Israelis who immigrated from Iran held a solidarity protest in Jerusalem on Tuesday, near the Kosel. The Israelis were showing their solidarity with protesters who have taken to the streets recently in their former homeland. The Israelis were waving Israeli and Iranian flags with signs painted on them saying “Free Iran” and “Save Iran”.

In Iran, citizens throughout the country have taken to the streets for the past six days protesting the financial hardships faced by the general public in their country as well as the corruption in their government. In some of the protests, people have called for the death of President Hassan Rouhani. So far 21 people have been killed in the Iranian protests, and hundreds have been arrested.

In Israel, the story is different. Rani Amrani (35), a Jerusalem resident who immigrated to Israel at age 16 from Tehran was one of those protesting in solidarity with the Iranian public. “We call upon former Iranians, and all Israelis to support the freedom of the Iranian people. They say that no one can leave Iran, but in reality, we can’t get Iran out of our hearts. Whoever lived in Iran, will always feel a sense of belonging to the country.”

“Iran is a beautiful country with nice people, everything that people see in the news is really just the government. The Iranian nation doesn’t hate Israel. The Persians have always had a good relationship with the Jews throughout history. What we are seeing now (these protests) shows that the government does not represent the people. While Iran is a very wealthy nation, all of the money is going to the government and not to the people. The people are in poverty.

Amrani said that he still has family living in Iran. “I have uncles there and my wife’s family is still there. They tell us that there is chaos in the streets. I don’t want anything to happen to them so I tell them not to go outside into the streets, but the water has reached their necks so to speak.”

The previous wave of protests in Iran took place in 2009. Then the protests were focused in Tehran. The leaders of those protests were the middle class and the upper classes. This time the protests began in Mashhad, the second most populous city in the country. From there they have spread to all provinces within Iran.  There is no specific class or party that is leading these protests. While the protests have reached Tehran, the most violent protests took place in other cities.

Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Dov Kalminovitz said: “I am in close contact with the Iranian immigrant population who live in Jerusalem. It is important to show that we support the Iranian people in their struggle against their Islamist and terrorist government. We look forward to the day when the relationship between our two nations will return to what it once was.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)