Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has donated $170,000 to the country’s only Jewish hospital, his second such gesture since taking office.
The official IRNA news agency said Thursday that Rouhani has given the same amount from government funds as he did last year to the Dr. Sapir charity hospital, established in 1942 in the capital, Tehran.
The donation is seen as part of Rouhani’s pledge to pay more attention to the country’s minorities. It’s also in contrast to Rouhani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who prompted an international outcry by denying the Holocaust took place while also calling for the destruction of Israel.
Iran’s Jews number about 25,000, making it the largest Jewish community in any country in the Middle East outside of Israel.
(AP)
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9 Responses
Iran isn’t and never was any more anti-Jewish than the United States or France is or were.
Iran still has a Jewish community unlike most other Islamic countries.
This might be a public relations trick for both domestic and international reasons. However one should remember that the Israeli government is engaged in a very serious campaign to convince hareidim in Israel that they would be better off under Islamic rule than under Zionist rule (Muslims never objected to Jews learning Torah as long as we let them run the government, and Jews were traditionally banned from bearing arms), and if this (very unwise) campaign in Israel continues, one might expect the Muslim states to go out of their way to exploit it. If a significant number of Jews in Eretz Yisrael start prefering to be an autonomous minority in a Muslim state, it would seriously undermine the continued existence of the Zionist state.
HOWEVER the Iranians (and the Muslim world in general) have a long way to go since they still have many anti-Jewish policies in place, though this could be a significant trial balloon.
Akuperma, u don’t know much about moslems
#3- America never objected to Jews learning Torah. Maybe you should start?
#5- but there is no mitsva to live in America, which is why hareidim in Israel, have always (going back to when the they started returning when the Muslims drove out the Christians 800 years ago) preferred to be poor in Eretz Yisrael rather than rich in America, and why if forced to choose between being secular non-hareidi Israelis, rich American hareidim, or poor Palestinian hareidim, most of the Bnei Torah in Eretz Yisrael will choose the latter.
Dear chachom,
Have you ever lived in Iran or do any kind of work with them.
Looking forward to hear from u
Yanky55+: akuperma is more learned in Torah that 10 of you’s.
What Iran was infer the shaw is not what it is after or before. The real problem here chachum is thT you don’t no history or real world politics Instead if shutting your mouth off listen and read