The Plight of
the Jews in Iran
by Shelomo Alfassa
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February 17,
2006 Israel Insider Magazine
In
April 2005 an article entitled, "Mr. President,
Please Call Tehran," by this author, was widely circulated
in the media. It was a call for the Iranian-born President of Israel,
Moshe Katsav, to facilitate communication between Israel and the Jewish
community in Iran, in an effort to seek evacuation as the Iranian
hatred for Jews was starting to simmer.
Now,
ten months later, the hatred toward the world Jewish community is
boiling over. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for jihad
against Israel with his proclamation that Israel must be, "Wiped
off the face of the earth." Ahmadinejad is strategically fanning
the flames of hatred among Islamic terrorist groups to unite against
the Jews and the Western world.
Iran
has funded Arab terrorist groups for many years. This includes Hamas
and Islamic Jihad, with millions of dollars, money used with one intention
-- to kill Jews and destroy the State of Israel. Last month Hamas
was elected by the Israeli Arabs to lead them toward their future.
Not even in office one month, they declared their political platform
in the international media: "We will drink the blood of the Jews!!"
In
recent weeks, Iran has gone against the United Nations and has once
again motioned to develop nuclear weapons. The Iranians are not listening
to rational ideas from anyone, they are out of control. Anti-Jewish
hatred and Holocaust denial is one thing, but threats of nuclear missiles
are another.
The
government of the United States, its military, and its intelligence
officers are without doubt making plans to strike Iran -- and understandably
so. Does this mean they will strike Iran, no. But they must prepare
to respond to a vicious and openly threatening nation, which may develop
the capacity to cause global havoc.
So
this begs the question, if the US (or Israel) makes a preemptive strike
against Iran to destroy their nuclear reactors, what will be the fate
of the 30,000 Jews who live there?
The consequence of a preemptive salvo against Iran would set the Muslim
world ablaze. Jews living in Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and other countries
would become targets of angry Muslim crowds that have been indoctrinated,
since birth, to blindly hate the Jews as part of their social and
sacred responsibilities.
According
to the Nessah Cultural Center, a Persian Jewish center in Beverly
Hills, California, the remaining 30,000 Jews of Iran are officially
allowed to leave, but it is a difficult process. Jews who apply for
a passport to travel abroad are immediately put under surveillance.
With the world eyes upon Iran, there is no telling how this may alter
the existing difficult emigration policy in coming months. In the
past, while Iranian Jews were allowed to leave, they could only do
so individually (not as a family) to prevent mass flight. In 1998,
Jewish businessman Ruhollah Kakhodah-Zadeh was murdered in an Iranian
prison, without a public charge or legal proceeding, apparently for
assisting Jews to emigrate.
The
Jews have been in Iran (Persia) for thousands of years, long before
Islam existed. Persian Jewish history is a proud history, and while
many call for them to leave, it is not easy to leave from a place
you call home for thousands of years.
Because
of political situations in our present day, Jewish organizations must
be cognizant that the Islamic seat of power at Tehran may see a renewed
call for Iranian Jews to emigrate as an offensive gesture. This may
jeopardize the existing peaceful status of the Jews in Iran. Nonetheless,
the US State Department and all countries should be monitoring the
situation very carefully for any changes or developing needs. The
Israeli government, the United States government, and all peace loving
countries, must be immediately ready to open their doors to the Jews
of Iran (and other Islamic countries) if the situation deteriorates.