Republic of Hate

Hello and welcome to Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism, in which we explore Iran’s hatred of Israel, Jews, and the West. These are essays by Dr. Mark Silinsky, president of Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to the field of national security. And now, to podcast eight: the exciting and optimistic Pahlavi years.

 The Golden Pahlavi Years

            If there was a second golden age for Iranian Jews, it probably occurred during the father-and-son Pahlavi dynasty, 1925-1979. There were friendships, quarrels, business dealings, and a full range of social interactions. Some Jewish liberals saw the shah push forward social reforms, especially regarding women's rights. Many Jews thrived.

            According to envoys of the Alliance Israelite Universelle, Jews in Iran were living in poverty and despair in the early twentieth century. This poverty and hopelessness changed when Reza Shah took the throne in 1925. The six-foot-five-inch Persian Cossack, known as Machinegun Reza, aimed to modernize his country. Reza Shah abolished the Jizya, dress codes, housing restrictions, and other limitations that stigmatized non-Shia. For the first time, Jewish children and young adults could attend public schools and universities. Reza Shah, reducing the influence of the Shia clergy, sought support from non-Shia religious groups. He found allies among ambitious Jews, rabbis, youth, and women. When he issued the decree for the mandatory unveiling of women, some Jewish women easily removed their chadors.

            After Reza Shah established the Pahlavi Dynasty in 1925, he launched a modernization drive in which Jews participated. He was inspired by Ataturk, the president of Turkey, who abolished veils and established a non-clerical government. In this spirit, Reza Shah issued a royal decree banning women from wearing chadors and headscarves in public, which he considered outdated. For such women, veiling symbolized respect and modesty. When the Allies forced Reza Shah to abdicate in 1941, traditional and religious Muslim and Jewish women resumed veiling. According to an estimate from the early 19th century, their numbers had increased to about 50,000 by the end of the century. This modernization, continued by his son Mohammed Reza Shah through force, was swept away by the Islamic Revolution. Muhammad Reza Shah continued his father's policies of supporting religious traditions minorities.

            Life Improves for Jews in Iran

            Persia, which was called Iran in 1935, underwent a cultural and spiritual change inspired by the reforms of Kemal Ataturk of Turkey. Reza Shah weakened the power of the Shia clergy, which had for centuries hindered progress and restricted religious freedom. In Iran, Jews could aim to hold roles in society similar to those of their coreligionists in the Ottoman Empire, such as bankers, court-treasurers, and tax collectors. They could be scientists, businessmen, lawyers, and statesmen.

            Under Reza Shah, for the first time, a Jew served as a member of parliament representing the Jewish minority. He was Solomon Chayyim of Kermanshah, a champion for religious rights. He supported Zionism and published a Jewish-Persian newspaper. Zionism became widespread after 1912, with Hamadan serving as its Iranian center. The revival of Jewish life in Persia found literary expression in 1917 with the establishment of a Judeo-Persian and Hebrew printing press in Tehran. It produced Hebrew textbooks modeled after those used in Palestine.

            The Mixed Rule of Reza Shah

            Reza Shah was both authoritarian and tolerant. The shah esteemed elements of Hitler’s National Socialism and strengthened Iranian ties with Nazi Germany. In turn, Germany courted Persians, lauding them as "Persian Aryans." Germany broadcast in Persian, advocating anti-Jewish violence in retaliation for Esther's triumph during Purim millennia earlier. Germany published a magazine titled Ancient Iran, which championed Hitler as the man who broke Jewish conspiracies. The journal also claimed that the swastika was a symbol of the Iranians.

            Reza Pahlavi allowed German intelligence and security personnel to operate freely in Iran, using the country as a perch to monitor British activity across the broader Middle East.  Fritz Grobba, Berlin’s envoy to the Middle East, and often called “the German Lawrence of Arabia,” made overtures to Persia.  In Germany, authorities exempted Iranians from the restrictions of the Nuremberg Racial Laws on the grounds that they were “pure-blooded Aryans.'” President Rafsanjani underscored his friendship with a German delegation in 1996, “Both our peoples are of the Aryan race!”

            However, this racial anti-Semitic trope did not resonate in Iran. In 1941, Iran rebuffed German efforts to criminalize Jews, explaining that Iranian Jews were fully assimilated members of the Persian nation and persuaded Germans not to harm Iranian citizens in Germany.  Iran did not corral their Jewish countrymen into ghettos or concentration camps, nor were there organized killings. Further, Iranian diplomat Abdolhoseyn Sardari was called the Iranian Schindler for saving French Jews in Paris in the 1940s by issuing them fake Iranian passports.

            Iran also admitted some European Jewish refugees. On February 18, 1943, 861 Polish-Jewish refugee children, many made orphans by German killings, arrived in Mandatory Palestine after spending several months in Iran. These children became known as the “Tehran Children." Moir Ezry, an Israeli ambassador to Iran, claimed that European countries that attempted to save Jews, like Bulgaria, asked for money in return. “But the Iranian government never asked for any money."

This concludes this episode of Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism. We look forward to reading your comments. Dr. Silinsky’s latest book, Cauldron of Terror – Israel, Hamas, and the World, will be available for purchase in summer 2026. Nothing in this podcast or any of Dr. Silinsky’s other podcasts reflects the official position of the United States Department of War, the United States Intelligence Community, or any other U.S. government agency. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening, and goodbye until our next podcast.

 

Hello and welcome to Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism, in which we explore Iran’s hatred of Israel, Jews, and the West. These are essays by Dr. Mark Silinsky, president of Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to the field of national security. And now to podcast seven, which begins with the late Qajar rule and a blood libel that terrified the Jewish community.

The Late Qajar Rule

             European Jewry was flourishing in the mid to late nineteenth century. Most of the social and economic restrictions that kept Jewish life confined in Persia were lifted from European life, even if only temporarily. Wealthy and influential European Jews and the organizations they supported aimed to assist fellow Jews in the broader Middle East. The most notable organization was Alliance Israelite Universelle.

            In response to diplomatic pressure from Britain and its Jewish community, authorities took measures to protect Jews. In Isfahan province, Nasir al-Din Shah's son, Zill al-Sultan, threatened to punish any Muslim who harmed a Jew. Still, persecution and forced conversion of Jews continued. Toward the end of the 19th century, European popular presses, progressives, and statesmen condemned the edict requiring Jews to wear yellow badges and other stigmatizing clothing. These degrading restrictions, long removed from European life, were reintroduced by law in the early 1940s.

For centuries, Jews had little support outside Persia and were often powerless to improve their living conditions. However, by the mid-1800s, European Jewish leaders used their influence and wealth to support the Persian Jewish community. British Jewish leader Sir Moses Montefiore, from the London Committee of the British Jews, along with leaders from the Paris Alliance Israelite Universelle, spearheaded efforts to prevent the forced conversion and confiscation of Jewish property. While Christian minorities in Persia found allies among missionaries and Christian activists in Europe and the U.S., and Zoroastrians secured patrons in parts of India, Jews mainly stood alone until a group of British and French Jews stepped in to provide help.

           

In 1865, Nasr ad-Din Shah issued a letter expressing concern about the plight of Persian Jews, and in 1874, he declared all his subjects equal before the law. However, Nasr ad-Din and his advisors and supporters still viewed Jews with contempt. Much of this disdain was rooted in Shia anti-Semitism, which emphasized ritual uncleanliness. He held Jews collectively responsible for the crimes of individuals. The court system did not trust the oath of a Jew. In many towns, Jews were barred from keeping shops in bazaars. Besides special taxes on non-Jews, wealthy Jews paid arbitrary and sometimes immediate taxes. Persian Jews lacked the political power or legal standing to contest or refuse these taxes. Laws also offered no protection for Jewish lives. In 1898, as part of a campaign by European Jews, the first Alliance Israelite school opened in Tehran. By fifty years later, there were thirty-four Alliance schools along with thirty-eight other Jewish schools. Under the Pahlavi dynasty in the twentieth century, the political and social conditions of Jews changed significantly. Reza Shah banned mass conversions of Jews and also accused Jews of being ritually unclean.

            The Constitutional Revolution of 1906 aimed to ensure that Iranians of all religions and ethnicities had equal rights. In 1908, the constitution granted equal rights to the three recognized minority religions in Iran: Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. All three communities had the right to elect one delegate to parliament, although they could not participate in the election of other delegates. For many Jews and liberals, it seemed as though the twentieth century would bring about an irreversible change for the better. They were mistaken.

The Blood Libel that Shocked the World

            The October 30, 1910, Shiraz blood libel pogrom devastated Shiraz’s Jewish quarter. It began with false accusations that Jews had ritually murdered a Muslim girl. An angry mob, led by police, attacked the Jewish neighborhood. Throughout the day, neighbors looted Jewish homes, ransacked properties, and assaulted unprotected Jews. Most Jews managed to escape, but a dozen were killed, and over 50 were wounded with fists, knives, and bullets. The neighbors robbed the 6,000 Jews of Shiraz of all their belongings, pushing many into poverty.

           The Shiraz pogrom drew international attention, raising awareness in the West about homicidal anti-Semitism in Persia. It also prepared many liberal activists for campaigns against blood libel in Russia. A continent away from Persia, Mendel Beilis, a humble Jewish handyman, was thrust into the international spotlight when he was arrested for allegedly killing a Christian boy for ritualistic purposes in Russia. Like the Jews of Shiraz, he had lived peacefully among his neighbors, unaware of how deeply rooted hatred could suddenly flare up. Beilis was tried and acquitted in 1913, as depicted in Bernard Malamud’s historical novel, The Fixer. Governments have criminalized the charge of blood libel as anti-Semitic, baseless, and hate speech. However, the accusation remains popular in Iran today.  

       This concludes this episode of Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism. We look forward to reading your comments. Dr. Silinsky’s latest book, Cauldron of Terror – Israel, Hamas, and the World, will be available for purchase in summer 2026. Nothing in this podcast or any of Dr. Silinsky’s other podcasts reflects the official position of the United States Department of War, the United States Intelligence Community, or any other U.S. government agency. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening, and goodbye until our next podcast.

 

 

 

         Hello and welcome to Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism, in which we explore Iran’s hatred of Israel, Jews, and the West. These are essays by Dr. Mark Silinsky, president of Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to the field of national security. And now to podcast six, which moves to the 16^th century to look at Jewish-Iranian relations and the forced conversion of the Jews of Mashad in the mid-19th century.

         The plight of the Jews worsened further in 1501 with the rise of the Safavid dynasty. The new regime established the Shia sect as the dominant faith in Iran. Shia clergy declared all non-Shia, including Sunni Muslims, to be ritually unclean. The Safavid rulers imposed a broader range of humiliating and dehumanizing restrictions on Jews: they could not leave their houses on rainy days, build homes with walls taller than those of their Muslim neighbors, paint their houses white, buy property from Muslims, or sell food to them. 

            In public, to set themselves apart from Muslims, Jewish men had to wear unusually large turbans, and women were required to attach bells to their clothing along with the yellow patch. Many Jews were forced to convert to Islam. As with Spanish Jews of the late fifteenth century, many Persian Jews became nominally Islamic but secretly practiced Judaism. This continued until 1661, when they were allowed to practice Judaism openly.

       In 1588, under the Safavid Shah Abbas I, restrictive ordinances against Jews were enacted, known as the "Jam Abbasi Laws," which severely limited Jewish property rights and the professions Jews could pursue. Sometimes, restrained anti-Jewish outbursts occurred in the often-deadly Yud Bazi, or Jew Game, involving spontaneous, unprovoked attacks on Jews.

            Najes Jews; Dirty Jews - Jews as Dhimmi

        Tailors, moneylenders, glass polishers, money-changers, engravers, salt and ammoniac producers, fortune-tellers, midwives, prostitutes, and small business owners. These occupations were common among Iranian Jews in the late nineteenth century. Just like in other parts of the Islamic and European worlds, Jews earned income as peddlers, brokers, shopkeepers, and small entrepreneurs dealing in spices, drugs, antiques, jewelry, cloth, and luxury goods. They also worked as millers, tailors, weavers, and dyers. Jews held a monopoly on wine and alcohol production. Additionally, Jews served as entertainers, including dancing boys, acrobats, flutists, and singers—roles considered beneath the dignity of Muslims. Jewish minstrels were quite popular. Although most were confined to lower-status jobs, some Jews achieved prosperity. In Hamadan and Tehran, some Jews worked as physicians.

         These were jobs considered unworthy of Muslims. This image of the dishonest Jew was embedded in the dominant culture. Hafiz, Iran's greatest poet, wrote about Jews, "In the morning, I asked the old wine seller about . . . drinking of wine. He said, "It must be kept secret even though you are trustworthy. Keep your mouth shut, keep it secret, and drink." This is the image of the Jew as corruptor.

       The Qajar dynasty began in 1789. Under Nasr ad-Din Shah, a notable Qajar ruler who reigned from 1848 to 96, he occasionally voiced intentions to improve the lives of Jews and Christians. However, few of these promises were fulfilled. Sometimes, he displayed progressiveness toward European diplomatic delegations and advised provincial governors and officials to protect Jews from mob violence and extortion. Iran was weaker than the European powers expanding their empires in Asia and Africa. To boost its image in Western eyes, Iran tried to demonstrate strength. The brief Anglo-Iranian war of 1856–57 revealed the military weaknesses of the Qajars.

The Forced Conversion of the Jews of Mashad – The Allahdadi Event of 1839

“Outwardly we are all Muslims; in our hearts we’re Jews.” A Mashadi Jew

     The most infamous act of forced conversion in the nineteenth century took place in Mashad. Nadir Shah looted Iran’s jewels and established a small community of about 40 Jewish craftsmen in Mashhad to manage and expand his treasure. Believing their business skills and international ties would boost the region's economy, he allowed Jews to settle in Mashhad. In this holy Muslim city, Jews had previously been forbidden entry. Opportunity attracted both Jewish and Muslim jewelers and traders, who thrived there for roughly a hundred years.

The 1839 conversion in Mashhad changed the city forever. For years, Jewish prosperity drew envy from Muslim neighbors. Tensions erupted violently on March 27, 1839. The trigger is still debated, but most accounts tell of a Jewish woman accused of unspecified inappropriate behavior. Some say she had a dog slaughtered on a doctor's prescription for a skin ailment on a holy day for Shi'a Islam. The entire Jewish community was falsely accused of mocking Islam. A mob quickly began beating and killing Jewish neighbors. By the time the violence subsided, nearly 40 Jews had been killed, most homes looted, children abducted, and the synagogue set on fire. This was followed by forced conversions.

      This secretive practice persisted through generations. In public, Mashadis would perform midday Muslim prayers, but they prayed in Hebrew at home. They lit their Shabbos candles with windows shielded from neighbors. Rachel Betsalely remembered the secret lives of her parents and grandparents in Iran. Her family bought halal meat but fed it to pets, while they ate kosher meat smuggled into their homes by fellow Jews in disguise. This underground life fostered a unique Mashhadi identity.

        Others left Iran. Some Mashhadi families pretending to be Muslim were allowed to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. However, these families continued traveling to Jerusalem, where they revealed their Judaism and started new lives in religious freedom. Haji Adonya HaCohen built the first Mashhadi Jewish synagogue in Jerusalem, followed by Haji Yehezkel's synagogue in 1905. After another blood libel charge in 1946, the now openly Jewish families of Mashhad began a decade-long journey to Israel. Many Jewish women still wore their Mashhadi clothes, the chador, until they emigrated.

       Esther Amini, who emigrated to the United States, recalls her Mashadi childhood during the 1950s and 60s. She sensed a lasting household anxiety among Mashadi Jews that never fully left. “They are still insular and carry a sense of secrecy." They were also poor. According to her biography, Amini remembered, "Jewish women were kept illiterate and married off as prepubescent girls.”

The need for Jewish Iranians to hide their identity extends well beyond Mashad. A top Iranian chess referee fled Iran after being filmed without a hijab (when?). She requested asylum in the UK and explained, "All my life was about showing a fake image of myself to society because they wanted me to be an image of a religious Muslim woman, which I wasn't. If they knew that I had a Jewish background, I would never be general secretary of the Iranian chess federation."

       This concludes this episode of Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism. We look forward to reading your comments. Dr. Silinsky’s latest book, Cauldron of Terror – Israel, Hamas, and the World, will be available for purchase in summer 2026. Nothing in this podcast or any of Dr. Silinsky’s other podcasts reflects the official position of the United States Department of War, the United States Intelligence Community, or any other U.S. government agency. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening, and goodbye until our next podcast.

Hello and welcome to Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism, in which we explore Iran’s hatred of Israel, Jews, and the West. These are essays by Dr. Mark Silinsky, president of Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to the field of national security. And now to podcast five, which is a deeper look at early Jewish history in Iran. It also explores how the Islamic Republic erased Jews from the country’s national memory.

            ''This is my country, my Iran. 'When the mullahs made their revolution 20 years ago, I could have left, like many Jews, but I decided not to go. And why? Because my family came here 2,500 years ago.'' An Iranian Jew, 1999

“Singing the Lord’s Song in Strange Land”

            King Cyrus established the ancient Persian Empire in the sixth century. He also freed the enslaved Jewish community that had been marched into exile by the Babylonian conquerors in 587-586. Several Psalms mourn the captivity, especially Psalm 137, and describe weeping “by the rivers of Babylon” and the mocking of their captors. The tragedy of exile echoes throughout the Bible in books like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Lamentations, and Isaiah. European musical masters have set it to music, such as in Verdi’s Nabucco.

            Cyrus is the only non-Jew called the “messiah” in the Bible for having freed the Jews from their Babylonian exile: “Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped.” President Harry Truman, perhaps overstating his importance, said, “I am Cyrus,” after acknowledging Israel in 1948. Similarly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu linked President Trump to Cyrus after the U.S. moved its embassy to Jerusalem.

             Today, many young Iranians honor Cyrus's memory. In the early 2000s, Iranians established "Cyrus the Great Day" to celebrate Iranian nationalism and pre-Islamic history. Threatened by Cyrus’s legacy, the Islamic Republic bans celebrations at Cyrus’s tomb and arrests visitors. Despite this, Iranians still visit the ancient leader’s burial site and chant, “Iran is our homeland; Cyrus is our father.” 

The Cyrus Declaration permitted Jews to return to Judea, and some chose to do so. However, others remained in Persia because it had become their home. Warrior-king Cyrus was killed in battle, and his son Cambyses II cared less about the Jews' well-being. But his son Xerxes, also called Ahasuerus, was enchanted by Esther, a legendary and charming Jewish beauty. Both are central figures in the long-lasting festival of Purim. According to religious tradition, Esther and her uncle Mordechai saved the Jews from slaughter by warning Ahasuerus about Haman’s threat, a sinister advisor. Today, Haman is still hated, and Cyrus remains highly respected among Jews. Over the centuries, prosperous and patriotic Jews have named hospitals, vocational and religious schools, and civic centers after Cyrus.

             Today, there is no Xerxes to defend Jewish memory, but monuments still stand, even though they are under threat. Historically, Muslims protected the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai, which a Persian-Jewish architect restored under the shah. The structure features a Star of David, visible in aerial photos. After the revolution, this tomb became a site for anti-Israel protests. It was vandalized in 2011 and again in 2020.

After Cyrus

Overall, life was good for the Jewish community under the early Persian kings. But, like all golden ages, this period of tolerance ended.  "Jews had relatively warm relations with leaders of the Achaemenid dynasty, but Alexander the Great destroyed it, sending back the quality of Jewish life. During the Sassanid dynasty, the Jewish population of Iran grew considerably.

            When Zoroastrianism was declared the official state religion during the Sassanid Dynasty, from 224 to 651 CE, the situation for Iran's Jews worsened. The once rich religious culture of the Achaemenid period became more authoritarian. Political and religious leadership combined, giving Zoroastrian clerics more control over the government. Tolerance for non-Zoroastrians decreased. The status of Jews during the Sassanid Era declined: the Sassanids burned synagogues and outlawed celebrating the day of rest, Shabbat. One Sassanid ruler was called "Feroz the Wicked" because he had the Jews of Isfahan murdered.

Life became harder for Jews under Islamic law, especially because of the Pact of Omar, which denied non-Muslims equality and stigmatized them. Muslim clerics required Jews to wear a yellow ribbon on their arms and Christians a blue ribbon to tell them apart from Muslims. Persian literature often included negative stereotypes of Jews. Iran’s most famous poet, Hafiz, who lived in the mid to late fourteenth century, portrayed Jews as dishonest and secretive. Another well-known poet, Khaqani from the eleventh century, criticized Jews as "ignoramuses" and "always suspicious."

            The plight of the Jews worsened further in 1501 with the rise of the Safavid dynasty. The new regime established the Shia sect as the dominant faith in Iran. Shia clergy declared all non-Shia, including Sunni Muslims, to be ritually unclean. Safavid rulers imposed an even broader range of humiliating and dehumanizing restrictions on Jews: they could not leave their houses on rainy days, build homes with walls taller than those of their Muslim neighbors, paint their houses white, buy property from Muslims, or sell food to them. 

This concludes this podcast from Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism. We welcome your comments. Dr. Silinsky’s latest book – Cauldron of Terror – Israel, Hamas, and the World – will be available for purchase in summer 2026. Nothing in this or any of Dr. Silinsky’s podcasts represents the official position of the United States Department of War, the United States Intelligence Community, or any other agency of the U.S. government. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening, and goodbye until our next podcast.

            Hello and welcome to Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism, in which we explore Iran’s hatred of Israel, Jews, and the West. These are essays by Dr. Mark Silinsky, president of Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to the field of national security. And now to podcast four, which looks at the infusion of anti-Semitism into Iranian society. It also explores how the Islamic Republic erased Jews from the country’s national memory.

Contemporary Antisemitism in Iranian Culture

             Anti-Semitism remains in Iranian popular and religious culture, with some content aimed at younger audiences to ensure the hatred is passed down through generations. Similar to Nazi Germany, schools use graphic, grotesque caricatures of Jews to create derogatory images. University professors, who are often featured on Iranian television channels, distort Jewish culture and recycle Western anti-Semitic themes. The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance sponsored the film The Antisemite by French comedian M'bala M'bala, who is briefly mentioned in a future podcast.

            Although some themes are familiar, others are updated to reflect current social concerns. Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi accused Jews of distributing illegal drugs worldwide, killing Black babies, creating Soviet communism, and causing many other problems. Drawing international attention, Iran-hosted New Horizons conferences attract Holocaust deniers, far-left activists, anti-Israel, and anti-American demonstrators from around the world. Iranian leaders also reach out to international civil rights activists. Today, Jewish Iranians face accusations of disloyalty. Iranian intelligence and security personnel closely monitor Jewish religious associations. Iranian authorities have arrested Jews and some Muslims on charges that they worked for Israel.

            Millennia of Jewish scholarship, philanthropy, sacrifice, and patriotism were ignored by the new rulers of Tehran. No longer did a Muslim need to justify accusations that an Iranian Jew was unpatriotic; instead, the burden shifted to the Jews to prove their innocence. The history of Jewish love for their Iranian homeland was overlooked or met with suspicion. The contributions of proud and patriotic Jewish-Iranians faded from national memory. Mowlana Shahin of the fourteenth century shone in Persian literary arts. Dr. Rouhollah Sapir was a dedicated doctor and humanitarian committed to healing and saving Iranians from all backgrounds. Morteza-Khan Nay-Davoud celebrated Iranian culture through music, composing songs based on the poetry of both contemporary and ancient Iranian poets. Professor Samuel Rahbar, the diligent physician and researcher, discovered glycated hemoglobin.

            Solaiman Haiim was a renowned scholar. In the late 1920s, he dedicated years to creating Iran’s first modern Farsi-English and English-Farsi dictionaries. For nearly fifty years, Haiim was recognized as the primary author of these dictionaries. Iranian mullahs likely used this resource. However, Haiim’s name was removed from the manuscript following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. To this day, his name does not appear on the dictionaries published in Iran.

            The work of all these men and many other Jewish Iranians was dismissed by revolutionaries determined to eliminate Iran's cultural irrelevancies or contaminants and to rid the nascent republic of anything that did not conform to their interpretation of Islam. Some members of the remaining Jewish population have been highlighted by Islamic leaders. Homayoun Sameyah, the head of the Tehran Jewish Association and a parliamentarian, participated in the annual Al-Quds Day event that calls for destroying Israel. The festivities are the legacy of Imam Khomeini, who officially declared the last Friday of Ramadan to always be a day of solidarity with Palestinians and a symbol of homicidal hatred toward Israel. He is not the only Jew to participate in the annual event.

            Many of them are elderly, impoverished, fatalistic, nominally Jewish, and do not participate in Jewish customs or ceremonies. An escaped Iranian Jew said, “Many Iranian Jews felt as much a part of Persia as any other people. Sometimes slaves just accept their bonds.” Very few are wealthy, but their lives remain insecure. They can be extorted, imprisoned, or killed—like twenty-four-year-old Daniel Magrufta, who was dating the daughter of a Guards member. An intruder broke into his home and killed him but did not steal valuables, according to police. A member of the Jewish community claimed this, and an investigator of the crime sneered at her, “if you were involved in killing a Jew, you did a good deed.”

            Some Iranians who moved to the United States have prospered. The TV show Shahs of Sunset highlights the lives of wealthy Jews in “Tehrangeles.” In Beverly Hills, there are Farsi Shabbat dinners with Persian food. There’s no fear of Basij morality police beating Jews or harassing women for immodest dress in California. However, it’s often hard to understand the mood of the Jewish community in Iran. The few remaining synagogues are often packed on high holy days. Some members are genuinely anti-Israel and proudly Iranian, but Jews must keep bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, weddings, and funerals low-key because of the ongoing hostility from fundamentalist ayatollahs and their followers.

            A longtime observer of Iran said, “For decades, Iran’s Jews worked to clarify that there is a distinction between Jews and Zionists, and to demonstrate their loyalty first and foremost to Iran.” However, Jews faced challenges beyond accusations of being covert Zionists. It became even more difficult as Purim has been distorted to depict Jews as mass killers of Persians.

Iranian leaders wiped out 90% of Iran’s Jewish community. There were no large-scale mass killings like during the Nazi era. Instead, most were forced to escape without their belongings. Additionally, Iranian leaders started erasing the legacy of their country’s Jews, as discussed in a future podcast. The names of prominent Jewish scholars and literary figures were removed from print. The names of Jewish donors to mosques have been gradually erased. Ancient tombs, such as those of Esther and Mordechai, have been vandalized over the years. The fate of valuable Jewish artifacts remains uncertain. In 2019, three antique Torah scrolls were stolen from a synagogue in Tehran’s old Jewish district ghetto. 

            Currently, there is little reason for this author to believe that Iranian leaders will ease their hostility towards Israel or Jews. Ayatollah Khamenei condemned Muslim nations that recognize Israel. “Muslim nations will never accept the humiliation of compromising with the Zionist regime,” he tweeted in October 2020. Successive generations of Iranians are raised to despise Jews and Israel. Iranian media, mosques, and politicians express contempt, and this likely will continue.

Iranian Jews do not suffer alone. Many Greek and Syrian Christian communities have disappeared, and the Baha'i hide their faith. Free thinkers usually keep their religious skepticism to themselves. Today, Iranians quote a European whose literary works predicted the destruction of that continent’s Jewish civilization years ago. Franz Kafka wrote, “There is hope, but not for us.”

This concludes this podcast from Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism. We welcome your comments. Dr. Silinsky’s latest book – Cauldron of Terror – Israel, Hamas, and the World – will be available for purchase in summer 2026. Nothing in this or any of Dr. Silinsky’s podcasts represents the official position of the United States Department of War, the United States Intelligence Community, or any other agency of the U.S. government. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening, and goodbye until our next podcast.

            Hello and welcome to Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism, in which we explore Iran’s hatred of Israel, Jews, and the West. These are essays by Dr. Mark Silinsky, president of Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to the field of national security. Podcast three looks at an alliance between Islamists and Western left-wing elites. Hmm, very strange bedfellows, indeed. It then moves to Middle Eastern anti-Semitism.

The Green-Red Alliance and Iran

            Growing left-wing anti-Semitism spreads across Europe. It surged in autumn 2007 with the Israel-Hamas conflict. Jewish men often take off their skull caps when leaving their homes to avoid being assaulted or harassed. In France, roughly 7,000 began leaving by 2015. French Prime Minister Valls stated that “if 100,000 Jews leave, France will no longer be France. The French Republic will be judged a failure.” Some of this stems from traditional, nationalist anti-Semitism, but some is driven by a newer phenomenon of intersectionality.

There is a surprising and often confusing alliance between Iranian leaders and Western social justice advocates, which is the focus of chapter seven. Disagreements over religion, women’s rights, gay rights, dress codes, alcohol consumption, and other social issues might seem to prevent effective political cooperation. Yet, they find common ground in anti-Americanism, anti-Zionism, a broad hostility toward Western norms and values, and a resurgence of European nationalism anti-Semitism.

            Left-leaning Western intellectuals view traditional anti-Semitism as crude and outdated but are intensely anti-Israel, holding the country to unique political, social, and military standards. Many Western leftists and Islamists frequently use the term "social justice" in their speeches and writings. Iranian media outlets have adopted the language of social justice to promote their political goals. For example, an Iranian media producer claimed that American authorities incited violence against protesters of George Floyd's killing in a manner similar to how Israelis harm Palestinians.

            The prospect of revolutionary change and the overthrow of the pro-American Shah excited many men and women on the European and American left. Several well-known professors, such as Richard Falk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, recalled, “I became rather uncomfortable after the first hour or so. I was very impressed by Ayatollah Khomeini’s demeanor, his dark, bright eyes, his softly spoken, confident words.”

            Middle East Anti-Semitism

Over the centuries, the fortunes of Middle Eastern Jews have changed. Many Muslim tribal and national leaders accepted Jews as long as they accepted their second-class, or dhimmi, status. However, widespread anger sometimes led to coordinated attacks on Jewish communities. Jews arrived in Palestine in large numbers as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart. Arabs and Iranians grew increasingly uneasy with the shifting demographics. Muslim power declined to its lowest point in political, technological, military, and scientific strength compared to the West. This caused a revival of Islam and resentment toward the heavy Western influence in the Middle East. Some Sunni and Shia leaders found common ground in anti-imperialism and anti-Semitism, which is discussed in chapter eight. Today, Iran, although estranged from many Sunni Middle Eastern governments, uses the Palestinian cause to rally global and domestic support. Many Sunni and Shia share a hatred of Israel, which will be the focus of future podcasts.

            Projecting Anti-Semitism Abroad

            Along with spreading hateful rhetoric, Iranian intelligence and security services plan and support terror operations targeting Jews worldwide, from Israel to Argentina. The Iranian regime has formed a coalition of militia leaders across the Middle East to help achieve its ideological and strategic goals. Parts of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or Guards, spread antisemitism internationally. The Guards have established a “Shia Crescent” stretching from Iran through parts of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. Globally, Iran utilizes cultural centers to promote its agenda and ideology, including anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism. In one of the most devastating mass-murder attacks since Europeans were occupied, Iranian operatives have killed Jews unrelated to Israel.

            Since the establishment of the Ayatollah’s regime, Iran has promoted the principles of the revolution worldwide. In Europe, Shia leaders praise the virtues of the Islamic Republic. Iran supports proxies with financial, political, propaganda, and organizational aid in the form of armed militias, which gradually infiltrate local politics, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the Shia militias in Iraq, and the Shia clerics in Nigeria. Iran’s Guards likely bombed the Argentine Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, killing 85 and injuring 300. Argentina hosts the largest Jewish community in Latin America.

According to German intelligence, Iran is spying on Israeli and pro-Israeli institutions, as well as Israeli citizens living there and individuals of the Jewish faith. The constitutional protection agency found that the Quds Force of the Guards paid a Pakistani man to identify Israeli and Jewish institutions and Israel supporters in Germany, France, and other unspecified Western European countries for potential attacks. This concludes this podcast from Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism. We would love to read your comments. Dr. Silinsky’s latest book – Cauldron of Terror – Israel, Hamas, and the World – will be available for purchase in summer 2026. Nothing in this or any of Dr. Silinsky’s podcasts represents the official position of the United States Department of War, the United States Intelligence Community, or any other agency of the United States government. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening, and goodbye until our next podcast.

         Hello and welcome to Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism, in which we explore Iran’s hatred of Israel, Jews, and the West. These are essays by Dr. Mark Silinsky, president of Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to the field of national security. And now to podcast two, which continues with an overview of Iranian anti-Semitism.

Koranic and European Anti-Semitic Themes in Iranian Culture

         Some Iranian anti-Semitic themes are based on Koranic passages, while others stem from native Persian/Iranian culture. Koranic anti-Semitic themes, discussed in chapter three, reemerged with the revolution. Mullahs revisited motifs that involved Mohammad’s accusations against Jews in Medina and Mecca. Mohammad described Jews as deceitful and treacherous, scheming with enemies of Islam and attempting to kill Muslims. Khomeini stated, “They are a nation of traitors and liars, contrivers of plots, a people born for deeds of treachery.” Regime officials criticize Jews as a nationality and cite the Koran to support their claims. They accuse Jews of tampering with sacred texts, rejecting Allah’s divine message, and persecuting both Jesus and Mohammad.

Early Muslim anti-Semitism differed from European anti-Semitism. It did not accuse Jews of widespread conspiracies or ritual murders. The Muslim world, including Iran, did not make claims of Jewish conspiracy and control until the 20th century. Historically, Mohammed expelled, enslaved, or killed Jewish tribes in Arabia. While Muslims viewed Jews as treacherous, dirty, and dishonest, they did not see them as particularly threatening.

            There are also European and Christian tropes, discussed in chapter five, that still persist in Iran today. Iranian leaders portray Jews as swindlers, rapists, thieves, charlatans, and parasites, similar to how Europeans once did until the defeat of National Socialism. With the echo of traditional European anti-Semitism, Iranian government-controlled television depicts Jews as villains. Much like medieval and 20th-century European imagery, Jews are dehumanized and portrayed as pigs and apes. Iranian intellectuals blame Jews for impoverishing the developing world and hoarding the globe’s wealth.

         Anti-Semitic stereotypes often include accusations of murdering non-Jews for blood and body parts. After the Islamic Revolution, Iranian leaders distorted this theme to blame Israelis for killing Palestinian children for profit and ritual. Blood libel remains a common belief even among scholars and intellectuals. Another ongoing trope is the idea of a Jewish global conspiracy, such as that presented in the Russian fabrication The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Protocols became essential reading in certain European, Middle Eastern, and American circles. Its first publication in Iran was in 1978, after the revolution. Another widespread claim is that Jewish control Wall Street and major parts of Western economies. This claim relies on traditional European anti-Semitic stories of Jewish control over the world’s wealth.

            Holocaust denial is common and outspoken in Iran. It seeks to remove Jews' victim status and weaken Israel's legitimacy. Holocaust denial distorts history by depicting Jews as oppressors. An example is a daily newspaper editor’s claim that the real Holocaust was the Jewish massacre of Christians. According to this claim, the Jewish king of Yemen allied with rabbis and ordered that Christians be thrown into a deep, fiery pit.

            Some Americans join in this chorus of conspiracy accusations. A regular commentator on Iranian media, Dr. Kevin Barrett, accused British banker Jacob Rothschild of complicity in the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines flight that vanished forever in mystery. He also speculated that the coronavirus was unleashed by the United States as an act of biological warfare against China and Iran. This convert to Islam accused Henry Kissinger of stating, 'We will control governments by means of oil, and we will control nations by means of food.' What this resulted in is a project called “depopulation.”

            Iranian key decision makers are regularly fed anti-Semitic propaganda. Mahdi Tayeb, head of the Iranian Ammar think tank advising Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, insisted, “If you pay attention to the Star of David on the Israeli flag, you may understand what the Jews want . . . The one thing that the Jews want is to take over the entire world, but they have to do it in three stages. The first stage is Jerusalem... The second stage is the liberation of the land from the Nile to the Euphrates. The third stage of their operation is to take over the entire world.”

             A New Satan – Israel

            For the Iranian dictatorship, the Middle Eastern conflict isn't about improving the situation for Palestinians, achieving a two-state solution, or any kind of agreement or compromise; it's explicitly about destroying Israel. In 1997, Ali Khamenei declared in an address to the Revolutionary Guards that Israel would be expunged from history. During a meeting with Sheikh Yassin, he assured the then-leader of Hamas that Iran would "not recognize this cancerous ulcer for a single hour."

            Iranian leaders vow to eliminate the world’s only Jewish state. The goal of destroying Israel has been official policy of the Islamic Republic since 1979,Iran’s opposition to the Jews does not imply that criticizing Israeli politics, leaders, policies, or culture is necessarily anti-Semitic. However, Iranian officials assert that Israel is a racist project and compare Israelis to Nazis. Iran applies double standards when judging Israeli actions and blames Jews for Israeli activities.

            Khamenei stated that Israel is "a country with no origin or provenance - a fake country, a false nation. Evil men from all corners of the world were gathered together to establish an amalgam called Israel.” Iranian leaders and propagandists argue that Israel and the United States are so closely linked that it is impossible to tell them apart. There are heated debates in Iranian seminaries and on public television about whether Israel controls America or vice versa.

            Iran hosts international conferences aimed at delegitimizing Israel and tarnishing the reputation of the world’s Jews, which will be discussed in future podcasts. The Islamic Republic does more than just talk; it supplies weapons, funding, training, and guidance to terrorist groups, most notably its creation—Hezbollah. Schools spread hatred. Iranian teenagers play video games where nuclear weapons destroy Israeli cities. Primary school children chant 'death to Israel' and are led by teachers to walk on flags bearing a Star of David. The website Rasa News, linked to religious seminaries in Qom, promoted Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's 'How to Eliminate Israel,' which outlined various methods for destroying Israel. For the Iranian regime, only the elimination of Israel and its re-establishment as a Palestinian state will do. In 2015, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that in twenty-five years, Israel would no longer exist. "You will not live to see another 25 years," he declared. The crowds responded with shouts of "Death to America! Death to England! Death to Israel!" The speech was broadcast on Iran's Channel 1 and shared online.

            Motifs of Israel's destruction, tied to anti-Semitism, often appeared in Khamenei's statements. Iran is a major supporter of Hamas and Hizballah, two militant groups that openly promise to erase Israel from the map. If Iran intends to destroy Israel, it is quickly gaining the capability through nuclear development. Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, a member of Iran's Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution, stated on Iranian TV that Iran will destroy Israel and liberate Palestine within twenty-five years.

Israelis are very aware of this hatred, and it also appears in their popular culture. A new Israeli espionage TV series examines the covert conflict with Iran. In "Tehran," young Mossad agents disable an Iranian nuclear reactor to facilitate an Israeli airstrike. An Israeli think tank translated a best-selling non-fiction history and commentary on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, aiming to educate Iranians about the Jewish people and Israel.

       This concludes this episode of Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism. We look forward to reading your comments. Dr. Silinsky’s latest book, Cauldron of Terror – Israel, Hamas, and the World, will be available for purchase in summer 2026. Nothing in this podcast or any of Dr. Silinsky’s other podcasts reflects the official position of the United States Department of War, the United States Intelligence Community, or any other U.S. government agency. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening, and goodbye until our next podcast.

Hello and welcome to Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism, in which we explore Iran’s hatred of Israel, Jews, and the West. These are essays by Dr. Mark Silinsky, president of Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to the field of national security. And now to podcast one – An Overview of Hate

"So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian." Christian Bible, King James Version, 6, 28.

                In 2020, world leaders gathered at Israel’s national Holocaust Memorial to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Soviet liberation of Auschwitz, one of history’s most deadly death camps. During the event, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence highlighted Iran’s goal to destroy Israel. Both leaders criticized what they saw as the weak international efforts to curb Iran's power and global influence. Referring to the Islamic Republic, Netanyahu said, "We have yet to see a unified and resolute stance against the most anti-Semitic regime on the planet.” Six years later, Israel and America united to confront that threat. But why? What are the roots of this anger and hatred? Why did both states, particularly Israel, see Iran as an existential threat?  Let’s explore the background with an eye to Iran’s leadership's hatred of Jews. We will begin this series of podcasts with a broad overview. 

Iran’s deep-seated anti-Semitism has persisted for over four decades. With the rise of the Islamic revolution, hidden anti-Semitic sentiments surged to levels unseen in generations. A long-dormant hatred of Jews resurfaced. After seizing power in 1979, Iran’s new leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, reversed the Shah’s pro-Western policies. The once-prominent museum exhibitions and art-house cinema in Tehran disappeared. Non-Muslim Iranians became suspects in the eyes of the newly formed Iranian intelligence and security services.

 

In many ways, Iran's Islamic revolution was a upheaval as globally significant as the French, Russian, and Chinese revolutions. All three were highly authoritarian, intolerant of dissent, and determined to dismantle all remnants of existing governments. The ruling elites created by the revolutionaries held power completely. The new government developed security and intelligence agencies to uncover and eliminate enemies. In Iran’s new demonology, Zionists and Jews held a prominent position.

            In the mid-1980s, Iranian state-controlled media outlets began vilifying Jews. Illustrators of children’s cartoons depicted Jews as pigs and apes. Themes in television talk shows and literary coffee klatches include Jewish vampirism and old blood libels. Clergy recycled ancient accusations of Jews persecuting Muhammad. Among politicians and public intellectuals, the word "Jew" is used as a slur in Iranian political discourse. The words "Jew" and "Zionist" are often used interchangeably and generally with disdain. Christians are somewhat better off than Jews, but they often pray quietly, sometimes secretly, and frequently out of fear. Like Jews and practicing Christians, Baha’i await a late-night knock on the door, followed by arrest and imprisonment on charges ranging from insulting Islam to espionage, both of which can be capital crimes.

            Ancient History and Modern Times – The Past is a Foreign Country

            Iran was not always a place of Jew-hatred. Jews have lived in Persia/Iran for 2,700 years, arriving more than a thousand years before Muslims. The Jewish holiday of Purim is filled with Persian heroes and villains. Jews considered Persian King Cyrus the world’s first Zionist because he allowed them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. When given the chance, many Jews returned to Israel, but many also stayed in Persia. There were friendships, conflicts, and a wide range of social interactions. Court Jews and prominent artists mingled with the Persian elite, and the Jewish poor struggled in poverty alongside other impoverished Persians. Jews were fellow countrymen.

            For centuries, Iranian leaders provided Jews with basic protections mandated by Islamic law, or Sharia. Jews were able to practice their faith quietly as long as they paid a special poll tax, followed various restrictions—including bans on bearing arms and riding horses—and accepted a lower social status. Until the eighteenth century, Jews generally fared better in the Muslim world, including Iran, than in Christian Europe. Bernard Lewis noted that "Jews were never free of discrimination but only rarely subject to persecution.”

            Islam introduced new challenges for Persian Jews. In the sixteenth century, the Safavid dynasty imposed restrictions on all minorities, including Jews, which limited economic opportunities and social interaction. When Tehran became the capital of the country in the eighteenth century, leaders confined Jews to a ghetto. Jews endured harsh living conditions and had a degraded social status. The most difficult aspect for many Jews was forced conversions to Islam. Jewish life improved as international pressure on key Persian leaders led to social and political reforms in the 1850s. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Shia clergy tried to resist the unstoppable forces of modernization and secularization.

            In the early twentieth century, life improved, and by the 1930s, Jews could leave ghettos and live in integrated neighborhoods. Jews in the Ottoman Empire experienced better conditions and enjoyed privileges denied to Persian Jews. Many Jews began to prosper in Iran after World War II. The Shah looked to Western models of free enterprise to develop the country and saw Jews as agents of progress. At the same time, murmurs of Islamic revivalism started to grow in Iran and across the greater Middle East.

                If there was a golden age for Iranian Jewry, it was probably during the two-generation Pahlavi era before the Islamic Revolution. Jews generally lived as equals to their countrymen, and the sudden rise of violent antisemitism in Iran in the late 20th century surprised many Jewish residents. Some Jews had names of famous figures from Koranic literature, such as Habib, Abdullah, and Ruhollah. The mostly harmonious Jewish-non-Jewish relations were disrupted by the 1979 revolution. Khomeini was not only hostile toward the Jewish state but also openly expressed his hostility toward Jews. He claimed that Islam had been at war with Jews since the time of Muhammad.

            Khomeini’s closest allies, isolated for years in Qom, now held power in Tehran, and they targeted opponents of the revolution. The ayatollah’s men rounded up the Shah’s supporters and sent them to prisons where they were imprisoned, often tortured, and sometimes killed. Among the victims were Jews, some of whom had supported both Jewish and Muslim community centers during the Pahlavi era. The first highly publicized execution shocked what remained of Iran’s old Jewish community. Rumors spread that women were also killed, and that a young woman, eight months pregnant, was hanged. Some were determined to leave Iran at any cost, many without possessions and with the knowledge that they would never recover their confiscated property.

            Jews who left Iran during revolutionary times recall mixed memories of their childhoods and early adulthood. Some stay warmly nostalgic, remembering the joy of friendship they experienced in Iran’s small Jewish communities. In better times, they forged friendships with non-Muslim neighbors and business contacts, some of whom protected them from intelligence and security officials.

However, they could not escape the constant fear of being arrested on false espionage charges or being arbitrarily beaten or robbed. One Jew, who later became Iran’s only parliamentarian, explained that he never considered leaving Iran. "I am Iranian - I pray in Hebrew, and I can speak English, but I can only think in Persian.”

This concludes this podcast from Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism. We would love to read your comments. Dr. Silinsky’s latest book – Cauldron of Terror – Israel, Hamas, and the World – will be available for purchase in summer 2026. Nothing in this or any of Dr. Silinsky’s podcasts represents the official position of the United States Department of War or any other agency of the United States government. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening, and goodbye until our next podcast.