Jews have always been protected in Iran. The Iranian constitution itself mandates Jews be represented. Later, Khomeini even issued a fatwa decreeing that the Jews were to be protected. Today, Maurice Motamed, a Jew, sits in Parliament claiming that the lives of Jews in Iran is far better than that of other Iranians. What Iran does oppose, is Zionism. They make the distinction very clear.
MadScientist is right when he says the Iranians have always hated the British. While they’re no fans of America, their hatred of Britain is part of their national identity. The Shah and his collusion with Britain on almost every major infrastructure project is to blame. BPO, Railway, Telegraph etc…I can go on and on. For as long as Iranians despise the Shah, they will despise Britain. The two go together.
Jews and Zionism and Israel are inter-changeable terms to most Arabs and Muslims and left-wing white people.
While UK may have a longer history in meddling in Iranian affairs, UK has been replaced by USA as the evil entity which threatens Iran.
UK is seen as a devious country while USA as an aggressive country controlled by Israelis, the chief enemy of Iran.
The Iranian greviances with UK are too old for most Iranians to care about but USA is an current issue.
Jews are protected in Iran because most Iranians are educated people and have a history which is before Islam where as most Arabs are un-educated and thus can be easily brainwashed into racial hatred for Jews which the same is also true of Pakistanis.
Jews have always been protected in Iran. The Iranian constitution itself mandates Jews be represented. Later, Khomeini even issued a fatwa decreeing that the Jews were to be protected. Today, Maurice Motamed, a Jew, sits in Parliament claiming that the lives of Jews in Iran is far better than that of other Iranians. What Iran does oppose, is Zionism. They make the distinction very clear.
In your dreams! Have you ever read about how Jews are treated in Iran?
Every Jew who is able has left Iran, and the number of Jews is at a fraction of decades ago. Whenever a conflict arises with Israel a token Jew is trotted out and made to make anti-Israel statements. If they do not they are persecuted and pressured until they comply with the political will of the Mullahs. The treatment of religious minorities in Muslim lands is at an all time low. There is a mass exodus of minorities in virtually every country. If you want to delude yourself that minorities are treated well, have at it. That may have been the reality centuries ago, but it is not the reality today.
It is complete self delusion to think that Jews are well treated in Iran.
It’s true that the number of Jews is a fraction of what was there a decade ago (by the way, that fraction is that 1 in 4 Jews stayed in Iran since the revolution)
That leaves at least 25,000 Jews still in Iran. You really believe that those 25,000 are unable to leave? That when the Jewish diaspora and Israel have managed to help Jews from all over the world, from Ethiopia to Yemen to India, they are unable to move 25,000 from Iran, a country that does not restrict the movement of its population?
Many Iranians, of all religion, including the Baha’is who are publically and actively persecuted in Iran, are successfully able to leave. Jews face far less pressure than Bahai’s, and yet are not leaving. Iran’s Jewish population has, in fact, remained stable for many years.
The fact remains that Iran is the home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the middle-east, second only to Israel, and Iran continues to be home to more Jews than any Muslim country. No Iranian government has ever supported expelling (or worse!) its Jewish poulation. It is a community that successive Iranian governments, ever since Khomeini’s return, have pledged to protect. A community that has representation within Iran’s parliament.
In fact, Iran is the only country in the middle east other than Israel where you will find Jews in parliament.
You can find an article by a Jewish writer, about Jews in Iran, at the following link.
The Government (Iranian) appears concerned about the emigration of Jewish citizens and permission generally is not granted for all members of a Jewish family to travel outside the country at the same time.
What Crap. This is a bunch of feel good garbage that puffs you guys up about the virtues of Muslim benevolence. Jews are systematically excluded from virtually any senior position in government, and are periodically rounded up as Zionist spies, and jailed. Read on boys:
“The Iranian regime says it does distinguish between Judaism and Zionism, but the local Jewish community knows that is a lie since it has been frequently written by extremists in religious circles that ‘every Jew is a Zionist’.”
While it is still the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside Israel, a vast number of the population have fled Iran.
The first major movement came in 1948 when the state of Israel was established and the number of Jews in Iran stood at about 150,000. The Islamic revolution in 1979 prompted another movement.
“Every Iranian Jew who had the financial possibility or courage has already left, but there’s still a small but flourishing community,” said Amir, who moved to Israel from Iran at the age of 20 in 1959. He has been broadcasting for 46 years in Farsi for Israeli state radio.
He is all too familiar with the precarious position of Iranian Jews who are called on by the government to declare their public support for the country’s nuclear policy.
“Not to mention, every time Iran publicly condemns Israeli actions in the Palestinian territories, the Jewish community is expected to issue a statement of support,” he said.
Even though the regime officially recognises Judaism as an official religious minority and the Jewish community is even allocated a seat in the Iranian parliament, the reality on the ground is different.
Jewish leaders are reluctant to draw attention to incidences of mistreatment of their community, due to fear of government reprisal, along with fear of being arrested or accused of being spies. In 1999, 13 Jews were arrested in the city of Shiraz and charged with spying for Israel. While eventually all were pardoned, it exposed the fragile position of the country’s Jewish community. “While there are Jewish schools, the principals and most of the teachers are Muslim, the Bible is taught in Farsi, not in Hebrew, and the schools are forced to open on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath,” Amir said, as he played Hebrew music for his listeners.
“So while the regime declares that there is freedom of religion, it is all just for the sake of appearances.” http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=684952006
Imagine if Israeli Muslims were forced to have Friday Prayer on Saturday, and the Quran could only be read in Hebrew by Jewish teachers. What Crap.
representation in parliament for a community of 25,000 is ridiculous. thats bending over backwards. jewish people everywhere should respect this fact
LoL, respect? Respect a government who's President denies the Holocaust and newspapers controlled by the state which often print cartoons attacking as well as insulting Jews?
LoL, respect? Respect a government who's President denies the Holocaust and newspapers controlled by the state which often print cartoons attacking as well as insulting Jews?
well muslims have had to cope with similar incidences. backing off from iran will allow the world to make peace. yes its tricky but if the core issues between israel and iran are resolved then peace, good wishes amongst jews and muslims will flourish. if resolved then the muslim world will not have anything against any jews. that is the core objective for muslims regarding the ME issue.
if however israelli and western jews feel that overpowering is the best strategy then this will gain 'some' support from jews living elsewhere. allegations of spies, mistreatment, prejudice will not be far behind the shadow of jewish communities worldwide and a level of threat will remain towards jews everywhere. choose wisely as technology is not as good a protector as goodwill.
How do you make peace with someone who wants you 'wiped off the map' and supports groups that 'want to push you into the sea' and uses violence to try and achieve that goal?
How do you make peace with someone who wants you 'wiped off the map' and supports groups that 'want to push you into the sea' and uses violence to try and achieve that goal?
many muslim people feel the same way as you. many see it like that but from a muslim prospective. yes it looks just as bad from a muslim angle.
if you reject the overpowering philosophy then many alternatives are there. i know its not in your personal hands, but the current israelli direction is luring destruction.