IRAN’S JEWS STEER CLEAR OF FUROR OVER MIDEAST CRISIS
By Brian Murphy
Baku Sun, Azerbaijan
Aug 6 2007
TEHRAN, Iran – Nothing in the office of Iran’s sole Jewish lawmaker
calls attention to his faith. No Star of David, no menorah nor any of
the well-known symbols of Judaism. But – as in nearly every public
building in Iran – there’s a portrait of the Islamic Revolution’s
patriarch, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Moris Motamed’s political headquarters highlight the well-practiced
survival skills of Iran’s remaining 25,000 Jews – caught again in
a political no man’s land by the fighting between Israel and the
Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Any public expression of sympathy for Israel would invite a sharp
crackdown from authorities and hard-line Islamic groups. "We are
Iranians. We work for what’s best for Iran. The fighting, fortunately,
does not affect the Jewish community in Iran," said Motamed, who
holds the single parliament seat reserved for Jews.
Other seats are set aside for the Christian Armenian and Assyrian
minorities and followers of Iran’s pre-Islamic Zoroastrian faith.
But Iran’s Jews have undeniable bonds with Israel – most notably
Israel’s Iranian-born President Moshe Katsav. Thousands of Iranian
Jewish families have relatives in Israel and the historical links
between Persia and the Holy Land go back to antiquity and are
celebrated each year with the festival of Purim.
In January, the leader of Iran’s Jewish community, Haroun Yashayaei,
issued a rare challenge to Islamic authorities after President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad called the Holocaust a "myth." He said Ahmadinejad was
questioning "one of the most obvious and saddening incidents in
human history."
Israel, however, presents a red line no one is willing to cross.
Iran’s Jews have remain publicly silent as Iranian leaders have called
for Israel’s destruction, including Ahmadinejad’s call last year for
Israel to be "wiped off the map."
Last week, Jews in the southern city of Shiraz held a pro-Hezbollah
rally that was covered by state-run television – a sign that the march
was likely overseen by the Islamic regime to reinforce the idea of
national solidarity.
The Web site of the Tehran Jewish Community includes statements
opposing Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip and praising
uranium enrichment by Iranian scientists. The U.S. and many of its
allies – including Israel – believe Iran is using its nuclear reactor
project as a cover for a weapons program.
"For Iranians, there is a distinction in their mind between Zionism and
Judaism," said Motamed. "This is a very important distinction for us."
Iranian Jews face no restrictions on their religious practices,
but they must follow Islamic codes such as head scarves for women in
public. The same rules apply to the larger Christian and Zoroastrian
communities. But the Jewish population in Iran continues to shrink from
emigration to Israel, the United States and elsewhere. Before the 1979
Islamic Revolution, nearly 100,000 Jews lived in Iran, Motamed said.
Anti-Semitic acts are rare, but Jews often are the target of degrading
caricatures in the Iranian press. Tensions rose considerably in 2000
when 10 Iranian Jews were convicted of spying for Israel. An appeals
court later reduced the sentences under international pressure and
all the inmates were eventually freed.
Iran’s Persian ancestors, meanwhile, figure prominently in Jewish
lore and tradition.
Hebrew canons and the Old Testament recount the story of Persia’s
King Cyrus allowing Jews to return to Jerusalem from Babylon and
rebuild the temple nearly 2,600 years ago.
Iran also is the site of one of Judaism’s most important sites: the
shrine of Esther and Mordechai in the western city of Hamedan. The
Book of Esther tells the story of how she was raised by her relative,
the royal adviser Mordechai, and becomes a Persian queen. She saves
her fellow Jews from slaughter by persuading King Xerxes to call off a
plan to attack the community on a date that would be decided by lot,
or "pur." The change of heart is marked each year by the festival
of Purim.