After nearly two weeks of the war between Iran and Israel, Iranian-American Jewish activists in contact with Jewish friends and family inside Iran say their community is safe, but keeping a low public profile during the Israeli military strikes, and Sunday’s U.S. airstrikes, against the Tehran regime.
“While the (Iranian) regime has shut down the internet and phone lines for a few days recently because of the war, I was able to speak to some Jewish leaders in Tehran earlier who said they have directed the Jews there to leave the city due to the bombings and go to other Iranian cities such as Shiraz, Isfahan and Yazd where it’s safer and they can stay with their family members or other Jews,” one Iranian Jewish activist in Los Angeles told JNS.
Jewish Iranian American leaders have, for decades, largely avoided public comments about the regime, for fear that this could potentially lead to revenge being taken on the Jews who are still living in Iran.
Saeed Banayan, a retired Iranian Jewish businessman living in Los Angeles, said many Jews have recently fled Tehran for quieter areas north of the city during the conflict.
“I spoke to a family member of mine several days ago who lives in Tehran,” said Banayan. “She said she and her husband, along with many other Jews, have all fled the city and are now staying in the areas near the Caspian Sea, which are safer and have no military sites that would be targeted by Israel.”
An Iranian Jewish activist in Los Angeles, who asked that his name be withheld because of his fear that the Iranian regime would retaliate against his family members inside Iran, told JNS the Jewish leadership has shut down all synagogues and cancelled Shabbat services during the conflict.
“The Jewish community leaders have told Jews not to come out in public wearing kippahs, they’ve cancelled Jewish religious events and asked the community to maintain a low profile in public right now to avoid any potential issues with the regime or those who Muslims who hate Israel,” the activist said.
JNS obtained a Persian language e-mail that originated from the Shiraz Jewish Charity Association asking Jews in Tehran to temporarily come to Shiraz during the conflict for their safety.
“Due to the emergency situation, the Shiraz Jewish Charity Association has arranged for temporary accommodations for our loved ones from Tehran who plan to leave for Shiraz,” the e-mail said. “Therefore, we invite our dear fellow Jews in Tehran to coordinate with us. We welcome your arrival and will have accommodations available for you and your loved ones.”
Since June 13, Israel Air Force aircraft have bombed several military and nuclear research sites situated in the capital city of Tehran. Currently, the largest contingency of Iran’s remaining small Jewish community, estimated at 8,000, lives in Tehran.
Iranian Jewish activists in southern California said they have been in contact with Jewish friends and family members who have fled Iran altogether since the conflict broke out.
“I know of several Jews from Tehran who had the financial means and have left Iran altogether to stay in places like Dubai or some of the European countries temporarily to avoid injury or death,” said Bijan Khalili, one of the founders of the L.A.-based “No To Antisemitism” an Iranian Jewish non-profit group.
Khalili told JNS that Iranian Jews inside Iran and in America are still awaiting an official statement about the current war from Dr. Homayoun Sameyah Najafabadi, the current Chair of the Tehran Jewish Association, who is also a member of Iran’s regime-controlled parliament. He has been publicly silent since the conflict began.
However, an open letter carried by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-linked Tasnim News Agency claimed that Najafabadi wrote, “daily launches of thousands of drones and missiles would be the appropriate reply” to Israel’s operation.
Last week, Yehuda Gerami, Chief Rabbi of Iran and the Tehran Jewish Committee, which represents the Jews who remain in Iran, issued statements decrying Israel’s attacks on the regime.
Iranian American Jewish activists said Jews inside Iran are living under constant duress and must issue such statements supporting the Iranian regime or face dire consequences from the regime’s security apparatus.
“The Jews who have remained in Iran have no choice but to make public statements that will keep the regime happy because they do not want problems with the government,” Dara Abaei, who heads the L.A.-based “Jewish Unity Network”, an Iranian Jewish non-profit, told JNS.
Abaei said he has spoken to friends and family members in Tehran since the conflict began and they have told him that the Jewish community is safe, but their situation is precarious, like most other residents of the city.
“There are about 10 million people who live in Tehran and who have mostly fled the city— and the Jews are among them because it’s just a difficult situation for everyone right now,” he told JNS.
“The banks are closed, the businesses and schools are closed, there are water and electricity shortages everywhere and there are some food shortages because of the recent truck drivers’ strike that has not brought goods into the city”.
Abaei and other Iranian American Jewish activists said there is fear among some Jews who currently live in Iran that they may be targeted by radical Islamic mobs who may blame them and attack them because of Israeli military air strikes in the country.
“There is fear for sure by some Jews since there is a possibility of being targeted because of antisemitism from some angry radical groups,” Abaei told JNS. So, the Jewish community is trying to stay home and avoid getting out too much right now”.