Don't bomb Iran, for Israel's sake.

A long time ago, an elephant named Elie lived in the savanna. He made a daily trip to the pond for a bath and water. One day, he passed his neighbor Brenda the bird.

Elie told her he did not like her singing at all, which interrupted his beauty nap. Elie decided to get even with Brenda, so he crushed her eggs in her nest. Brenda flew to her flock to seek their help, devastated by her loss.

One bird told her, "Elie is the biggest and strongest animal, and we are no match for him." Another bird had a brilliant idea: "Why not fly over Elie's head and poke out both his eyes?" So, the next day, all the birds hovered over Elie and poked out his eyes. Blind, Elie was unable to find food or water, became sick, and died.

I recounted the story from a book called Kalila wa Dimna, written a century ago in Persia (modern-day Iran) and translated into many foreign languages. It is one of many beautifully written stories about animals that still hold relevance in our everyday lives.

In case you have not watched the news lately, Netanyahu is about to declare unholy war on Iran. The US is sending a carrier strike group, a fighter squadron, and additional warships to the Middle East as the region braces for an Israeli airstrike on Iran, following the Iran missile attack on Israel that was in retaliation to the killing of a senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran and the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Syria.

The Pentagon has also approved the deployment of an additional "few thousand" troops to the Middle East to bolster security and to be prepared to defend Israel if necessary. B-52 bombers are ready at the U.S. Al Udeid air base in Qatar. The B-52 is a long-range nuclear-capable bomber. What the White House is not telling the American people is that US soldiers could die in Iran for the love of Israel.

Former U.S. presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein, who is Jewish, wrote an eloquent post on her Facebook page on the subject back in May 2019, refuting Netanyahu's false allegations against Iran. She said, "Benjamin Netanyahu pushed the US to invade Iraq falsely claiming Iraq had WMDs. Now, he's trying to pull the same exact trick with Iran. Don't get fooled again by this far-right warmonger."

Netanyahu said Iran wants to take over the world. Still, he forgot to share with the American people and the rest of the world that Israel has hundreds of nuclear, chemical, and biological warheads, refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and bars international inspection from its site! On the contrary, Iran has signed the treaty and allowed UN inspectors into its facilities. So why bomb Iran?

The answer is very clear. According to a report by the Guardian, Israeli police confirmed that Netanyahu is a suspect in a fraud investigation and that court documents reveal for the first time that Netanyahu is subject to inquiries into alleged "fraud, breach of trust, and bribe."

Therefore, Netanyahu is using the threat to bomb Iran as a distraction to avoid possibly going to jail. Plus, he wants to keep his genocidal wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the illegal Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories on the back burner.

Every time I hear or read about Crime Minister Netanyahu threatening to bomb Iran because of its nuclear program, the story of Elie the elephant I mentioned at the beginning of this article pops into my head. As a retired Muslim veteran, I call upon my government loud and clear not to bomb Iran, for Israel's sake! Here are my reasons:

• Iran has never been a threat to the US.
• Iran didn't bomb all its neighbors.
• Iran hasn't killed 20,000 Israeli children.
• Iran did not bomb mosques, churches, and synagogues.
• Iran isn't bombing Israeli ambulances and hospitals.
• Iran isn't bombing refugee camps and "safe" zones.
• Iran isn't attacking WCK aid workers.
• Iran isn't targeting UN workers.
• Iran isn't bombing schools.
• Iran isn't killing doctors, nurses, and journalists.
• Iran never tortured, raped, or killed Israeli POWs.
• Iran never ordered Jewish prisoners to march naked.

Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a Palestinian freelancer for Islamicity.org and ColumbusFreePress.com. He can be reached at [email protected].