Iranian Jews forced to march against Israel in loyalty parade

Members of Iran's Jewish community marched Thursday in the city of Isfahan in the "Jan Fada" parade—a demonstration meant to show willingness to sacrifice one's life for the Iranian homeland. The parade, held in the city's streets, included the carrying of signs with sharp political messages.

The signs carried by participants read: "We, the Jews of Iran, while sharply condemning the crimes of the Zionist regime against the oppressed and defenseless people of Palestine, express our solidarity with them and ask the international community to help them."

The parade takes place against the backdrop of ongoing tensions between Iran and Israel, and following Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities. In recent months, several incidents have been recorded in which representatives of Iran's Jewish community expressed open support for the ayatollahs' regime.

Last July, representatives of Iran's Jewish community arrived at the Iranian parliament and participated in a conference titled "Fulfilling the Promise of Revenge." Homayoun Sameyah, the Jewish community's representative in parliament, attacked the West at the time for "double standards toward the terrorism of Israel and America."

At that same conference, Dr. Hakham Hamami Lazar, one of Iran's rabbis, lashed out at Israel and called for revenge. He quoted the verse from Bamidbar: "And no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of him who shed it," and told Iranian media that "the Torah says that spilled blood is forgiven only by spilling the blood of the murderer."

Jewish representatives at "Fulfilling the Promise of Revenge" conference (Photo: Section 27a)

Iran's Jewish community, one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, today numbers several thousand souls. Over the years, Iranian Jews have lived under constant pressure from the Islamic regime and have been required to demonstrate loyalty to the regime in various ways.

Last September, Kamran Hakmati, a 71-year-old Jewish-American, was released from Evin prison after serving a two-year sentence for attending a bar mitzvah in Israel nearly a decade ago. Despite his release, he was placed under an exit ban from Iran and remains cut off from his family and from the urgent medical treatment he needs for cancer.

According to a Kan News report from July, Qatar is working behind the scenes in efforts to release detainees from Iran's Jewish community. Sources involved in the matter said at the time that the Qataris are involved in several cases, including Jews who were recently arrested. According to the report, five members of Iran's Jewish community imprisoned on various charges.