The Iranian Government Erected a Monument to Make Nice with Its Jewish Citizens

http://www.vice.com/read/iranian-government-jewish-monument-129


Earlier this week, the government of Iran unveiled a new monument in the capital of Tehran commemorating the Jewish soldiers who died fighting for the Islamic Republic in the grueling 1980 to 1988 Iran-Iraq War. This comes as a surprise to many, both for demographic reasons—of the conflict's million-plus casualties, only a handful were Jews—and because of Iran's international representation as a virulently anti-Semitic nation. But the monument points towards the little-known history of Iran's mild tolerance towards its sizable native Jewish community, and the minority's courtship by President Hassan Rouhani's year-old administration.

The monument's commemoration, attended by Iranian Jews and Muslim clerics alike, featured a banner with images of fallen Jewish soldiers, honoring them as martyrs. Amidst remembrances, such as laying wreaths at the foot of the memorial, the event featured an appearance by one high-ranking member of the national government: Vice Speaker of the Majlis (Parliament) Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard. Standing at a dais flanked by an Iranian flag and a picture of a menorah, the bigwig delivered a speech praising Iran's Jews for standing by the country's Islamic regime, denouncing Israeli violence and Western demands for concessions in their nuclear program, and highlighting the common divine origins of Islam and Judaism.

These words of friendship seem at odds given the ruling regime's public track record. During the 1978 to 1979 Revolution, which brought the Islamic Republic to power, the leader of the Jewish community was executed and upwards of 60,000 of the country's 100,000 Jews fled bigoted persecution (many arriving in Israel, New York, and Los Angeles). Never a major force in the now-80-million-man, vastly Shi'a Muslim nation, since the Revolution only 9,000 to 30,000 remain, largely restricted to enclaves in Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran.

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