In Ahmadinejad's Iran, Jews still find a space.

In Ahmadinejad's Iran, Jews still find a space.

news.yahoo.com

TEHRAN, Iran - Enmity runs deep between arch-foes
Iran and Israel. And that confrontation complicates the lives of Iranian Jews, who make up the largest community of Jews in the Middle East outside the Jewish state.

[...]

But despite what appears to be a dwindling minority under constant threat of persecution, Iranian Jews say they live in relative freedom in the Islamic Republic, remain loyal to the land of their birth, and are striving to separate politics from religion.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Quite interesting to say the very least. Many should take into consideration of Iran's treatment of Jews, before believing that the state is anti-semetic.

One thing that stood out for me in the article was when it said:

"If you think Judaism and Zionism are one, it is like thinking Islam and the Taliban are the same, and they are not," says Ciamak Moresadegh, chairman of the Tehran Jewish Committee.

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Sorry, but the whole article has the sound of trying to put lipstick on a pig to me.

The tone is like, yeah they're treated bad, but not as bad as you might think!

Did you read the entire article? The Iranian Jews in the article, themselves stated, "Historically, say Jewish leaders, anti-Semitism here is rare, a fact they say is often lost on critics outside, especially in Israel, where many Iranian Jews have relatives," and "The relations between Jews and Muslims, between 70 million Muslims and 30,000 Jews, are very good," says Mohaber. "In Israel, the situation for Iranian Jews is quite misunderstood."

I think the article is very beneficial to help clear many misconceptions of Jews in Iran.

[edit on 28-4-2007 by DJMessiah]

DJ MESSIAH I do not approve of you using a picture of me with my shirt off for your avatar. Stop looking in my windows you peeping tom perv.
P.S. I agree with your view point. Zionists(Babylonian Talmudists)got to go! And i mean yesterday.

Originally posted by DJMessiah
Did you read the entire article? The Iranian Jews in the article, themselves stated, "Historically, say Jewish leaders, anti-Semitism here is rare, a fact they say is often lost on critics outside, especially in Israel, where many Iranian Jews have relatives," and "The relations between Jews and Muslims, between 70 million Muslims and 30,000 Jews, are very good," says Mohaber.

Yes I did read the article, and it also said there was a purging of Jews serving in the military, and the population has been thinning out since the Islamic revolution. What the previous post said that things are not as bad as you might think, or to put another way, as bad as the media lets on, may not be that far off base from what I read.

I think this is an excellent article, and in very good spirits. Its a nice change from the constant propoganda spewing from the west. Zionism is a concern that needs to be addressed. we are talking about a possible terror organisation heading a nation that it produced from nothing, denying the possesion of nuclaer weapons. this a mighty big concern for those that live near this possible terror state and could use a little light from the west.

Sorry just could not resist:






Anyway, there is not plenty of Jews in Iran:

Demographics of Iran

The main ethnic groups are Persians (51%), Azeris (24%), Gilaki and Mazandarani (8%), Kurds (7%), Arabs (3%), Baluchi (2%), Lurs (2%), Turkmens (2%), Qashqai, Armenians, Persian Jews, Georgians, Assyrians, Circassians, Tats, Pashtuns and others (1%).

Iran is a BIG country - and if Jews are among those 1% of other ehtnic groups in Iran, but are still the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside of Israel, then you can imagine that Iran is not really small.

But there is no place for Baha'i's in Iran (their largest religious minority) with or without Ahmadinejad. They are systematically denied even the right to an education, much less any other rights. Their holy sites have been destroyed, their cemeteries dug up, their schools and businesses closed, their bank accounts and monies taken and many have been arrested, harassed, tortured and killed. All for believing that there is a new prophet (Baha'u'llah 1817/1892) who taught the oneness of mankind, the elimination of prejudice, the fundamental oneness of religion and the need to unify the planet.

[edit on 29-4-2007 by grover]

Originally posted by grover
But there is no place for Baha'i's in Iran (their largest religious minority) with or without Ahmadinejad. They are systematically denied even the right to an education, much less any other rights.

Grover, you beat me to the punch. You can't cherry pick which religions you will tolerate, and which you will repress, and still consider your actions enlightened.

And the latest? "Iran bans Western haircuts, eyebrow plucking for men"

TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- Iranian police have warned barbers against offering Western-style hair cuts or plucking the eyebrows of their male customers, Iranian media said Sunday. www.cnn.com...

You know, I consider myself to be a tolerant person...I work at the most ethnically diverse campus of the most ethnically diverse university in one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world...and I really like that. My kids were educated in French Immersion, just so they'd know that it's ok to think in another language. But sometimes you really just wanna give these chuckleheads a smack upside o' their heads!

You...Ahmadinejad...are you evil, mean, or just plain stoopid??

DJ
Just have a look at how Israel treats its Arab population.Ariel "The Butcher" SHaron's son recently published an article calling for the transfer of Arabs out of Israel.

Olmert recently did an interview with Amir Teheri saying that they could possibly drop 1000 ICBM's on Iran over the course of several days...doesn't seem like they are too worried about harming the already small population of Jews in Iran to me. You would figure that if Ahminjiad wanted jews dead so badly, he would have started by killing the ones closest and most convenient to access first.

Th Jews in Iran are and have been able to leave and go to Israel to visit , if its so bad as DJjohn suggests, then nothing would have stopped them from leaving all together and making Aliyah to Israel. IMO Israel is putting those people in jeoppardy by constantly infiltrating, so of course their first thoughts in an islamic country would be Jews being sympathetic towards Israel and aiding the Israelis. The majority of Jews in israel also suspect most of the Arab-Israelis of being traitorous as well.

Islamic republic (since 1979)

At the time of the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, there were approximately 140,000–150,000 Jews living in Iran, the historical center of Persian Jewry. Over 85% have since migrated to either Israel or the United States. At the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, 80,000 still remained in Iran. From then on, Jewish emigration from Iran dramatically increased, as about 20,000 Jews left within several months after the Islamic Revolution.[20] On March 16, 1979, Habib Elghanian, the honorary leader of the Jewish community, was arrested on charges of "corruption", "contacts with Israel and Zionism", "friendship with the enemies of God", "warring with God and his emissaries", and "economic imperialism". He was tried by an Islamic revolutionary tribunal, sentenced to death, and executed on May 8.[20][23] In mid- and late 1980s, the Jewish population of Iran was estimated at 20,000–30,000. The reports put the figure at around 35,000 in mid-1990s[24] and at less than 40,000 nowadays, with around 25,000 residing in Tehran. However, Iran's Jewish community still remains the largest in the Middle East outside of Israel. Wikipedia

Judging from the above the majority of Jews living in Iran didn't think it was such a great place to live. The population has shrunk from 80,000 in 1979 to 25,000-30,000 today. There are 70,000,00 people in Iran and less than 0.3% of them are Jews.



[edit on 4/29/2007 by Stormrider]

Originally posted by Stormrider
Judging from the above the majority of Jews living in Iran didn't think it was such a great place to live. The population has shrunk from 80,000 in 1979 to 25,000-30,000 today. There are 70,000,00 people in Iran and less than 0.3% of them are Jews.

So what do you think about the almost daily executions of Arabs in Palestine?I think they call it Pinpoint Targetting or even openly claiming it to be an assasination of known Militants.

The article you posted showed one execution for what appears to be a spy. Do you think Israels actions against the innocent civilians of Palestine may not have something to do with how the muslims may lash out in Iran? Like I said, much of what happens is caused directly by Israeli actions and that includes rising rates of anti-semetism. Theodore Herzl always said that anti-semetism will always be good for the sake of the State of Israel as it will always make Jews feel safer in Israel.


You know, whats amazing in all this, 9/11, Iraq, Al-queda, we never had to go through all this crap, we didn't have to spend Billions, lose lives in Iraq, all we had to do was something pretty simple, and thats tightening the leash on Israeli agression and land expansion. It would have been much simpler to go that route and we would have gained a lot more confidence from the ME if we showed those people some compassion as well.

Let's not forget that during the islamic revolution the rich Persion-Jews were able to leave. The poor mostly stayed. Also, if they didn't like it in iran, certainly Israel would fly them to their homeland as they did the africans.

This is ALL political. Anyone who sees it in any other light needs to do more research. GREED. EGO. CONTROL. Those are the three things that prevent peace.

AAC

Originally posted by AnAbsoluteCreation
Let's not forget that during the islamic revolution the rich Persion-Jews were able to leave. The poor mostly stayed. Also, if they didn't like it in iran, certainly Israel would fly them to their homeland as they did the africans.

This is ALL political. Anyone who sees it in any other light needs to do more research. GREED. EGO. CONTROL. Those are the three things that prevent peace.

AAC

You are so right.
A big portion of Aliyah is funded by Christian groups. They are more then happy to populate Israel for the prophecies to be fulfilled. They took an entire tribe of Indians from India because they were supposedly part of some lost tribe. The funny thing about all this, is even in Israel they have 1st column, 2nd column, 3rd column, 4th column even amongst their own. The Ethiopian and dark skinned Jews being the lowest just above Arab-Israelis. Russian Jews have left Israel due to the prejudism and even harrassment they endured while in Israel.

Pie

Originally posted by ThePieMaN

You are so right.
A big portion of Aliyah is funded by Christian groups. They are more then happy to populate Israel for the prophecies to be fulfilled. They took an entire tribe of Indians from India because they were supposedly part of some lost tribe. The funny thing about all this, is even in Israel they have 1st column, 2nd column, 3rd column, 4th column even amongst their own. The Ethiopian and dark skinned Jews being the lowest just above Arab-Israelis. Russian Jews have left Israel due to the prejudism and even harrassment they endured while in Israel.

Pie

O.K., Pie, let's see your evidence. You do have proof don't you, to support your claims? Or are you just throwing as much S## as you can against the wall and hoping some of it will stick?I am really getting fed up with your anti-semetic tirades. Every time something goes wrong in America or the Midle East, it's "blame the Jews". Fortunately, claims and accusations do not equal proof. Nobody likes a hater, Pie.

It's easy to ignore a powerless minority within one's own borders (the US does this all the time), but if those Iranian Jews ever try to assert any power or independence, then we might see a pogrom.

This is the MO of most Muslim countries throughout history. They don't care about religious minorities until they become somewhat powerful.

This is the policy Turkey is holding over Kurds, both within their borders and without. The Kurds in Northern Iraq do not want independence because Turkey has already vowed to war over any assertion of a Kurdish state. The great irony is that Kurds are typically Muslim.

PS This is part of the reason for the Holocaust. German Jews before WWII were an influential community. I doubt that Hitler would have cared about them if they weren't.

[edit on 4/30/2007 by supercheetah]

It has been the MO of most countries over history, not just Muslim ones.

Originally posted by Stormrider

O.K., Pie, let's see your evidence. You do have proof don't you, to support your claims? Or are you just throwing as much S## as you can against the wall and hoping some of it will stick?I am really getting fed up with your anti-semetic tirades. Every time something goes wrong in America or the Midle East, it's "blame the Jews". Fortunately, claims and accusations do not equal proof. Nobody likes a hater, Pie.

WTF are you talking about Antisemetic? You don't like what I have to say so you label it anti-semetic. Not that I give a crap what you think but its easily checkable about the tribe in India go check it (Google Bnei Mannasse ) out or is it just easier to say its anti-semetism?Its all been on major Israeli online newspapers. Christian organizations don't help sponsor Aliyah? Not only do they help sponsor Aliyah they also sponsor trips to Israel as well.

Im so tired of people like you making excuses for Israel to continue doing what they do. Its people like you that have sold our country down the river. I bet Johnathon Pollard is a hero to you too. This is not about Jews...its about Zionism and the lengths the Israeli government will go to satisfy their goals and the lengths people like you will go to try to deny it.


I bet you have never said with all these people that die on an almost daily basis in Palestine that the Israelis should ever prove that they are terrorists, you just accept their word for every single death, yet here I post about known news items and you need proof.


You are tired of what I say...use the ignore button. Stop whining about it.

ThePieMan -

The Arabs Stole Palestine from the Jews, and not the other way around!

* Nationhood and Jerusalem. Israel became a nation-state in 1312 B.C, 2,000 years before the rise of Islam, and was a nation before that.

* Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern State of Israel.

* Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 B.C., the Jews have had dominion over the land for 1,000 years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.

* The Arabs conquered Palestine in 635 AD, stealing it from its legitimate Jewish rulers, who had evicted the Byzantines while being led by a woman general, one Hefzibah, who then restored Jewish sovereignty. Palestine was stolen from the Jews by the Arabs and not the other way around. Arab sovereignty over Palestine ended in 1071 when the area was conquered by Seljuk Turks. Palestinian Arabs never held sovereignty over Palestine and cannot even pronounce the name of their supposed homeland. They cannot say Palestine.

* For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem, they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit.

* Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Qur'an (Koran).

* King David founded the Jewish city of Jerusalem. Mohammed never came to Jerusalem.

* Jews pray facing Jerusalem. Muslims pray with their backs toward Jerusalem.

* Arab and Jewish Refugees: In 1948 the Arab refugees were encouraged to leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of Jews. Sixty-eight percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier.

* The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due to Arab brutality, persecution and pogroms.

* The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated to be between 400,000 and 630,000, many of whom in fact were allowed to return after the Israeli war of Independence ended. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands was much larger.

* Arab refugees were INTENTIONALLY not absorbed or integrated into the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast Arab territory. Out of the 100,000,000 refugees since World War II, the Arabs are the only refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into their own peoples' lands. Jewish refugees were completely absorbed into Israel, a country smaller than the state of New Jersey.

* The Arab - Israeli Conflict: The Arabs are represented by 22 independent states, not including what Israel has offered the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish nation. The Arab nations initiated all five wars and lost. Israel defended herself each time and won.

* The PLO's Charter still calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. In the 1990s Israel gave the Palestinians most of the West Bank land, autonomy under the Palestinian Authority, and has supplied them with weapons.

* Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and the Jews were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli rule, all Muslim and Christian sites have been preserved and made accessible to people of all faiths. Some Unfashionable Facts About the Middle East

THese are the facts. Deal with it!