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NEWS
Iranian Jewish Community Rejects Aliyah Incentive
by Yated Ne'eman Staff
The Society of Iranian Jews and community leaders irately
rejected an offer by the Jewish Agency and wealthy Iranian ex-
patriots to make aliyah in exchange for tens of thousands of
dollars per family, in addition to regular immigrant
benefits. The Iranian media published remarks by Jewish
parliamentarian Morris Motamed and Siamak Sedek, chairman of
the Teheran Jewish Association, saying, "Iranian Jews are
among the most ancient Iranians and their identity is not a
commodity. We love the Iranian culture and immature
enticements cannot undermine this. We won't trade our
citizenship for any amount of money."
Iranian Jews have always been permitted to emigrate, but 70
percent of all emigrants over the years preferred the US to
Israel. Even the Jews who do decide to move to Israel are few
in number and now they will be subject to unnecessary
pressure to prove their loyalty.
Recently efforts have been stepped up to encourage Iranian
Jews, who live under a fundamentalist regime, to make aliyah.
The unique offer was conveyed through special broadcasts in
Persian and through various organizations and relatives of
Iranian Jews.
Dr. Solly Shahuar of the Ezri Center for Iran and Persian
Gulf Studies at Haifa University, says there are 20,000-
25,000 Jews still living in Iran, which has the largest
Jewish community of any Arab state. Most live in Teheran, but
there is also a sizable community in Shiraz and other cities
such as Esfahan and Madan. According to reports many Jews are
economically established and free to keep mitzvas and provide
their children a Jewish education. They have token
representation in the Iranian parliament (the Majlas).
Sometimes Iranian Jews even visit relatives in Israel and
Israelis and Americans from Iran go back to Iran to visit and
on business.
According to Dr. Shahuar, one of the main reasons for the
decrease in immigration from Iran is financial uncertainty.
Despite the anti-Israeli declarations issued on a regular
basis by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian
government's official stance is not anti-Jewish. Still,
Iranian Jews are aware they are second-class citizens like
other minorities and are even persecuted by defense
organizations, which view them as a potential threat.
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