A leading advocate of Israel, Israeli-American journalist, author, and social activist Emily Schrader is among the loudest voices coming out of the country. She is also co-author of the recently published 10 Things Every Jew Should Know Before They Go to College.
An ILTV News anchor and The Quad co-host on JNS, she is also a mouthpiece for the suffering of the people of Iran, and vociferous in their defense and in denouncing the Islamic regime on all fronts. In 2023, Schrader initiated an open letter condemning the terror activities of the Islamic Republic and its Hamas proxy, co-signed by 55 female leaders from 12 Middle Eastern countries.
The Magazine spoke with Schrader earlier this week, and she showed us notes and messages from Iranians asking for Israel to attack crucial regime sites.
How have the Iranian people been reacting to Israel’s attacks on the Islamic Republic’s infrastructure?
The Iranians are extremely relieved and happy that Israel has first, intervened, but also targeted not only nuclear sites but IRGC bases and the military structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran as well.
Before the attack, Iranians had expressed concern that Israel would target only the nuclear sites rather than the entirety of the regime.
How did the people react to Israel’s June 16 strike on Iran’s state broadcaster?
There was a huge momentum inside Iran. People have been really galvanized by this because the broadcaster served as a symbol of the regime. It was the literal mouthpiece of [Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei himself.
It was used to air the forced confessions of political prisoners who had been executed. It’s really a horrendous operation of the state. It can’t even be called media, and I think that’s something important to emphasize.
You receive thousands of messages from Iranians. What do they say?
They ask Israel to attack such sites, so this wasn’t something that was done lightly or without consideration by the IDF and the Iranian people.
How is Israel relating to the Iranian people?
We have seen how Israel has been responsive to the people of Iran, and that is something we haven’t seen in other conflicts: The fact that we saw the prime minister making statements directly to the people of Iran, repeatedly doing interviews with Iran international to speak to the people of Iran, calling on them to rise up.
Even the name of this operation, Rising Lion.
It is really something that was carefully and meticulously planned by the State of Israel, first to reach our military objectives but even more to support the people of Iran, who have been seeking freedom from the ‘occupation’ – for want of a better term – of their nation.
How do Iranians describe their current situation?
The way some Iranians have described it to me is akin to leading a domestically violent relationship.
The people fear that as the regime starts to teeter and it has no option but to fight for its own survival, it will take desperate measures, not only against the State of Israel but also against its own people.
What I have heard from the people is that they want security, they want guarantees, they want protection, even if it is from the State of Israel, to face their regime.
So this is something to consider in Israel’s strategy.
Are the people of Iran protesting more freely now?
When it comes to protesting, what I have heard so far is that there are widespread calls and chants, every single night, of ‘Death to the dictator. Death to Khamenei.’
It’s growing in the Balochi and Kurdish areas.
There are more Iranians who are ready to physically take on the regime, but the IRGC forces have already been deployed in the streets for days because they expected this to happen, so people have received threats.
The regime has broadcast threats on television; they have said that they will shoot, on sight, anyone who is filming certain things.
The Internet has been censored already and is cut off in certain areas, so it’s very difficult for them. And the level of threat is much higher for them than at any other time, so the regime is making it more difficult than ever to protest.
How do you see the day after? Would Iran’s crown prince play a role?
When it comes to the day after, the most popular opposition figure of any other single person is Reza Pahlavi, the crown prince, the son of the shah. That being said, within Iran he doesn’t have the same degree of notoriety or support as he does in the Diaspora.
Still, I think that the majority of people would say that they would like to see the return of that, at least as a temporary measure.
And, in fact, the crown prince has said himself that he wants to see a referendum in terms of what kind of government there would be in Iran.
I think that the international community really needs to step up here and provide some kind of peaceful transition with some degree of guidance, even if it’s only symbolic, and to work together to promote this so that the voice of the people is accurately represented after the fall of the Islamic regime.