Iran’s chief rabbi: Jews are ‘integral part of great Iranian nation’
Rabbi Younes Hamami Lalehzar, the leader of the Iranian Jewish community, emphasized on Monday that Iranian Jews consider themselves as an "integral part of the great Iranian nation."
The leader of the Iranian Jewish community made the remarks in an interview with ISNA in reference to the historical companionship of the community with the Iranian nation in various periods, including in the 1979 Revolution, the Sacred Defense era in the 1980s, and the latest acts of aggression by the US and Israeli regimes over the past year.
Pointing to the presence of the Jewish community in defending the country during the Ramadan War, Hamami Lalehzar stated that, “Iranian Jews consider themselves as an integral part of the great Iranian nation and have been alongside the majority of society in all fields.”
The leader of the Iranian Jewish community, referring to the statements condemning the recent attacks, said, “During these days, various statements have been issued by myself, the representative of the Jews in the Iranian Parliament, and Jewish associations in different cities such as Shiraz and Isfahan, condemning the enemy's attacks; attacks that led to the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and innocent children in Minab school, or attacked a synagogue in a dead-end alley in a residential area where there was no military zone around it, and martyred its members and individuals, showing that their enmity is with the Iranian nation.”
Hamami Lalehzar underlined that the Zionist regime introduces itself as the defender of the world's Jews, but it has shown that it has no respect even for Jewish holy sites.
“Any place of worship for the one God has sanctity. They attacked synagogues and Jewish religious festivals like the "Passover" festival (the festival of freedom and exodus from Egypt following the uprising of Prophet Moses and the defeat of Pharaoh). This shows that they are pursuing their own interests and are misusing the name of Judaism,” he said.
“We do not accept Zionists as representatives of Judaism, especially in this period with [Benjamin] Netanyahu, who has tried to cling to certain verses of the Torah. Their behavior is contrary to the Torah and the commandments of God. The main slogan of the Torah is "Love your fellow man," and these behaviors cannot be justified at all.”