Posted on 02/24/2009 5:49:29 AM PST by Cronos
At Palestine Square, opposite a mosque called Al-Aqsa, is a synagogue where Jews of this ancient city gather at dawn. Over the entrance is a banner saying: “Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution from the Jewish community of Esfahan.”
The Jews of Iran remove their shoes, wind leather straps around their arms to attach phylacteries and take their places. Soon the sinuous murmur of Hebrew prayer courses through the cluttered synagogue with its lovely rugs and unhappy plants. Soleiman Sedighpoor, an antiques dealer with a store full of treasures, leads the service from a podium under a chandelier.
I’d visited the bright-eyed Sedighpoor, 61, the previous day at his dusty little shop. He’d sold me, with some reluctance, a bracelet of mother-of-pearl adorned with Persian miniatures. “The father buys, the son sells,” he muttered, before inviting me to the service.
Accepting, I inquired how he felt about the chants of “Death to Israel” — “Marg bar Esraeel” — that punctuate life in Iran.
“Let them say ‘Death to Israel,’ ” he said. “I’ve been in this store 43 years and never had a problem. I’ve visited my relatives in Israel, but when I see something like the attack on Gaza, I demonstrate, too, as an Iranian.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Perhaps I have a bias toward facts over words, but I say the reality of Iranian civility toward Jews tells us more about Iran — its sophistication and culture — than all the inflammatory rhetoric " -->
Persians are far more cultured than bedos or bedo-wannabes like Egyptians, Berbers, Syrians, Jordanians, etc.
ping
Looks to me like a propagandist writing about dhimmis or stockholm syndrome victims. Of course I could be wrong. Some collectives and their individual members have much more in common with anti-truth, anti-freedom, anti-individual, anti-life collectives than others.
It's the crucial difference between Iranians and the islamic regime. The regime knows fully that for the average Iranian the Jews are an established and accepted part of Iranian society. Same goes for Armenians. The regime not at least seeks to gather everyone around the flag, thus the siege mentality and rethoric against "outward threats". The islamic regime is the largest obstacle between a real peace if not alliance between Iranians, Americans and Israelis.
The “cheering for the revolution” part is of course regime mandated propaganda. Everyone in that unfree country has to cheer the revolution. It says nothing about how they (in this case especially Jews) really feel about it.
What a scenario for the Iranian Jewish community. The government of your host country is actually extolling the virtues of the Third Reich! That is a true predicament.
If only they would be docile and servient, the Muslims would agree to kill them last.
They could have had this article back in 1943
“What Theresienstadt’s Jews Say”
I was thinking it might be a good idea to quietly leave or try to “look” like one of the locals. Either way, it’s a tough spot.
We’re here, they’re there so they know the local conditions much better than we do. I don’t envy them the spot they’re in.
I don’t think this is stockholm syndrome — Iranis are better folks than that (yes, they do have extremely insane leaders, but the common folks aren’t quite so bad as say saudias.
Interestingly enough, interest in Christianity has skyrocketed in Iran since 1980.
“The islamic regime is the largest obstacle between a real peace if not alliance between Iranians, Americans and Israelis. “ — well put.
Remember that Iranian Jews didn’t face the holocaust. There are/were many Jewish communities across the globe that have histories quite separate from European jewry and who even look quite different — like Ethiopian Jews, Yemeni Jews, Indian and Baghdadi Jews and Irani Jews.
The thing is that with zero American or Western presence in Iran, the regime can’t blame it for all the ills (like the Sauds and other regimes do), hence the youngsters are questioning the cult that their families have belonged to since the fall of Zoroastrianism
Nice attempt at propaganda. I notice Iran doesn’t talk about Ruhollah Kakhodah-Zadeh or the countless other Jews that have been murdered in Iran. Not just the Jews in Iran, how about the persecution of the Sufi’s? Iran has religious freedom the way Germany did in 1934- some token statements to mask intolerance and persecution.
Secret Christianity is nothing new in Iran. Already centuries ago and well into our current time there is a sect of the "Ali-illahi" who outwardly worship Ali but actually mean Jesus (replacing his name with Ali, to escape scrutiny).
Also since over 100 years American Presbytarian and Evangelical missionaries (until the revolution 1979) were building schools, libraries and hospitals in Iran, bringing many to Christ.
The exploits and adventures, the courage and charity of these American missionary men and women have long been a part of Iranian anecdotes.
Maybe even more than Christianity, the Bahai are the most important secret faith in Iran. The official number of 20,000 is only the tip of the iceberg. The Bahai are severly prosecuted, because their peaceful faith, combining the essence of all major religions, is seen as heresy.
Both these phenomena, along with a general secularity among the upper middle class, help to explain the perceived awkwardness of a supposed Shia super-majority (92%) and the reality.
Nice screen name, too. LOL.
the article just points out that minorities in Iran are slightly better off than minorities in our so-called allied states like Saudia or pakiland
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