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Newsweek
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
We're Members of the Israeli Knesset. Here's Our Message to Iranians
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. To the proud people of Iran: This is not a message to your rulers. It's a message to you—the heirs of Cyrus the Great, of Ferdowsi, Avicenna, and Rumi. For centuries, Iranian civilization was one of the most admired in the world. Your science, art, and literature helped shape humanity's understanding of beauty and wisdom. Your gardens inspired the world. Your poetry spoke of mercy, truth, and the soul. But that light has been dimmed by a regime that fears freedom. A regime that crushes dissent, bans art, jails women, and spends your national treasure on weapons, militias, and war. This week, Israel acted—not to punish Iran, but to stop the machinery of destruction that threatens the region and the world. We struck facilities and commanders tied to the regime's nuclear and terror infrastructure. These strikes were precise and limited—aimed not at the Iranian people, but at the violent ideology that endangers them too. We acted because no sovereign nation can accept the threat of annihilation. But we also acted because we believe in a different future—one we know is possible. Our two peoples have known friendship before. There was a time—not so long ago—when Israel and Iran were close partners, exchanging knowledge, trade, and good will. That friendship was not a fluke. It was a reflection of two ancient civilizations that, when working together, can bring tremendous good to the region and to the world. That potential still exists. It is only blocked by the extremist regime that came to power and tore that friendship apart. A new Middle East is taking shape before our eyes. Countries that once saw each other as enemies are working together—through the Abraham Accords—to build a region based on cooperation and shared prosperity. Israeli and Emirati entrepreneurs develop startups together. Bahraini and Moroccan students study at Israeli universities. Regional air defense is being built across borders. This isn't some distant dream—it's happening now. And a free Iran could be part of it. Israeli flags stand amid rubble and destruction in a residential area of Rishon LeZion, Israel on June 14, 2025. Israeli flags stand amid rubble and destruction in a residential area of Rishon LeZion, Israel on June 14, 2025. Khadija Toufik / Middle East ImagesWe're not naïve. We know the regime will try to crush hope. But we also know that hope is already alive. We saw it in 2009's Green Movement, in 2019's street protests, in the women-led resistance of 2022. We've seen you risk everything to sing in your language, to dance in your cities, to choose how you live and who you worship. We write to you not as rivals, but as partners in a shared struggle—against tyranny, against extremism, against the silence that fear imposes. We, too, come from a people who faced darkness. Our own state was born from suffering, but we built a democracy. We know what it means to be isolated, to be targeted, and to rise anyway. Israel is ready to work with any nation that seeks peace. And one day, we believe, that can include a free Iran—one that no longer exports weapons and terror, but science, poetry, medicine, and innovation. Imagine Iranian engineers working side by side with Israeli ones on clean energy. Imagine Iranian music echoing through regional festivals. Imagine Tehran's universities as centers of knowledge, not repression. This isn't a fantasy. It's a choice. And only you can make it. No foreign army can bring freedom. But people can. When enough citizens say, "no more." When they say, "our identity will not be defined by fear." When they say, "our children deserve a life of dignity, not propaganda." The world is watching. This is your moment—to rise on your own terms and reclaim the story of your country. History has not forgotten the beauty and greatness of Iran. And neither have we. We stand with you, coalition and opposition in Israel together—not above you, not beyond you, but beside you. Dan Illouz is a Member of Knesset for the coalition Likud Party and Co‑Chair of the Knesset Abraham Accords Caucus. Michael Biton is a Member of Knesset for the opposition National Unity Party and Co‑Chair of the Knesset Abraham Accords Caucus. The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
Hindustan Times
30-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Hi-tech makeover for 161-year-old Prayagraj Public Library
As part of the initiatives undertaken under the Prayagraj Smart City project to turn the city smart in different phases, the Government Public Library, having historical importance of holding the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Province on January 08, 1887, has now turned hi-tech. Having over 1.25 lakh books, rare manuscripts and bound volumes of newspapers including around 500 books as old as 400 to 500 years, the monitoring and functioning of the library is being done through a customised Library Management Software. According to librarian Dr Gopal Mohan Shukla, the Public Library is the largest in the state as it is the lone library present in Category 5 in UP. 'As per government norms, libraries are classified into five categories based on several parameters including the count of collection of books and manuscripts, daily average footfalls, count of registered members, maximum seating capacity at any given time, annual budgetary allocation, etc.,' he said. The Government Public Library, having a rich collection of nearly 150 manuscripts and famous original works right from the Mughal period, including the Shahnama, a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi, and the Persian translation of Upanishads by Dara Shikoh, etc., is the lone member classified in Category 5 in UP, he added. Presently, over 1.25 lakh books including nearly 500 books as old as 400 to 500 years are being monitored and controlled through a Library Management Software. The books and manuscripts have been barcoded to facilitate their monitoring. Along with this, the IT team of Smart City has also created the library's website — — for the convenience of readers. As per the Manager (IT) of Prayagraj Smart City Project, Mani Shanker Tripathi, the automation of the Government Public Library was done through a budgetary allocation of around ₹2.25 crore, including placement of 22 CCTV cameras in different locations of the library. The 161-year-old library, established in 1864 during the British rule with the approval of the then Lieutenant Governor Sir William Muir in Alfred Park (now known as Chandra Shekhar Azad Park), also has bound volumes of gazettes including: Gazette of India (1900 to 1953), North-Western Provinces Gazette (1860 to 1902), United Provinces Gazette (1903 to 1951), and Uttar Pradesh Gazette (1951 to 2000), besides bound volumes of newspapers as old as The Pioneer of 1864, Bharatvarsh (Bangla) from 1924 to 1969, Punch Magazine from 1925 to 1974, The Round Table from 1910 to 1974, Spectator from 1938 to 1973, Economist from 1948 to 1974, etc. Presently, the library has over 3,000 registered members besides a staff strength of 26.
