Iranian Jewish community holds solidarity rally in Tehran

Iran’s Jewish community has held a national solidarity demonstration in Tehran, joining nightly rallies across the country in support of the country’s leadership and armed forces, according to Iranian media.

The community gathered at Valiasr Square on Tuesday evening, where hundreds of participants reportedly chanted slogans in support of “defenders of the homeland” and pledged allegiance to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, News.Az reports, citing Iran’s English-language Press TV.

Waving Iranian national flags, demonstrators also expressed support for what they described as the ideals and values of the Islamic Revolution.

They carried banners reading: “We Iranian Jews condemn crimes committed by American-Zionist forces” and “Judaism is different from Zionism.”

According to Press TV, similar demonstrations have been held nightly in major cities across the country since the start of the war, which Iranian officials describe as being launched by American and Israeli forces on 28 February.

Rabbi Younes Hamami Lalezar, the head and senior religious authority of Iran’s Jewish community, also took part in Tuesday’s demonstration at Valiasr Square.

Press TV described the rally as part of a broader pattern of nightly gatherings across Iran, presenting it as a display of solidarity among different religious and ethnic groups in the country.

Last week, members of the Jewish community in Shiraz also visited the graves of those killed in the recent conflict, paying tribute to the dead and reiterating that Judaism is distinct from Zionism. They also expressed support for Iran’s territorial integrity and defence policies.

Amir Ala Salari, chairman of the Jewish community in Shiraz in the southern province of Fars, said the community’s solidarity with other Iranians had “deep and fraternal roots”.

“Our presence in this holy place is a clear message to the world. We Jews consider ourselves completely separate from Zionism and have always demonstrated our brotherhood with the great nation of Iran,” he said.

Salari also said Iran was “the safest place in the world” for the Jewish community, adding that antisemitism had not been recorded in any period of the country’s history.

“We proudly work alongside our compatriots and follow the Leader’s orders for the victory and stability of the homeland,” he said.

News.Az