Iranian Jews come to Israel: the return of "Cruel Zionism"?

'Cruel Zionism' was a term that Israeli Prime Minister BenGurion used to describe ruthless acts, including terrorist bombings, that were employed by Israeli forces against fellow Jews living in other countries, in order to convince them to move to Israel. Is there going to be more "Cruel Zionism" deployed in Iran against the Iranian jewish community?

So after the exposure of NeoCon lies about how Iranian Jews were supposedly forced to wear yellow badges, lately we're witnessing a propaganda operation about how 40 Iranian Jews have arrived in Israel. Most of the papers are picking up an AP report on the topic. Though the body of the article from the AP (and other news stories and organizations.) make it clear that Iranian Jews are protected by the constitution and are free to practice their religion openly in Iran, naturally some of the editors at various news organizations have decided to get more dramatic with the story and portray it as "Jews Escape to Freedom" etc. - basically a re-telling of the old "Exodus" myth which portrays Jews as constantly oppressed and Israel as their only possible refuge (one of the "Founding Myths" of Israel.)

What the reports leave out, of course, is that this isn't exactly the first time that some Iranian Jews have gone to Israel...

Some 200 Iranian Jews have immigrated to Israel in 2007, up from just 65 in 2006. But this is the first time that their arrival has been such a public occasion.

Can you guess why this particular even has been so publicized? Anyway, compared to this 40, thousands of Iranians Jews have left and now live in . . . Los Angeles. In fact, most Iranian Jews - like the rest of the Iranian immigrants - prefer to go to Los Angeles rather than Israel. Iranian Jews have a very rich culture of their own, and this has caused some conflict and resentment among American jews who are mostly of different sects (ironically, Iranian jews living in the US also get hassled for being Iranian!)

And the Iranian Jews who are in Israel seem to prefer to return to Iran rather than stay in Israel. Indeed, Jewish immigration to Israel as a whole is reportedly at a 20-year low.

Also, what's not being reported is WHY the Evangelical Christians are involved. Right-wing Christian evangelicals have funded their trip from Iran to Israel. They fund this sort of thing not because they care about freedom or the repression of Jews, but because they believe that once the Jews return to Israel then the Apocalypse will happen - and then all the Evangelical Christians will go to heaven (and not the Jews or the Muslims or other Christians.) Kooky stuff - Reverend Hagee would approve (he's probably involved.)

And, what they don't report is that despite the breathlessly-hyped report about "Jews escaping Iran" the Israelis and Evangelicals have actually had a hard time in convincing Iranian Jews to leave, as the Iranian Jews have mostly refused to move to Israel and have even turned down large bribes intended to convince them to move out of Iran.

However one thing concerns me: I think that intentionally putting the Iranian Jews in Iran in danger suits Israel. Back in the 1940's when the Zionist state of Israel was trying to convince more Jews to "flee" to Israel (thus creating population pressures to oust Palestinians from their lands) the Zionists resorted to bombing Jewish communities. They called this "Cruel Zionism"- the use of violent means to dislodge Jews from Exile and force them to come to Israel. Ben-Gurion's Scandals: How the Haganah and the Mossad Eliminated Jews, written by Naeim Giladi, is a first-hand witness to the Zionist abuse of Jews in Iraq.

I don't put it past them to do this again - so I predict that after all the hype about this group of 40 is over, we'll hear more dramatic stories about "Iranian Jews Flee to Freedom" and there may be some stories coming out soon about bombings or other incidents against Jews in Iran too.

Such a shame. The Iranian Jewish community is ancient and very much Iranian. Iranian culture and religion has greatly shaped Judaism, and through it, Christianity. This sort of thing may end up destroying the 2,700-year old Iranian Jewish community - and for what? To suit Israeli-Evangelical propaganda purposes.

UPDATE:

"According to this source, the decision [to publicize the arrival of Iranian jews to Israel] had less to do with sending a message to Iran's Jews, and more to do with gaining positive publicity for the Jewish Agency and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews..."

No kidding! LOL!

UPDATE II:

Several families waiting in the arrival hall of the airport for the immigrants hotly contested [ Yossi Shraga, director of Middle East immigration at the Jewish Agency] statement. They claimed there was no ban on studying Hebrew in Iran, and that Jewish schools have not been forced to shut down.

Oops! Keep to the script!

Comments

[Cyrus]

Ahmadinejad never said anything about "wiping Israel off the earth" and a true Christian would not repeat a lie.

And "Jack Spader" you claim that if Iran does threaten Jews, its because they're "anti-semitic" and if Iran doesn't threaten Jews its because of "PR purposes" - so in short you've already made up your mind and I am sure you've never actually set foot in Iran yourself

[Desmond Sharpe]

I think you are a bit hard on the evangelical Christians who want to fund Jewish migration to Isreal Its not that they believe that Yeshua/Issa will return when all the jews are there. It is much more simply that they believe that those who bless the Jews are blessed by the one true God. It is true that the migrants get a subsidy when they arrive in Isreal which will be tempting to some. (not tempting enough since there are about 40,000 Iranian Jews who chose to remain) The perception of a lack of religious freedom in Iran or any other nation that has a State religion is complex consider Isreal's proposal to surpress evangelical TV on Cable Tv in Isreal or the supression of non-Islamic faith in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For Americans who live in a free nation were religion or lack thereof is a private matter it is hard to see any freedom when any government has department of religious affairs which appears to discriminate against minorities. As for attackes against diaspora Jewery I am sure whoever wanted to orginise that wouldn't have far to go when Iran's President wants to wipe the State of Isreal off the face of the earth with that kind of rethoric who can blame some people funding those who want to "flee" such a society that democratically elects such a diplomatic President.

[Jack Spader]

These Jews still in Iran are being used to do P.R. damage control for the regime there. You should read about how the Iranian government is trying to use the Jews still living in Iran for propaganda purposes:

http://jewishjournal.com/iranianamericanjews/2007/12/irans-regime-uses-jews-again-for.html