The military operation launched by Israel in the last 72 hours against nuclear structures, the missile factories and the Iranian military commanders has been baptized “Operation Rising Lion“(Lion born in Italian). According to Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, the operation has the goal of”eliminate the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival“, And it will continue” for how many days they will be needed “. But the name chosen is not at all random: it is a reference taken by a verse of the Biblerich in profound historical, cultural and political meanings.
A biblical call of strength and determination
The main meaning of “Rising Lion” derives from a Versetto of the Biblewhich in a more extensive way is contained in Numbers book, Chapter 23, Versetto 24:
Here, a people get up like lioness and dried up like lion; It will not be going to go on until he has devoured the prey and drank the blood of the victims.
The expression is part of theBalaam oraclea non -Israelite prophet and fortune teller. The story tells that Balaam He was called by Balakking of the Moabites, To curse the Israelites who threatened his kingdom after forty years of peregrinations in the desert. However, God intervened: first granted him permission to leave, then hindered his path. Arrived from Balak, Balaam pronounced three oracles, all in favor of Israelblessing him instead of cursing him. The verse is traditionally interpreted as one Divine description of the strength and tenacity of Israel, comparing the nation to a victorious lion who will not rest until he has satisfied his hunger.
This biblical call should therefore symbolize the strength and determination of Israel In facing the Iranian “threat”. In this regard, the day before the attacks, the Israeli Prime Minister had been portrayed in a photograph as he laid a hand written in the crack of the western wall of Jerusalem, the most sacred prayer site of Judaism. In the photo, the ticket mentioned the sentence: “The people will get up like a lion“.
A political message to the Iranian people: pre-revolutionary lion
But the meaning of “Rising Lion” does not stop at the biblical symbolism alone, it also has a strong political message: the lion is in fact a tribute to the animal depicted on the Iranian flag before Khomeinist revolution of 1979. Before 1979, in fact, the lion was a central and distinctive element of the Iranian flag, not a simple ornament, but a Secular emblem of strength, courage and monarchical sovereigntywhich embodied the temporal power of the Shah (Sovereign of Persia). This symbol, often depicted with the sun, was rooted for centuries in thePersian identityused on flags, coins and government buildings during Qajar dynasties (1789–1925) and Pahlavi (1925–1979). He was even associated with Wingscousin and son -in -law of the prophet Muhammadfigure venerated in Sciism, enriching the symbol of a spiritual dimension.
With the advent of the Islamic revolution of 1979 led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, the lion symbol was abolished because considered a legacy of the “decadent” monarchy, and replaced by the current stylized symbol of the word “Allah” at the center of the flag. Through the choice of the name “Rising Lion”, Israel would therefore be launching a direct message to the regime of the Ayatollah, of a potential return to a previous eraalluding to a political change that restores a past perceived as less hostile.
In conclusion, “Operation Rising Lion” is much more than a simple military code name: it is one Symbolic declaration on several levelswhich combines a reference to Israel’s strength and biblical determination with a powerful political message addressed to Iranian history and identity. Israel, through this nominal choice, not only communicates a military objective, but in addition to destabilizing the regime, it also tries to influence the perception of conflict in the eyes of the world.
