined to maintain their status quo and continued control by their religious leaders which will dictate their path.