Where's the liberal support for the Iranian revolution?

• Iran Cracks Down. Where Are the Western Protests? - Gerard Baker
  As the people of Iran brave another intensifying crackdown by their rulers in one of the world's most repressive regimes, where are the protests in the West? Where are all those defenders of persecuted Muslims who have been so active on the streets of New York, London, Sydney, Rome and elsewhere the past two years? Where are the demands for justice and freedom for the downtrodden victims of a brutally repressive state?
      More than three million Iranians have been driven from their homeland in the 47 years of the mullahs' rule. People have been forced into prisons or into exile in foreign lands, their homes and property stolen, their loved ones punished and frequently murdered.
      Where are the movie stars and pop icons with their video pleas for justice? Where is the International Criminal Court's crack team of lawyers to investigate crimes against humanity and issue indictments against Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, as they did for Benjamin Netanyahu?
      In the UK, there has been criticism that the BBC has been playing down or even ignoring the dramatic events in Iran. BBC News world affairs editor John Simpson noted how difficult it is to get accurate and reliable information given the reporting conditions in the country. Yet in Gaza, the scarcity of reliable information didn't stop the BBC from broadcasting daily for two years the most lurid accounts of the Israeli offensive there - much of it pure Hamas lies.
      Perhaps the reason so many protesters condemn Israel for its legitimate actions and give Iran a pass for its illegitimate ones is that, unlike Israel, Iran isn't run by Jews. (Wall Street Journal)
• The Courage of Iran's Women - Joanna Williams
  It is impossible to overstate the bravery of Iran's protesters. Men and women, united in opposition to the dictatorship, have taken to the streets in defiance of the threat to their lives. "I am not afraid," one female protester is filmed saying. "I've been dead for 47 years." Her arm is raised in defiance, as blood drips from her mouth.
      Robina Aminian, 23, from a Kurdish region in Iran, was shot last week at close range in the back of her head by Iranian security forces and then buried by the side of the road. Today, her vibrant, smiling face shines from the front covers of British newspapers. Yet not even this has been enough to nudge privileged Western activists to so much as summon up a hashtag in solidarity with Iran's women. Instead, those quick to don a keffiyeh for the supposedly "right" cause have determinedly looked the other way.
      Mass displays of solidarity from the West's activist class have been notable only by their absence. Celebrities queued up to sign petitions, pen open letters, make TikToks and join protests critical of Israel's actions in Gaza. Students established protest camps on posh university lawns and hundreds of thousands of people marched through Britain's city centers week after week, purportedly in solidarity with Palestinians. But when it comes to supporting Iranian women? Silence.
      The silence of the Western virtue-signalers reminds us that not all women are equal. Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 revealed that Jewish women do not count. Jewish rape victims are to be forever doubted. Now we know that Iranian women do not count either.
      To date, the iconic image to emerge from the Iranian protests is of a beautiful young woman, hair loose about her shoulders, lighting a cigarette from a burning image of the ayatollah. That is freedom. (spiked-UK)