Israelis with relatives in Iran report that in recent days contact with them has been severed. According to a report on the Iran International website, following the government's threats in Iran against Israel, local Jews were forced to sever ties with their relatives in Israel, and block them in the digital space.
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Some Jews blocked their relatives' phone numbers and others left family WhatsApp groups. "There has never been such a disconnection. They blocked relatives in all the groups," said Israelis with roots in Iran.
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Demonstrations outside the British Embassy in Tehran following an explosion in the hospital in Gaza
An Israeli from Holon whose mother is in Tehran said that "social networks were our only way to be in touch with our relatives in Iran, and at least we knew how they were doing from a distance and we could sometimes see them through a camera. I haven't had any direct contact with them for several days. I know they are afraid of what is happening in Gaza and are afraid that extremists will take revenge on them."
Another Israeli woman said that she received the following message from her brother: "Because of the threats in Iran, I am cutting off contact with you for the time being. I will ask about your well-being through friends from Europe." Another Iranian Jew told his relative in Israel that he was blocking him and leaving the family's Whasapp group, and that they would be in contact through a third party.
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Jews in Iran, under heavy pressure from the authorities, were apparently also forced to publicly demonstrate against Israel
Report: They were forced to demonstrate against Israel
The Jewish community in Iran numbers several thousand people, and is mainly concentrated in the big cities. Alongside reports that they enjoy religious freedom, the members of the Jewish community are under constant pressure from the authorities. In recent days it has been reported in Iran that the Jews there were apparently forced by the authorities to demonstrate against Israel.
One of the posters held at the demonstration in Tehran read: "We, the Jewish community of Iran, strongly condemn the crimes of the usurping Zionist regime against the oppressed and defenseless people of Palestine, and express our solidarity with them. We ask the international community to help them. Judaism is separate from Zionism." Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was quoted on one of the posters: "We condemn every killing of children, women and the defenseless."
The Jewish member of Iran's parliament, Homayoun Sameyah, who represents the Jews in Iran, said: "The Jews of Tehran condemn the Palestinian genocide by the Zionist regime. Netanyahu and the dirty government of the Zionist regime should know that the results of this war will eventually bring them to the international courts, this evil man will surely be tried and he will be punished for his actions."
He also said: "The Jewish community has lived in Iran for 2,600 years, and the Jews have become accustomed to the culture of the Iranian people, and they have seen nothing but good in these years. The Iranian Jewish community has been nothing but patriotic. The Jewish Iranians have always been followers of the founder of the Islamic Republic as well as the current Supreme Leader."