It is vital for the anti-war groups and individuals
to know the precise background and funding sources of spokespersons of
Havvaar and Raha (Iranian women's group) whom “the Campaign for Peace and
Democracy” (CPD) has been promoting.
Who's Who in HAVAAR and
RAHA?
Fact
Sheet and Research June 28, 2012
On May 16, 2012, the Campaign for Peace and
Democracy (CPD) circulated among organizations and groups in the anti-war
and peace and justice movement an email with the subject heading::
“Introducing new Iranian anti-war group Havaar, + Iran War Weekly,” with a
request to "Forward, Post and Share on Websites, etc.", this 'new' group –
Havaar, Iranian initiative against war, sanctions and state
repression.
According to CPD, Havaar "is an exciting and
inspiring group…a coalition of Iranians, Iranian Americans and allies formed
in response to the U.S. government's escalating attacks on Iran and to the
'Iranian government's ongoing repression of grassroots movements." We
thought it important to know the background and history of this 'new' group,
so a number of progressives did some research and below is what we found out
about the leadership of both Havaar and Raha. It is important for
anti-war organizers to know the background and funding sources of
spokespersons of Havvaar and Raha (Iranian women's group) who CPD is
promoting and to ask "Why?" given the facts we discovered. All
information has links establishing the money and connections underlying this
'new' group.
At a forum at the
anti-Nato People's Summit in Chicago on May
12, 2012, Ali Abdi, with Havaar (the group includes members of Raha) called
for the anti-war movement to stand 'with the people of Iran resisting their
government'. What Mr. Abdi omitted from his background is that he
received a scholarship from the George Soros founded and funded Central
European University, which has used some of Soro's billions to undermine
governments around the world who are not acceptable to U.S. Foreign policy
objectives.
In
Budapest, Abdi delivered presentations on citizen journalism in Iran, staged
protests and events, lectured on the treatment of human rights advocates,
and is working to further the 'regime change' goals of the neo-con funded
Democracy Coalition Project regarding "human rights" in Iran.
These 'civil society'
groups interlock with international institutions run from and on behalf of
Wall Street and multinational corporations, not on behalf of "oppressed
people" in those countries. Soros' money also funds Avaaz, which has
been very active in shaping public opinion for US intervention in the Middle East. Avaaz convinced 800,000 people to
sign a petition for a no-fly zone in Libya, which was the prelude to
NATO’s massive air attack on the Libyan people last year.
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HAVAAR AND
RAHA
Manijeh
Nasrabadi—a member of the NYC-based RAHA Iranian Feminist
Collective
Manijeh
Nasrabadi …..won the City University of New York Arts Gala
Memoir Prize in 2005, a Hertog
Fellowship that same year.
Roger
Hertog—Hertog is an executive committee member at the
Washington
Institute for Near East Policy, a member of the U.S. board of trustees of The
Israel
Center for Social & Economic Progress (ICSEP)]
….
The Hertog Foundation also
donated money to the Central Israel Fund, a major organization in the
US for transferring money
to right-wing groups in Israel. Hertog also donated money
to Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign.
Manijeh
Moradian is
with RAHA
Manijeh
Moradian
received a C.V. Starr
Center for Asian/Pacific/American Studies Conference
Grant in 2010
Maurice Greenberg is the chairman of the Starr
Foundation
The Starr Foundation also funds
the Center for Strategic and
International Studies
The Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS) is a right-wing, neoconservative think
tank. In the Middle East, CSIS Neocons support the most extremist
elements in Israel such as the Likud
Party. Greenberg is also a former director of the Council on Foreign
Relations, Elliott Abrams
works at the Council on Foreign Relations, as a senior fellow for Middle
Eastern studies. Abrams has consistently voiced strong support for
Likud positions.
Bitta
Mostofi
is with Havaar and a speaker
at a recent Havaar event
Bitta Mostofi
co-founded Where Is My
Vote, New York. Listed as an affiliate on United4Iran’s website is
Where Is My Vote New
York
http://www.united4iran.org/2012/03/united4iran-highlights-violations-in-iran-at-the-19th-un-human-rights-council
Fassihian worked as a research analyst for the CNA
Corporation focusing on the Middle
East, military operational policy, and civil-military
relations.
In an effort
to assist US policymakers and inform US expert and academic communities
about the objective realities of expanding
open media in the Middle East,
the Stanley Foundation, in association with the Institute for Near East
& Gulf Military Analysis (INEG- MA) and the CNA
Corporation (CNAC),
brought together key media and policy elites from the Middle East, the
United States, and the United Kingdom to discuss the implications of this
Middle East media transformation
Ms. Fassihian
is the Executive Director of the Democracy Coalition
Project
Other board members of the
Democracy Coalition Project:
Robert
Herman the co-founder and co-director of the
Democracy Coalition
Project…He is presently director of projects for Freedom
House
Freedom House’s board included a
number of people who have been associated with rightist advocacy endeavors,
including Thomas
A. Dine,
former director of the American
Israel Public
Affairs
Committee. its leadership remains heavily represented by
individuals affiliated with neoconservatism and it has continued
to support projects aimed at
bolstering aggressive U.S. foreign
policy.
Theodore
Piccone Mr. Piccone is a Senior Fellow and Deputy
Director for Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution. Piccone served
on the National Security Council, at the State Dept. and
Pentagon.
Robert
Kagan is
a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Kagan, who has a track record
of supporting Mideast policies in line with right-wing hawks in Israel, also a co-founder for the
Project For a New American Century
Demonstration
co-sponsored by United4iran.
One of the organizers is
Ali Afshari, who was a NED
fellow
Ali Afshari
was a Fellow at the National Endowment for
Democracy
Deceptive
Zionist tactics used in demonstrations
The 2009 demonstration in NY,
(and most likely demonstrations to follow) were organized by Zionist
groups.
Article from Jewish
Forward
Broadened Coalition To Protest
Iran This Year at United
Nations
By Nathan
Guttman
Published September 18,
2009
“THE NEW
STRATEGY IS REFLECTED IN FULL-PAGE
ADVERTISEMENTS THE JEWISH-LED COALITION HAS TAKEN OUT IN
SELECTED NEWSPAPERS
CALLING FOR A “STAND FOR FREEDOM IN IRAN” RALLY ACROSS
STREET FROM THE U.N. on Sept. 24 to protest Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to the
world body. UNLIKE
PREVIOUS YEARS, THE WORDS “NUCLEAR” AND ISRAEL” APPEAR
NOWHERE IN THE AD.”
Also, if you download their
flyer, you will see no mention of Israel or that this is a
Jewish-led demonstration. Very deceptive.
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Fact Sheet
provided by the American Iranian Friendship Committee (AIFC)
Contact us at: aifc@optonline.net or ellieomm@optonline.net
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