Is there any such thing as an Israeli Citizen?
Citizenship is divided - there are Arab Israeli citizens and Jewish Israeli citizens.
Do any other countries have a divided citizenship based on ethnic groups? (I don't know of any)
Can a society have true equality if it has different categories of citizenship? Does that not in and of itself foster an atmosphere of inequality?
I think yes, and I think it creates a subconscious belief that some citizens are better than others and this is reinforced in a system of citizenship that gives different rights and obligations to each group. It strives for a "different but equal" system, but I don't think that can truly work.
do you ever post anything that isn't anti-israel? just wondering.
can jews get citizenship in muslim countries?
until the answer is yes, no one really cares about your concerns.
In a more serious note, yes, they can. Iranian Jews are citizens of Iran for example.
In all seriousness, let me ask you this:
Can there be real equality if citizenship is defined along ethnic or religious lines, and if those lines mean different responsibilities and rights - how can their be true equality?
When citizenship and religion are intertwined - can their be true equality for those not of that religion? Think of Iran.
Can you answer this seriously instead of just flaming?
You gotta love this person, in her mind the very few Jews left in Iran are equal citizens of Iran, but the 1.5 million Arabs living in Israel aren't
Jewish population
1948: 100,000 | 2014: 10,000
The Jewish community of Persia, modern-day
Iran, is one of the oldest in the Diaspora, and its historical roots reach back to the 6th century
B.C.E., the time of the
First Temple. Their history in the pre-Islamic period is intertwined with that of the
Jews of neighboring
Babylon. Cyrus, the first of the Archemid dynasty, conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.E. and permitted the Jewish exiles to return to the Land of Israel, bringing the First Exile to an end. The Jewish colonies were scattered from centers in Babylon to Persian provinces and cities such as Hamadan and Susa. The books of
Esther,
Ezra,
Nehemiah, and
Daniel give a favorable description of the relationship of the
Jews to the court of the Achaemids at Susa.
Under the Sassanid dynasty (226-642 C.E.), the Jewish population in Persia grew considerably and spread throughout the region; nevertheless,
Jews suffered intermittent oppression and persecution. The invasion by
Arab Muslims in 642 C.E. terminated the independence of
Persia, installed Islam as the state religion, and made a deep impact on the
Jews by changing their sociopolitical status.
Throughout the 19th century,
Jews were persecuted and discriminated against. Sometimes whole communities were forced to convert. During the 19th century, there was considerable emigration to the Land of Israel, and the
Zionist movement spread throughout the community.
Under the Phalevi Dynasty, established in 1925, the country was secularized and oriented toward the West. This greatly benefited the
Jews, who were emancipated and played an important role in the economy and in cultural life. On the eve of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, 80,000
Jews lived in Iran. In the wake of the upheaval, tens of thousands of
Jews, especially the wealthy, left the country, leaving behind vast amounts of property.
The Council of the Jewish Community, which was established after World War II, is the representative body of the community. The
Jews also have a representative in parliament who is obligated by law to support Iranian foreign policy and its
Anti-Zionist position.
Despite the official distinction between "
Jews," "Zionists," and "Israel," the most common accusation the
Jewsencounter is that of maintaining contacts with Zionists. The Jewish community does enjoy a measure of religious freedom but is faced with constant suspicion of cooperating with the Zionist state and with "imperialistic America" — both such activities are punishable by death.
Jews who apply for a passport to travel abroad must do so in a special bureau and are immediately put under surveillance. The government does not generally allow all members of a family to travel abroad at the same time to prevent Jewish emigration. Again, the
Jews live under the status of
dhimmi, with the restrictions im posed on religious minorities. Jewish leaders fear government reprisals if they draw attention to official mistreatment of their community.
Iran's official government-controlled media often issues
anti-Semitic propaganda. A prime example is the government's publishing of the
Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a notorious Czarist forgery, in 1994 and 1999.
2Jews also suffer varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly in the areas of employment, education, and public accommodations.
3
The Islamization of the country has brought about strict control over Jewish educational institutions. Before the revolution, there were some 20 Jewish schools functioning throughout the country. In recent years, most of these have been closed down. In the remaining schools, Jewish principals have been replaced by Muslims. In Tehran there are still three schools in which Jewish pupils constitute a majority. The curriculum is Islamic, and Persian is forbidden as the language of instruction for Jewish studies. Special Hebrew lessons are conducted on Fridays by the Orthodox Otzar ha-Torah organization, which is responsible for Jewish religious education. Saturday is no longer officially recognized as the Jewish
sabbath, and Jewish pupils are compelled to attend school on that day. There are three synagogues in Tehran, but since 1994, there has been no rabbi in Iran, and the bet din does not function.
4
Following the overthrow of the shah and the declaration of an Islamic state in 1979, Iran severed relations with Israel. The country has subsequently supported many of the Islamic terrorist organizations that target
Jews and Israelis, particularly the Lebanon-based, Hezbollah. Nevertheless, Iran's Jewish community is the largest in the Middle East outside Israel.
After the Iranian revolution in early 1979 members of the Jewish community feared for their lives, afraid that they would be murdered or expelled by the new Iranian regime. After the execution of prominent Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian on May 9, 1979 was publicized in local news outlets, the leaders of the Jewish community in Iran knew that they had to act fast in order to guarantee the safety of all Iranian Jews. The community leaders quickly assembled a group of two rabbis and four prominent young intellectuals and set off to meet with Ayatollah Khomeini in the Iranian city of Qom. After the group congratulated the Ayatollah on his victory over the Shah in the recent revolution, the Ayatollah gave a long monologue concluding by comparing Christianity, Islam and Judaism and saying that they are the only religions that are truly descended from heaven. The Ayatollah stated that in the Qur'an Moses's name is mentioned more times than the name of any other Prophet. The discussion concluded with Ayatollah Khomeini claiming that "We recognize our Jews as separate from those godless, bloodsucking Zionists." This was the answer that the Jewish community leaders had been looking for, and the Iranian government has kept their word and kept the Jews physically safe (for the most part) ever since this moment.
8
On the eve of
Passover in 1999, 13
Jews from Shiraz and Isfahan in southern Iran were arrested and accused of spying for
Israel and the United States. In September 2000, an Iranian appeals court upheld a decision to imprison ten of the thirteen
Jews accused of spying for Israel. In the appeals court, ten of the accused were found guilty of cooperating with Israel and were given prison terms ranging from two to nine years. Three of the accused were found innocent in the first trial.
5 In March 2001, one of the imprisoned
Jews was released, a second was freed in January 2002, the remaining eight were set free in late October 2002. The last five apparently were released on furlough for an indefinite period, leaving them vulnerable to future arrest. Three others were reportedly pardoned by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
6
At least 13
Jews have been executed in Iran since the Islamic revolution, most of them for either religious reasons or their connection to Israel. For example, in May 1998, Jewish businessman Ruhollah Kakhodah-Zadeh was hanged in prison without a public charge or legal proceeding, apparently for assisting
Jews to emigrate.
7
Today, Iran's Jewish population is the second largest in the Middle East, after Israel. Reports vary as to the condition and treatment of the small, tight-knit community, and the population of Iranian
Jews can only be estimated due to the community’s isolation from world Jewry. The Jewish community in Iran is alive and well, although they live under the oppressive Islamic regime. In Iran's capital city of Tehran there are 13 active synagogues that hold weekly services, five Jewish schools, two Jewish kindergartens, and a 100-bed capacity Jewish hospital. Although there are active Jewish communities all around the country, Tehran's community is the most significant.
Jews of Iran | Jewish Virtual Library
