Iran's proud but discreet Jews

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Iran's proud but discreet Jews

By Frances Harrison
BBC News, Tehran

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The Jewish presence dates back nearly 3,000 years.

Although Iran and Israel are bitter enemies, few know that Iran is home to the largest number of Jews anywhere in the Middle East outside Israel.

About 25,000 Jews live in Iran and most are determined to remain no matter what the pressures - as proud of their Iranian culture as of their Jewish roots.

It is dawn in the Yusufabad synagogue in Tehran and Iranian Jews bring out the Torah and read the ancient text before making their way to work.

It is not a sight you would expect in a revolutionary Islamic state, but there are synagogues dotted all over Iran where Jews discreetly practise their religion.

"Because of our long history here we are tolerated," says Jewish community leader Unees Hammami, who organised the prayers.

He says the father of Iran's revolution, Imam Khomeini, recognised Jews as a religious minority that should be protected.

As a result Jews have one representative in the Iranian parliament.

"Imam Khomeini made a distinction between Jews and Zionists and he supported us," says Mr Hammami.

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Yes I knew about it. Although the Iranian goverment is good to the Jews most of the time, I wish the Iranian people were as tolerant. I have a friend who escaped after a riot when Israel was in a war with Arabs then went from Israel to LA and lives in the huge Iranian Jewish community in LA now.

The Gov is to be comended for protecting Jews though, and I hope they will allow Jewish orginazations to send more prayer books and Torahs to the community.

I wish less of this would happen:


In the Yusufabad synagogue the announcements are made in Persian - most Iranian Jews don't really speak Hebrew well.

Jews have lived in Persia for nearly 3,000 years - the descendants of slaves from Babylon saved by Cyrus the Great.

Over the centuries there have been sporadic purges, pogroms and forced conversions to Islam as well as periods of peaceful co-existence.
These days anti-Jewish feeling is periodically stirred by the media.


Mr Hammami says state-run television confuses Zionism and Judaism so that "ordinary people may think that whatever the Israelis do is supported by all Jews".

During the fighting in Lebanon a hardline weekly newspaper, Yalesarat, published two photographs of synagogues on its front page full of people waving Israeli flags celebrating Israeli independence day.
The paper falsely said the synagogues were in Iran - even describing one as the Yusufabad synagogue in Tehran and locating another in Shiraz.

"This provoked a number of opportunists in Shiraz," explains Iran's Jewish MP, Maurice Mohtamed, "and there was an assault on two synagogues."

Mr Mohtamed says the incident was defused by the Iranian security forces, who explained to people that the news was not true.
And with the coming to power of an ultra-conservative like President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, there has been increased concern internationally about the fate of Iranian Jews.

But Iran has still been a place of relative freedom for Jews. So they are to be comended.
 
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Jazzy said:
^^u tell us..:? lol
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All Penangites know that there are Penangite Jews... but they are not really openly practicing their religion....maybe they're scared of anti-semitism remarks given by Malaysian leaders..... it's so sad...

Imagine... even the hardline Muslims in Iran have no problems with Jews practicing their religion.... but the moderate Muslims in Malaysia.....?
 
My husband has a colleague from Iran who told him that in Iran the jews r mostly goldsmiths n they r such fair traders that Muslims in Iran prefer to go to the Jews to buy gold than to go too Muslims.
 
Philosopher said:
Dont the Jews have Israel and America to control? What are they doing in Iran?
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What are Muslims doing in the West?
Every one knows we need to seperate the world by religion.
It is unthinkable to ask people who have different views to tollorate others. :raging:
 
wilberhum said:
What are Muslims doing in the West?
Every one knows we need to seperate the world by religion.
It is unthinkable to ask people who have different views to tollorate others. :raging:
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Jew is both a nationality and religion. I was referring to the nationality aspect.

Under your reasoning, people like you belong in North Korea,
 
Philosopher said:
Jew is both a nationality and religion. I was referring to the nationality aspect.

Under your reasoning, people like you belong in North Korea,
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Well then we would never want to mix nationalities. What is also unspeakable. Living to gether smaks of tollorance. No one wants that. :?
 

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