This past March, I stood alongside hundreds of others lining Madison Avenue to watch New York’s Persian Day Parade. I am not the parade-watching type, but nostalgia for the country of my birth at times moves me to behave in uncharacteristic ways, like cheering for mediocre trumpeters and papier-mâché monuments.
Among the marchers at the parade on that drizzly March day, I spotted several friends of my father’s — silver-haired men holding canes in one hand and Iranian flags in the other. I wondered, as they went by, how many other spectators knew that these frail fans of the ancient land, walking ahead of images of Cyrus and Xerxes, were indeed Jewish. There they were, without costumes or cymbals, without Esther as their beauty queen, without skullcaps or prayer shawls, or papier-mâchés of their own historic monuments.
Yet nothing could have captured the essence of their history better than their perfect obscurity. Iran’s Jews have led a largely peaceful coexistence, at least in the contemporary era, learning to reciprocate the magnanimity of their fellow Iranians by withholding all signs of their Jewishness. There was never a deception: In the public square we displayed only the Iranian in us and were united with our Muslim neighbors in a shared love of country.
But betrayal is an odd offspring that doesn’t always need deception to give it birth. I learned this several years ago at an Iranian studies conference in Maryland. At the end of a panel presentation about religious minorities — Jews, Baha’is and Christians — the first question, which turned out to be the last question of that session, came from an inflamed audience member who asked in a choked voice: “I want to ask the Jews here where do they think their real country is: Israel or Iran?” Within seconds, the Ph.D.s vanished into thin air and the professors in the room, respectable adults who peddle reason for a living, were on their feet demanding the answer with the kind of fury that should have been reserved for their naked lover in bed with another.
This kind of complexity, so second-nature to Iranian Jews, always eludes the outsiders looking in. Thus, the Jews of Iran — lately a bitterly contested talking point for pundits of all stripes — have become a looking glass in which all find what they wish to see. Hawks hear Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and see another Holocaust in the making. Doves cite the existence of Hebrew schools and synagogues in Iran, and see no reason for alarm.
Who is right? Everyone and no one at once.
The hawks are correct when they say that the Jews of Iran face threats. But they are wrong about the nature of the threats. They point to Ahmadinejad’s anti-Israel stance and Holocaust denial, and they draw the faulty conclusion that he is on the verge of launching an ethnic-cleansing campaign against the Jews. In fact, Ahmadinejad seems determined to prove otherwise, even subsidizing the purchase of land for a new Jewish community center in Tehran.
What actually threatens the welfare of Iranian Jews is the laws and regulations that have been put in place since 1979, which have curbed the ability of Jews to thrive in Iran in any meaningful way. In courts, the testimony of a Jew is not equal to that of a Muslim. In business, Jews have a tough time getting permits and licenses. In the arts, Jewish writers wait for years to get various governmental approvals of their manuscripts. In the academic arena, Jewish educators are not promoted. In health care, Jewish doctors and medical providers must inform their patients of their religion. Yet, despite all these hardships, Iran’s Jews are faring better than many other minorities, especially the Baha’is and Sunni Iranians.
The doves are right to note that under Iran’s constitution Jews are a recognized minority. The relationship between Jews and their non-Jewish neighbors remains mostly peaceful. Jews are even represented in Iran’s parliament by one of their own. There are functioning synagogues, social organizations, kosher butcher shops and even Hebrew schools in Iran. But all these institutions, like most other spheres of Iranian life, are designed, tightly controlled and regulated by the turbaned counterpart of Orwell’s Big Brother.
So where does this leave us?
As Jews, we must resist the temptation to compare the predicament of our Iranian counterparts to that of European Jews in World War II. Not every malicious leader is a Hitler.
As peace-loving citizens, we must not let our wish for a diplomatic resolution to tensions with Iran cloud reality. We must confront the full spectrum of Iran’s threats to the world, as well as to its own people, for no peace can be built upon a foundation of unknowing. Iran may or may not acquire a nuclear bomb some day. But every day in Iran — for women, the secular opposition, Kurds, Baha’is, Christians, Sunnis, Sufis and Jews — smaller bombs go off and ravage lives.
Roya Hakakian is the author of “Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran” (Crown, 2004).
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The last words of this article speaks for the writer's true feelings: "But every day in Iran---for women, the secular opposition, Kurds, Baha'is, Christians, Sunnis and Jews---smaller bombs go off and ravage lives." Really? Real, but smaller, bombs?... go off? And why is it sinful to ask a minority group were their heart truly is? I wish this question were ask of thousands of Jewish Americans in the government, the press and the media who prefer not to reveal their identity, but advance the interests of Israel---even at the expense of leading this nation to yet another, surely more devastating war, against the historic nation of Iran, who has not forgotten her ancient Greek and Roman enemies.
Oscar My Friend, the English Teacher
A recent article by Roger Cohen, International Herald Tribune Published: March 15, 2009, “Iran, Jews and pragmatism” reminds me of the great poverty among most working Iranians and those who support the government. The following is my close association with one educated Iranian and his family in Tehran.
The last time I toured Iran was summer 1976. My intension was to see the country as it was, not as it was portrayed by the Western Press, or by the Shah’s regime. In contrast to the usual tourists, I had already seen the grandeur of the Iranian past in Persepolis and great mosques in Esfahan.
My teaching job in the Midwest allowed me to spend part of my summer vacation touring unusual places, this time was Tehran. I met Oscar through another American in Tehran. Oscar, a Tehrani, was high school English teacher in one of Tehran’s schools. He wanted to practice his English and earn a few dollars, and I needed a tour guide to see Tehran.
Oscar was mid-forties, like most Iranians had a large built, round head and big almond brown eyes. His chocolate brown hair was receding and showed sings of early baldness. He was not married and lived with his parents and one sister in a two- room house. He appeared good natured, shy and very polite.
I met his family, the father suffered from eye disease and until recently worked a small grocery store not to far from their house. The family had no medical insurance and nothing to call savings. His disability forced him to sell the store and retire. Oscar called him Agha. The entire family lived on Oscar’s monthly income of less than $40 from his teaching position.
Oscar’s mother had fair skin, plump, short, and a good nature smile. Her head was often covered with a scarf just over her glasses. Oscar called her Khanom. She appeared to be busy, going and coming. Oscar said his sister, Zee Nat was mentally sick. She was a second year student at Tehran University when she started to hear voices. She was studying to become a teacher too. Zee Nat had been in public mental hospital several times before. She appeared to be mid-thirties, very thin, visibly shy and avoiding all eye contacts. The Oscar’s family was Muslim. The only evidence of any religion was portraits, a man dressed in an Arabic garb, and the other picture of a woman. Oscar told the man was a saint to all Shia Muslim, Ali, and the other was Merriam the mother of Jesus.
Oscar’s family home was in one of the many narrow streets in a region called PaMenar. The region was a walking distance south of the old Iranian Parliament (Majlis). The house was very old, 12 feet tall ceilings, heavy doors with small window panes. The yard was relatively large and it was paved with large worn out bricks. It was void of any plants except a large bush. In the center of yard, a round pond had several gold fishes. Oscar told me that the toilet was typical of the bathroom in old Tehran. It was a large hole in the ground.
The house did not have a kitchen except a narrow covered space, no benches or cooking table, and for cooking it was furnished with only one simple kerosene gas burner. The family’s only source of water was a deep water storage cavern (cistern) below the structure. Oscar said that the water tank was filled with rain and snow water during fall, winter and spring. My focus this time was Tehran, the area around the great Bazaars, and Shehre’ Reye. These sections of the city were untouched by the modernity; a reminder of the great disparity in the distribution of the wealth among the people. These southern parts of the city were home to the majority of the people crowded into very small quarters, narrow streets. Majority of these people were deprived of the most basic essentials of life. Iranian revolution, 1979, was a consequence of the misery of these Iranian people. Iran was a bipolar society, the very rich and many very poor people. After the revolution, many of the rich left Iran for places like Los Angles, still living in multi-million dollar Mc-mansions.
Roger Cohen states: “Exile, expropriation and, in some cases, executions have left bitter feelings among the revolution’s Jewish victims, as they have among the more than two million Muslims who have fled Iran since 1979.” These are mostly the rich who left Iran carrying their wealth and money stashed outside of the country. They lost their lavish life style on the back of the poor working class Iranians.
I spent most of my two months of the summer with Oscar touring Tehran and some of the villages nested in the mountain region. I kept correspondence with Oscar for years, hoping that some day he could visit me in the United States. Oscar passed away 6 years ago from lung cancer.
Iran has greatly advanced since 1976. The following article: Why the Islamic Republic Has Survived by Ervand Abrahamian, describes some of the changes in Iran since 1976. Now, after so many years and retired, I yearn to go back for another visit and place flower on the grave of my old friend Oscar.
We are so blessed to live in a place where we can read the opinions of both Roger Cohen and Roya Hakakian. Think of Roxana Saberi and pray for her. And remember the words of Joan Baez: The only bigger flop than the organization of non-violence is the organization of violence.
Roya Hakakian notes that that under Iran’s constitution Jews are a recognized minority. "Jews are even represented in Iran’s parliament by one of their own. There are functioning synagogues, social organizations, kosher butcher shops and even Hebrew schools in Iran. But all these institutions, like most other spheres of Iranian life, are designed, tightly controlled and regulated by the turbaned counterpart of Orwell’s Big Brother."
Of course any expressions of support for Israel, or "Zionism," are not tolerated. Iran's Jews have to "know their place" within a Shi'a theocracy.
All this is reminiscent, not of Hitler, as some suggest, but rather of Stalin. While Jews in the Soviet Union were a recognized ethnicity, and some, who espoused Communist ideals, even managed to circumvent the anti-Semitism prevalent in the society, most, like today's Persian Jews, were "Jews of silence."
Herr Zerstreut, maybe we should walk around with yellow stars so we could be identified better? I was at the meeting in Maryland Roya referred to. Actually, most of the anger and speechifying was done by Iranian Jews who rightly, I think, felt the question was unfair and hostile. Of course *all* hyphenated Iranians or hyphenated Americans will have complex loyalties. But each member of a minority should be judged on the basis of his or her own words and deeds; we do not exist as a tightly-knit corporate body who follow some kind of previously agreed-upon agenda. American Jews as a whole have been less hawkish on Bush's Middle East policy than their Christian compatriots. The tragedy is, this was asked by a member of one minority--Iranian-American--of another minority. Saint Michael Traveler, interesting comment, but I think a little over-simplified. The middle-class intellectuals also rebelled, and the revolution would not have happened without their sophistry and rationalizations. In the end, the poor Oscars (Asghars?) are manipulated by the ruling clergy for their own ends, and the clergy whipped up a resentment of the religiously skeptical middle class (and not the filthy rich who smuggled their loot out of the country) who fled the country being to put themselves in power. And... the revolution happened in 1979, not 1976. Anyway, Roya, great piece of writing as ever. Nuanced and insightful. I wish your voice would prevail over the screamers on all sides.
Zerstreut, Evan chose to answer your comments in a dignified way but by no means does such lunacy require politeness. Who do you think you are to demand that Jewish people who work in the media identify themselves as Jewish? Under what context and to what end should they make this pronouncement? Do their words contain a hidden agenda or somehow less force on reflection that they're Jewish? What obligation is it of anyone to reveal their personal convictions or even ethnic background because you believe them more predisposed to this behavior or that.
If I were to meet you in person, I'd hardly be this patient. So let me end by saying I hope misery and misfortune follow you, you slimy anti-semite.
Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has no control over Iran's military or foreign policy. Iran is a very pacific country by Muslim ME standards and has been so for centuries. Ahmadinejad has only prophesied that the Zionist state of Israel will not and should not endure for ever, not that it should be attacked. He has not "denied" the historicity of the Holocaust, only complained that it has been used as a moral get-out-of-jail free card and to deny Palestinians their homeland: a stance shared by many non-Zionist Jews.
His bosses, the mullahs, have repeatedly declared that the possession of nuclear weapons is un-Koranic and that Iran does not want them. International inspectors, denied access to Israel's armory, have found no evidence that Iran is developing nuclear energy for aggressive purposes.
The Zionist enforcers who want to make Israeli Jews huddle in fear under their rule, and intimidate the great majority of Jews who have refused to make aliyah into silently complying with their hegemony, always need an "antisemitic" bogeyman. Iran, rather than Wahabbist Saudi Arabia or the rapidly Talibanising Pakistan, which does have nukes, has been improbably cast in the role. Ahmadinejad has asked provocative and penetrating questions about the legitimacy of Zionism which resonate in much of the First and Third Worlds. That is why he is Public Enemy #1 for the hasbara, although by any objective standards a crypto-Kahanist blowhard such as Lieberman represents a far clearer and present danger to Jewry.
If Israel commits the folly of a botched pre-emptive attack on imaginary Iranian nuke-weapon sites, the moral debits it has suffered from its onslaught on Gaza will seem trivial. And now that America is growing tired of being yoked hand and foot to a Likudnik worldview in its ME diplomacy, such a folly could be a dealbreaker.
There is nothing eternal about the Israel Lobby's potency, not with a big liberal Democrat tide running in US politics. Beware!
Roya you stated that "In courts, the testimony of a Jew is not equal to that of a Muslim." In fact, in court the testimony of a female is not equal to that of a man irrespective of her religion. Iranian women are yet to receive equality to men in many civil areas.
But, the Iranian society is moving toward the right direction. In time, in calmer time when Iranians would feel less at risk of foreign invasion, the intellectual Iranians will dampen the zeal of religious groups, and practical secularities once more will prevail.
to David Nilsson: Did you mean that Iran is a pacifist country (not pacific)? But I thought that Iran and Iraq fought a very long war that killed over a million people. Iran's president certainly did question the validity of the Holocaust. And Palestinians haven't been denied a homeland. When the U.N. created Israel it also created a Palestinian homeland at the same time; it's called Jordan. Funny how some people question Jews wanting a homeland (it's called Zionism) but never question any other minority wanting the same thing. When's the last time you led a march against the Armenians or the Kurds?
To Sharonsj:
Iran is indeed a peaceful country. The war with Iraq started because Iran was attacked by Iraq and had to defend itself. To understand the Persian mentality, note that Iran did not use most of the tactics used by Iraq, including chemical attacks, targeting civilian areas, targeting hospitals with mssiles, torture & rape of POWS, etc.
Why does the author of this article not address the threats facing Jews who live in Israel (including many Iranian Jews)? She seems to care a lot about the Jewish community in Iran, and in the US, but makes no mention of the Jews in Israel, and their right to live in peace.
The author seems to know instinctively that Jews will never be accepted completely either in Iran, or the US, yet she sees the Jewish homeland as more of a problem than a solution. As long as Iran threatens Israel, Iran will be the enemy of the Jews who understand where their identity comes from.
If iran restored relations with israel would israel object to iran having nuclear weapons.
Would the writer care to compare the status of Iranian Jews to non-Jews living in Israel in terms of hardship or opportunities?
From what I know, Jews are among the wealthiest Iranians, as they tend to be all over the world while always complaining about being discriminated against, whereas non-Jews in Israel surely cannot claim the same socioeconomic status.
It may come as a surprise to many to learn that in Israel, Christian Arabs have a higher per capita income than Jewish Israelis. Many are business people and are not required to give 5 years of their lives to the military as do most Jewish and Druze Israelis. This gives small business people an innate advantage, not having to close their businesses down when the IDF reserves has their frequent call ups.
As for nuclear weapons, all the states that signed the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty of 1969 (except for the existing declared nuclear states) agreed not to produce nuclear weapons. India, Pakistan and Israel did not sign the treaty and hence bear no such obligation. The states who signed the treaty have no right to withdraw EXCEPT if they can show that they are being threatened by a nuclear attack from a nuclear armed state. North Korea withdrew using the pretext that the US was planning to "nuke" it.
Most of the states who signed the NP Treaty back in the late '60s and early '70s did so either (a) because they did not have the knowledge, money or materiel to produce nuclear energy on their own at that time, and would have been barred from legally acquiring it in legal commercial nuclear marketplace if they failed to sign it; or (b) were under the US or Soviet nuclear umbrellas by other treaties such as NATO or the Warsaw Pact and so chose to forgo making their own. Israel was never offered a formal treaty of alliance that would have placed Israel under the US nuclear umbrella.