Israel blamed on social media for helicopter crash that killed Iranian president May 20, 2024An Israeli posted a joke that 'Eli Copter' caused the death of Raisi (X screenshot)X screenshotIsrael blamed on social media for helicopter crash that killed Iranian presidentMost notably, a Hamas-affiliated account took a Jewish joke seriously that Raisi’s death was caused by a Mossad agent named ‘Eli Copter.’By Vered Weiss, World Israel NewsAlthough most reports conclude that foggy weather caused the crash on Sunday that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, anti-Israel activists are taking to social media to blame the Jewish State for his death.Most notably, a Hamas-affiliated account took a Jewish joke seriously that Raisi’s death was caused by a Mossad agent named “Eli Copter.”Communist activist Jackson Hinkle created a poll on Telegram asking followers whether they thought it was the bad weather or Israel that caused the helicopter accident.The majority blamed Israel, and Hinkle then posted a graphic of a helicopter with the words, “Mossad: It’s never an accident.”Hinkle added, “Only one of the three helicopters in the Iranian President’s Convoy crashed — the helicopter he and the Iranian foreign minister were in.”He speculated, “Why is it taking hours to locate the crash site, and why is Israel claiming they know the Iranian President died before any Iranian confirmation?”A pro-Syrian activist named Maram Susli warned Sunday that “If this is Zionist sabotage, the response is going to shake Israel to its core.”British journalist seemed convinced that Israel was to blame with a seemingly ambiguous statement that a “certain someone” most likely played a role in the incident, “although it’s too early to tell.”Read Is Brandeis University being ‘Palestinized?’A number of people remarked that the helicopter went down the region of Azerbaijan, which some Iranians claim is an area infiltrated by the Mossad.Writer Nadira Ali said that Raisi was on the way to dedicating a dam, which was a joint project with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, who she accused of being a “Zionist slave.”She added, “If there is any indication that Israel is behind this incident, you will witness World War III,” said Ali.There is concern that the conspiracy theories may not be confined to social media but that the Iranian government may spread the libel that Israel was involved in the death of Raisi.Foad Izadi, an analyst on Iranian state television speculated, ““When a helicopter faces an accident, it might be caused by a technical issue or maybe weather conditions – but there are also other scenarios.”He added, “We have an issue in the Republic of Azerbaijan, and that is the presence of the Zionists and Mossad in that region. It will be investigated. We have respect for our neighbors, but we should not get targeted from their territories.” anti-Israel biasantisemitic conspiracy theoriesEbrahim Raisi