Watch: Iranian soldiers salute during Jewish mourner’s prayer
Members of the Revolutionary guard honour Jews who served the country in its war against Iraq
Members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps stood at attention and saluted as a Jewish man recited a prayer of mourning in a cemetery.
The occasion was a memorial this week for Jewish soldiers who died in the Iran-Iraq war three decades ago. Members of the corps are seen saluting as a Jewish man in a black hat and beard recites a Hebrew prayer at a Jewish gravesite. Members of Iran’s Jewish community of 15,000 are subject to the country’s mandatory draft, according to The Times of Israel.
The video was shared on Twitter by Israeli reporter Nir Dvori, who called the video “unique and exceptional.” Iran’s leadership regularly calls for Israel to be wiped off the map.
אירוע חריג וייחודי התרחש השבוע באיראן:
אנשי הקהילה היהודית ביחד עם אנשי משמרות המהפכה ואנשי דת מוסלמים חלקו כבוד לחללים היהודים ממלחמת אירן-עירק, במהלך הטקס אנשי משמרות המהפכה מצדיעים לקול תפילה יהודית לזכר הנופלים.
(ותודה לד"ר עופר ישראלי) pic.twitter.com/0ua5ii0IsN— nir dvori (@ndvori) October 31, 2019
Larry Cohler-Esses, a Jewish journalist who lived in Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and visited the country in 2015 for the Forward, wrote in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last year that the country’s Jews face a complex situation.
“Many Jews in Iran are safe and happy — at least enough to prefer staying there rather than gamble by uprooting themselves for an uncertain future elsewhere,” he wrote. “And Iran is a country whose most powerful forces — within a divided government — are radical Islamists who do seek to do what they can to ultimately liquidate Israel as a Jewish state, albeit not at the cost of their own country’s existence.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
