Diaspora Minister Tells TML War With Iran Is Battle of ‘Freedom Against Despotism’
In an interview with TML, Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli frames the war with Iran as a fight for all of Western civilization. ‘But if we need to fight this war alone, we will,’ he says.
As Israel’s war with Iran intensifies, debate is growing over whether the Jewish state can eliminate Iran’s nuclear capabilities. But for Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, the stakes go far beyond enrichment sites and missile silos. “This is a moral war against a terror, fanatic, dictatorship regime, evil regime, against Western civilization,” Chikli said in an interview with The Media Line’s Felice Friedson. “It is death against life. It is freedom against despotism. That is the nature of this war.”
Chikli said Israel’s current operation must be seen as part of a broader campaign—from the response to Hamas after October 7 to the global fight against antisemitic terrorism.
So far, an estimated 24 Israelis have been killed in the strikes, as have at least 240 Iranians. Chikli emphasized that Israel, unlike Iran, makes every effort to avoid civilian casualties.
Unlike the Iranian regime, the state of Israel is very, very precise with its strikes, aiming at top military officials, military assets, missiles, and we don’t see the Iranian people as our enemy. On the contrary, we wish to see the Iranian people take their country back.
“Unlike the Iranian regime, the state of Israel is very, very precise with its strikes, aiming at top military officials, military assets, missiles, and we don’t see the Iranian people as our enemy,” he said. “On the contrary, we wish to see the Iranian people take their country back.”
Similarly, while Israel warns Iranians to leave certain areas in order to avoid becoming a casualty, Iran does “quite the opposite,” Chikli said.
Among the Israeli victims are four Arab Israeli women from the same family killed in the northern town of Tamra, a 74-year-old mother of four in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan, and an 80-year-old man in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak. Chikli said that he had visited all three sites. “These are heavy missiles. This is nothing like the missiles we’re seeing from Hezbollah, which are also meaningful, and they can easily kill,” he said.
Although Israeli citizens are paying a heavy price in the war, Chikli described the war as a fight for “Western civilization,” not just Israel.
“It’s quite surprising that there are people in the West who think that maybe we should fight this war alone. But if we need to fight this war alone, we will fight this war alone, because for us it is also the battle for the future of children and grandchildren, and we want to secure their future,” he said. “And I think that by doing so, we are also doing a great service to the entire Western civilization.”
Chikli declined to answer whether Israel would need US support in order to completely neutralize Iran’s nuclear threat. Analysts have said that US “bunker-buster” bombs would be needed to damage Iran’s Fordo enrichment facility, which is buried deep underground.
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“Obviously there are different sides with different characters. And Natanz was heavily hit, but there’s still the Fordo, which is in a fortified, deep underground mountain zone, much more difficult mission,” he said. “But as we saw in other cases when we had to deal with fortified military bases, like in Masyaf in Syria, there’s a variety of options, not just using air force. And I’m sure that we can handle this challenge, and we can finish the job.”
Although most Western countries have expressed support for Israel’s operation in Iran, some countries have been highly critical of Israeli policy more broadly. Chikli pointed to France, Ireland, and Chile as “the most hostile governments against Israel in the West.” “The idea that the lesson and the takeaway of October 7 is establishing a Palestinian state, awarding Hamas, awarding these barbaric terrorists—that is, I think, morally very, very wrong. Absolutely not friendly towards Israel. It doesn’t make any sense in terms of combating terror, promoting the values of Western civilization,” he said.
At an ongoing weapons expo in Paris, arms produced by the Israeli manufacturer Elbit were cordoned off from the rest of the venue with black partition walls. Chikli said he was not surprised that French President Emmanuel Macron would allow such a thing to happen. “I have zero expectations from Emmanuel Macron,” he said. “I think to call him a leader would be an insult for the term leader.”
He acknowledged that Macron had expressed support for Israel’s strikes against Iran but said that French actions against Elbit spoke louder than words.
Some elements of European society are friendly to Israel, Chikli acknowledged. He pointed to Jordan Bardella, a French member of the European Parliament; Spain’s national conservative Vox party; and Madrid Mayor Isabel Díaz Ayuso as three notable allies.
I’m not pessimistic about Europe. I think there’s still a future for some of the states. Other states that are in a very poor situation, such as Belgium, Britain—that’s a whole different story.
“I’m not pessimistic about Europe,” he said. “I think there’s still a future for some of the states. Other states that are in a very poor situation, such as Belgium, Britain—that’s a whole different story.”
One factor influencing anti-Israel sentiment throughout the West is online misinformation, especially on social media. Chikli described Tik Tok as the worst platform for antisemitism, with algorithms that promote anti-Israel content.
He emphasized how easily AI can be used to fool people, urging news consumers to check that the content they are viewing is accurate.
The Diaspora Ministry has “very powerful technological capabilities” that monitor the internet and the dark web in order to track antisemitism. Chikli described the system as “like radar for the internet” and said that the technology can catch messaging groups planning antisemitic attacks before they take place.
“We saw it in Amsterdam hours before the assault against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans,” Chikli said. “We saw a message on a Telegram group calling for violence against Maccabi fans.”
Traditional media, too, can be problematic. Chikli said that two journalists from Al Jazeera were recently arrested for getting too close to a “strategic zone” in Haifa that had been targeted in a recent missile strike.
“There were also other reporters who took, straight after the attack, pictures from the sites where the missiles hit, and that was also very bad,” Chikli said. “The message was sent to these people that this is wrong and they should not do it again.”
The only relevant force to take power and to remove the current regime in Iran is the Iranian people, Iranian opposition. It is their war to take back their country.
Chikli himself has used social media to address the Iranian people, urging them to rise up against the Islamic Republic. He said that previous Middle Eastern wars have taught the lesson that attempting regime change through ground invasions is misguided. “The only relevant force to take power and to remove the current regime in Iran is the Iranian people, Iranian opposition,” he said. “It is their war to take back their country. We know based on polls and many other indicators that the support for this regime is very, very low. It is an unpopular regime.”
“It’s time for the Iranian people to take action. No one else will do it,” he added.
Chikli expressed support for Elon Musk’s decision to activate his Starlink internet system, which can be used to circumvent state internet outages.
Some 9,000 or so of the Iranian people are Jewish, remnants of a community that at its peak was 100,000 strong. The Diaspora Ministry has essentially no connection with the community due to the Islamic Republic’s ban on communication with Israel, Chikli said.
Due to closure of the Israeli airspace, tens of thousands of Israeli citizens are still stuck abroad, a situation that Chikli described as “extremely inconvenient.” On Wednesday, the first rescue flights for stranded citizens landed in Israel, but the head of the Civil Aviation Authority has estimated that it could take weeks to get all Israelis back home.
“There are parents who left their child behind for a few days, and the few days became two weeks. So we understand the urgency, and we will do everything to bring them back as soon as possible,” Chikli said.
As the war between Israel and Iran continues, Jews around the world have tried to figure out what they can do to support Israel. Chikli emphasized that what Israel needs from Jews of the Diaspora is solidarity, not financial support.
“Have a better understanding of who we are, have a better understanding of the conflict, the war. Make sure that the young generation of Jews understand the situation, understand that we are fighting evil, because my greatest concern is not public opinion worldwide. It is, first and foremost, do we have the support of the Jewish communities? Do we have the younger generation with us? Proud Jews who understand the philosophy of Judaism, who understand the philosophy of our enemies, who are proud to stand for Israel and for Judaism? That is, I think, the real big task, big mission,” he said. “We don’t need donations.”
