Iran’s Jewish community to attend Ali Khamenei funeral

Iran’s Jewish community, estimated at several thousand members, is one of the country’s officially recognized religious minorities.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Representatives of Iran’s Jewish community said they will join the official funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, while disclosing that they recently appealed to his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, to address anti-Jewish rhetoric that had surfaced in Iranian media and public discourse.

Homayoun Sameyah, the Jewish member of Iran’s parliament, said the community’s message to the new supreme leader called for preserving the longstanding official distinction between Judaism and Zionism. He said the request followed concern over language that community leaders believed blurred that distinction.

The outreach was followed by a noticeable shift, Sameyah said.

“Fortunately, after that, these phenomena decreased significantly, and this distinction received greater attention in the media and official slogans,” he said.

Sameyah said the Jewish community would be represented at memorial events organized for the late supreme leader together with delegates from Iran’s other officially recognized religious minorities. He added that diplomats, political officials, and religious leaders are also expected to participate in the ceremonies.

“In coordination with officials from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and representatives of the religious minority communities, we will participate in the funeral and memorial events for the leader of the Islamic Revolution,” he said.

Discussing Ali Khamenei’s legacy, Sameyah said the late leader continued a policy established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of differentiating Iran’s Jewish community from the Zionist movement.

“As Ayatollah Khomeini always distinguished between the Jews of Iran and the Zionist movement, the late leader continued this approach and did not allow misconceptions about the Jewish community to spread,” Sameyah said.

He also said directives issued during Ali Khamenei’s tenure instructed state institutions to protect the rights of recognized religious minorities.

“During Ayatollah Khamenei’s leadership, directives were issued to safeguard the rights of religious minorities in various institutions, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Tehran Municipality, and other government bodies,” he said.

Sameyah said Iran’s Jewish community considers itself an integral part of the country and expressed hope that “under the leadership of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the path of respect, peace, and mutual understanding among all religions and sectors of society will continue.”

Iran’s Jewish community, estimated at several thousand members, is one of the country’s officially recognized religious minorities and has a reserved seat in the Iranian parliament.