Rav Yehudah Grami, the Chief Rabbi of Teheran, attacked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and “the Zionists” on state television in Hebrew to millions of Iranians on Friday.
The speech was delivered for the anti-Israel Quds (Jerusalem) Day, marked every year on the last Friday of Ramadan.
“We, the Jews of Iran, want to send this message to Zionists, first and foremost to Netanyahu,” Rav Garmi began his speech in Hebrew on Channel 3, Iran’s state TV channel.
“Know that you don’t represent the Jewish people. You represent only the idea of a political movement whose ideas and values are opposed to the ideas and values of our Torah ha’Kedosha and the Jewish religion.”
“We strongly condemn your aggression and emphasize in front of the whole world – there’s a big difference between Yahadus and Zionism.”
Rav Grami then repeated his words in Farsi.
Rav Grami was interviewed together with Iran’s only Jewish member of Parliament, Siamak Moreh Sedgh, who also attacked Zionism and its leaders and even called on Jews worldwide to rise up against Israel, according to a report on Friday on the Iran Front Page news website, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Sedgh said that opposing Israel is a humanitarian and religious obligation and that Israel is “the catastrophe of Zionism.”
This is not the first time that Rav Grami has caught the attention of Israeli media. Following the assassination of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani by US forces in Iran, Rav Grami and a delegation of Jews visited the Soleimani family to offer his condolences for the death of the “the martyr.” The video of the encounter was widely spread on Israeli media.
“It’s very important for minorities, especially Jews [to comfort Soleimani’s family],” Rani Amrani of “Radio Ran” a Farsi-speaking Israeli radio station, said at the time. “They are afraid of anti-Semitism and they don’t want to be harassed. During the protests on Quds Day, the Jews often go out and protest as well because they don’t want to be harassed.”
“In their hearts, they love Israel. They’re in a situation in which they’re obligated to prove that they have no connection to Zionism. If they don’t do this, their blood will be on their heads.”
There are about 8,000 Jews living in Iran, under the constant tension of balancing their loyalty to their religion and the Islamic Republic’s dire hatred of their national homeland.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel a “cancerous tumor” that “will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed” in his annual speech in support of the Palestinians on Quds Day on Friday, adding that the Jewish state is the creation of “Westerners and Jewish corporation owners.”
Khomeini also called Zionism “a virus” that “must be eliminated as soon as possible.”
Israel sent a request to Twitter on Monday to suspend Khamenei’s account for “anti-Semitic and genocidal messages.”
Twitter has not yet responded to the request.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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26 Responses
Is he wrong? All Netanyahu does is support annual Toeiva marches in Yerushalayim every year. Is that what the Jewish nation is about? Zionism does not represent us
Kudos to Rav Grami
A kidush hashem….
And as the camera turned off he said “can you please stop pointing the gun at my head”
This should not be publicized. Speak to any Iranian Jew who has escaped from that country. Hamevin yovin.
Really that’s all Netanyahu does? Netanyhu’s governments have given more money to Mosdos, Yeshivos, and people sitting and learning than any other government under any other Prime Minister – possibly in the history of the world. He’s not “obligated to do so”.
The German Jewish community leaders in the 1930s also went on state radio to condemn the worldwide Jewish boycott of Germany and to say how wonderful it was for the Jews in Germany. And I personally remember Rav Moshe Rosen a”h lecturing on how wonderful Ceasescu was to the Jews. Of course in both cases nobody took them seriously. Everyone understood that they were speaking under duress and didn’t mean a word they were saying. The German Jews had a literal gun to their heads, and Rav Rosen was allowed to save yiddishkeit in Romania in return for the propaganda he did.
Israel is the leading financial supporter of Torah in the world.
What makes him different than Satmar?
What one doesn’t do to survive! Nebech!
He has to say these things for the safety of the jews who currently live in iran.
How can anyone praise this rabbi for basically justifying destruction of Israel and all its Jews? He should be placed in cherim.
Chief Rabbi Of Iran Attacks Netanyahu Is this the education you received when you studies @Ner Yisroel? We love Netanyahu, and are so glad he is again serving as our venerated Prime-Minister. May he merit אריכות-ימים and good health. It no-doubt is [people like] you Grami, who are behind these nebulous charges against Netanyahu.
its unbelievable to see that everyone just writes that He said it because He had to under the conditions. Whether that is true or not is questionable. But one point is clear. The message that he conveyed was 100% true. Do any of you Torah Jews believe any different?
“Know that you don’t represent the Jewish people. You represent only the idea of a political movement whose ideas and values are opposed to the ideas and values of our Torah ha’Kedosha and the Jewish religion.”
This is soo true.
I’m saying, I’m not satmar or anything like that. But we all know that the state of israel doesn’t in any way represent true Jewish values. It represents a culture that wants very much to be a country like the rest of the world. Technologically advanced. Strong army.
Even if they give money for Torah, doesn’t mean that they value it in any way. They would rather the whole country be secular and be in the workforce.
How could any Torah Jew believe otherwise. It’s sad to see the comments here.
What’s the big deal? Many Yidden all over the world, including in Eretz Yisroel itself as well as in the United States and Europe say exactly the same thing the Rov in Iran said. It is said by rabbonim from Brisk, Toldos Aharon and many other divergent kehilos across the spectrum of Torah Yiddishkeit.
ONES RACHAMONA PATREI – HE HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO SAY WHAT THE REGIME WANTS. THE JEWS IN IRAN ARE PRISONERS.
@vestin-I see you don’t know much about Israeli politics.
@HIE- Very nicely written
@147-When Netanyahu decides to dine in a treif restaurant in Manhattan on an official visit with all the reporters around him is he representing your jewish nation? or maybe when he is mechalel Shabbos Befarhesya he is representing your yidishkeit??
Rav Grami was a chosheve yungerman learning in America, he choose to jeopardize himself and his family and move to Iran to be mechazek the Yidden there. Anyone here offering to take his job? Before judging him, maybe understand the position he is in and what he needs to do to continue his kiruv work in that country. May the Eibeshter give him Koach to keep up the amazing work he is doing for the yidden there.
HIE: Regardless of Zionism, as long as large population of Jews live there, such comments pose a danger and lend support to those who want to annihilate it. So, please, don’t be so self righteous when it comes to lives of other Jews. What is truly sad is that you don’t seem to realize how dangerous comments from a rabbi can be. Regardless of the political issue, it is still eretz Yisroel.
HIE, I agree with every word of yours!!!
The whole olam hatorah and anyone dedicated to Hashem hatov hates evil. Zionism is anti Hashem and anti Torah. Fact!
When Hagoan Harav Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld Zt”l, who was staunchly anti- Zionist, was asked why he doesn’t join with the Mufti ymch”sh to fight the Zionists, he answered that we have no common ground, as Torah Jews have an issue with the “goyishkiet” of the Zionists while the Mufti has a problem with their “Yiddishkiet”.
We may have very serious issues with Netanyahu and the Zionist movement but it stems from our love of Klal Yisroel and preservation of Torah life, while the Iranians want to kill every Yid who are infidels in their eyes and we have no truck with them at all. The poor rabbi is only trying to save his flock from the surrounding wolves.
I’m sure Netanyahu cares very much for Am Yisrael, I mean look at how he wanted to microchip the children to make sure they wouldn’t get too close to each other! Also, Chazal says that we must judge every action of a rasha, even a good action of theirs, in a bad way because they only do mitzvot to benefit themselves, or in this case, to win over the Religious people to liking them.
We love Netanyahu????
How can a Torah observant Jew say that? It’s against the rules of Torah. It’s an obligation to “hate” a jew who does not believe in the 13 Ani Mamin’s.
This rabbi we all realize nebech had no choice but to say what he said because he and the rest of the Jews live in a murderous islamic dictatorship,but what it the excuse of these so called Rebbes in Williamsburg and Monroe spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in vile disgusting anti-Israel propaganda (via their org. called “Netruna”) telling the whole world that Jews have no right to our one and only holy land and it belongs to the Palestinians ,and telling their brainwashed chasidim,that it is imperative for every jew to pray three times a day for the elimination of the state of Israel.
what is their excuse ?
Pupa 13:
Manhig, yichud, guf, rishon, teffilloh, novi, Moshe(av nevi’im), Moshe (kibel Torah), Torah (min Shomayim), Yodeah (maaseh odom), sechar, moshiach, mesim.
Which of the above 13 Ani maamin’s does Bibi not believe in????
Finally a chief rabbi who is according to the Torah and
speaks truth and who is not wicked like mirvis of England or conservative chief “rabbi” of Poland. Open orthodox chief “rabbi” of Finland
This is Iranian propoganda. It’s no different than when ISIS posts videos of hostages. Tyw should not disseminate Iranian propoganda.