The
Chairman of the IRI Expediency Council (EC):
The
officials of the IRI are absolutely against any insult to the Jewish
community
On
Sunday December 31, 2002, the Jewish representative at the Iranian
Parliament set up a meeting between a Jewish delegation headed by Rabbi
Yousef Hamedani Cohen and Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Chairman
of the IRI Expediency Council (EC) of the country.
At
this meeting, Mr. Morris Motamed, the Jewish MP at first presented a short
history of the presence and activities of the Iranian Jewish community and
then gave a run-down on the present difficulties experienced by the said
community in Iran. Mr. Motamed in particular underlined the recent
propaganda onslaught waged by the mass media and press in the country
against the sanctities of the Jewish faith.
Later,
Haroun Yashayaei, the head of the Tehran Jewish Committee cited certain
instances of such insults to the sanctities of the Jews and explained the
negative effects that these insults may have on the relations between the
Muslim and Jewish communities in Iran. He also touched on Imam
Khomeini’s (RH) views on drawing a line between Zionism and those
faithful to prophet Moses’ religion.
After
the ceremonies for the introduction of the Jewish delegation members and a
friendly chat with Rabbi Cohen, Ayatollah Rafsanjani expressed his sincere
and deep regret on the current state of affairs regarding insults made on
the sanctities of the Iranian Jewish community. He went on to add that the
officials of the IRI would under no circumstances accept contemptuous
treatments and insults afforded to other faiths including Judaism, as this
principle constitutes the bases of the IRI political system. He then said
that in the early days of the post Revolution era, when people were
brimming with emotions and in spite of many pressures, the officials of
the IRI vehemently insisted on the rights of the religious minorities in
the country and made sure to stipulate and include their rights in the
constitution of the country. Painstaking efforts, he added, have been
taken to safeguard these rights to this day.
The
Chairman of the EC also touched on the fact that it is only natural that
the Iranian Jewish community should experience certain negative side
effects in the face of current anti Zionism campaign. Mr. Rafsanjani then
stated that the IRI officials were truly sorry to see that some religious
minorities leave the country for good of they feel they are being
oppressed; however, he added, this negative aspect comes as a natural
consequence of the Revolution and we hope the day comes when circumstances
change and all Iranian nationals living abroad return to their homeland.
Hashemi Rafsanjani then focused on the stipulated rights by the Jewish MP and the head of the Tehran Jewish Committee and promised his personal assistance for following up the case for their grievances. He con expressing hope that the Palestinian question be soon settled once and for all.
