The Iranian regime was built on ‘vicious antisemitism’ following the 1979 Islamic Revolution

For excessively long, the satellite has ignored a achy truth: the Islamic Republic of Iran and the fanatical clerics that control it, person built their individuality and ideology connected vicious antisemitism and intimidation, and they person done truthful astatine the nonstop disbursal of 1 of the oldest Jewish communities successful the world.

Long earlier the ayatollahs seized powerfulness successful 1979, Jews had lived successful Persia for much than 2,500 years — dating backmost to biblical times, erstwhile they recovered refuge determination aft the demolition of the First Temple. More recently, nether the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pavlavi, portion acold from perfect, Jewish beingness successful Iran entered 1 of its astir unchangeable and prosperous periods successful modern past — marked by applicable ineligible equality, expanding economical opportunities and a increasing consciousness of security.

Jews were granted civilian rights, permitted to enactment successful authorities and nonrecreational beingness and benefited from the Shah’s broader secular reforms that weakened spiritual favoritism and opened Iranian society. By the 1970s, the immense bulk of Iranian Jews were mediate people oregon affluent, and the assemblage was profoundly integrated into the country’s academic, aesculapian and economical elite. Jewish schools, synagogues and businesses flourished. Iranian Jews were integrated into society, contributing to the country’s economy, civilization and nonrecreational life. Tehran had go a thriving halfway of Jewish life.

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02/13/2020 Tehran, Iran. Iranian Jewish men unveil their overmuch adorned beatified scroll from enclosure Aron Kodesh, arsenic a portion of their regular supplication successful a synagogue, Tehran.  (HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

That each changed overnight with the Islamic Revolution.

Even earlier seizing powerfulness from the Shah, the archetypal Ayatollah, Ruhollah Khomeini repeatedly employed hateful and affectional rhetoric successful his sermons that went acold beyond governmental absorption to Israel and drew connected broader anti-Jewish themes, portraying Jews arsenic enemies of Islam and adjacent arsenic a planetary unit moving against it. He claimed that Jews sought satellite domination and were "opposed to the precise foundations of Islam," framing them arsenic some spiritual and governmental enemies who had to beryllium fought and suppressed astatine each costs.

He claimed that planetary Jewry had supported and bolstered the Shah and had to beryllium punished for the overthrown monarchy’s crimes. This connection and the doctrine of scapegoating the Jews was cardinal to the Ayatollah’s beliefs and worldview, and it readily blurred the enactment betwixt anti-Zionism and antisemitism, embedding hostility toward Jews wrong the precise ideological instauration of the Islamic Republic.

The emergence of the Islamic Republic’s caller mullah authorities ushered successful a question of fearfulness and persecution. One of the earliest and astir chilling signals came with the arrest, sham proceedings and execution of Habib Elghanian, a salient Jewish industrialist, philanthropist and assemblage leader. Imprisoned soon aft the Iranian Revolution, helium was accused of "corruption" and ties to Israel — charges wide understood arsenic politically motivated. Following a swift and staged hour-long proceeding earlier a "revolutionary court", successful which nary defence was permitted, the businessman was publically executed by firing squad successful May 1979.

Iranian demonstrators pain a practice of the Israeli emblem successful an yearly rally successful beforehand of the erstwhile U.S. Embassy successful Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th day of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)  (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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His decease sent shockwaves done the Jewish community. Elghanian was profoundly integrated into Iranian nine and connected to the country’s elite — if idiosyncratic of his stature could beryllium murdered truthful abruptly, it made wide that nary 1 was safe. His execution was not astir justice; it was a informing to Jews passim Iran and successful the Persian diaspora.

And it was heard. In the years that followed, tens of thousands of Iranian Jews fled, abandoning homes, businesses and a practice that stretched backmost implicit 2,500 years, arsenic 1 of the world’s oldest Jewish communities was rapidly emptied out. Those who dared to stay faced a caller and unsafe reality. Property was seized, surveillance was imposed and different Jews were likewise arrested connected trumped-up charges of spying and corruption. Community leaders were wholly silenced. And an ambiance of suspicion, intimidation and paranoia became the norm. The authorities drew a deliberate and unsafe enactment betwixt Judaism and Zionism, past proceeded to blur it whenever convenient —using accusations of loyalty to Israel arsenic a limb against its ain Jewish citizens.

Even today, Iran’s 8,000-10,000 Jews unrecorded nether a unreality of coercion. Yes, they are technically allowed to signifier their religion. Synagogues inactive basal and Jews are permitted to observe the Sabbath and holidays. But this superficial tolerance masks a deeper truth: their information is conditional and fragile. Iranian Jews indispensable perpetually beryllium their "loyalty" to the regime.

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An Iranian Jewish antheral prays portion lasting adjacent to a sedate astatine a Jewish cemetery successful confederate Tehran, Iran, connected Feb. 6, 2025.  (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

They are often pressured to publically denounce Israel and Zionism — governmental litmus tests that nary different spiritual number is forced to endure. In Iran’s Majlis, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the authorities maintains the quality of number inclusion by reserving a spot for a Jewish representative, but this parliamentary practice operates nether strict governmental constraints. The MP, Homayoun Sameh Najafabad, indispensable align with the positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, peculiarly connected halfway issues similar Israel and authorities legitimacy, limiting immoderate genuine independency oregon advocacy. As a result, it is understood that helium functions arsenic a pathetic fig leafage and puppet of the Mullahs, providing an representation of their tolerance arsenic helium is compelled to publically condemn Israel and the United States.

The consequences of Jews stepping retired of enactment tin beryllium severe. The infamous Shiraz lawsuit successful 1999 is simply a stark example. More than a twelve Jews were arrested and accused of spying for Israel — charges wide condemned arsenic baseless. After an planetary outcry, immoderate were yet released, but lone aft enduring imprisonment, coercion and nationalist humiliation. The connection was unmistakable: nary 1 successful the Islamic Republic oregon its Jewish assemblage is beyond reach.

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I person seen this cruelty firsthand successful my ain work. I legally represented the families of 12 Iranian Jews who were kidnapped successful 1994 portion attempting to transverse the borderline from Iran into Pakistan to safety. They simply vanished — nary trial, nary acknowledgment of their arrests, nary answers. 

Years had passed, yet their destiny remained chartless to the families. Their tortured wives and children lived successful a authorities of agonizing uncertainty, fearing that immoderate of these men whitethorn inactive beryllium alive, languishing successful Iranian prisons, forgotten by the world. Rewards for accusation astir their whereabouts were offered and publicized by vigor broadcasts. Exhaustive efforts by those wrong and extracurricular Iran could not uncover their circumstances, until the Israeli quality services successful 2007 met with the families present surviving successful Israel, and informed them that their loved ones were nary longer alive.

A billboard depicting Iran's ultimate leaders since 1979: (L to R) Ayatollahs Ruhollah Khomeini (until 1989), Ali Khamenei (until 2026), and Mojtaba Khamenei (incumbent) is displayed supra a road successful Tehran connected March 10, 2026. Iran marked the assignment of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to regenerate his begetter arsenic its ultimate person connected March 9, 2026.  (AFP/Via Getty Images)

This was not conscionable an isolated quality rights lawsuit — it is portion of a broader pattern. The aforesaid authorities that fearfully represses its Jewish number astatine location exports its hatred abroad, backing panic and targeting Jewish communities globally, specified arsenic the horrific bombing of the Jewish assemblage halfway successful Argentina successful July 1994 successful which 85 radical were killed and much than 300 injured. As such, its antisemitism is not rhetorical; it is operational.

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And yet, contempt each of this, the satellite excessively often looks away. There is simply a inclination to abstracted Iran’s interior repression from its outer aggression, arsenic if they are unrelated. They are not. A authorities that persecutes and terrorizes its ain citizens based connected religion cannot beryllium trusted to respect the lives oregon rights of others beyond its borders.

The communicative of Iran’s Jews is 1 of resilience, but it is besides a warning. It reminds america however rapidly a thriving assemblage tin beryllium reduced to surviving successful fearfulness and terror. It shows what happens erstwhile extremist ideology replaces tolerance, and erstwhile the planetary assemblage fails to clasp perpetrators accountable and treats their quality rights violations arsenic home matters.

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We agelong for the time erstwhile the Jewish assemblage successful Iran volition emergence again — a assemblage restored to dignity, information and existent prosperity, escaped from the shadiness of persecution.