What is “the Occupation Regime”?
In Tehran’s bid for regional hegemony backed by nuclear weapons, and its cold war with America, Jerusalem is a cause that conveniently unites Iranian Shiites with Sunni Arabs sceptical of the ambitions of the Islamic Republic. Whether for Shiite Hezbollah in Lebanon or Sunni Hamas in Gaza, the city now serves as the rallying totem of anti-Zionism, anti-Americanism and Iranian leadership. “The Occupation Regime over Jerusalem,” says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “should vanish from the page of history.”
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Jerusalem
Simon Sebag Montefiore
Hi. What does “rallying totem” mean and what is “the Occupation Regime”?
Thank you.
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Respuestas · 2
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To add to Arthur's comments:
"Regime" is a word used to describe a Government which is a authoritarian, dictatorship, or similar. e.g. the Nazi regime, the North Korean regime, or from the Sex Pistols song: "God save the queen, the fascist regime") So here we can assume that the person saying this statement is anti-Israel, and trying to be provocative, because they said "regime" and not "government" or "state". And as Arthur said, "Occupation Regime" implies that Jerusalem is illegally occupied.
"rally" (as a verb) means to arouse into action e.g. "let's rally the troops", "Joe was unwell, but his friends rallied round to help". So as an adjective here ("rallying") the thing (totem) is serving this purpose.
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The word totem comes from native American culture, and is the emblem of a clan or tribe, much like a coat of arms in Europe. The "rallying totem" in this article refers to the city of Jerusalem which is a central issue concerning all those who are against Zionism. The "Occupation Regime" refers to the state of Israel which is considered to have occupied Palestine. I am not an expert in politics and am not expressing any opinions, just talking about the English language. Hope that helps you.
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