Members of Iran's Jewish community joined thousands of Iranians on Friday in nationwide rallies marking Al-Quds Day, voicing opposition to Israel and expressing support for Palestinians.
Jewish demonstrators marched in cities including Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, alongside other participants who chanted slogans calling for the "liberation of Jerusalem from the Zionists."
The annual Al-Quds Day events, established by Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, are intended to express solidarity with Palestinians and opposition to Israel.
Among the demonstrators was Dr. Homayoun Sameh, the Jewish representative in Iran's parliament. Speaking to Iranian media, Sameh said there is "resistance from all free people around the world against the occupying regime in Jerusalem."
He added that Iran’s Jewish community participated in this year's Al-Quds Day marches "with greater passion and grandeur than in previous years," emphasizing that "the free world must stand against the Zionist regime and its crimes." Sameh said he hoped this resistance would lead to "a peaceful region where Muslims, Jews and Christians can coexist."
Iranian Jerusalem Day
(Photo: Majid Asgaripour/ Reuters)
Iranian Jews
Sameh praised the so-called "Axis of Resistance," referring to Iran-backed militant groups opposing Israel, saying it is "stronger than ever." He reiterated that Iran’s Jewish community "does not recognize the Zionist regime as legitimate in any way," and claimed Israel’s political policies "have no alignment with the Jewish faith."
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"The majority of Jews around the world do not see the Zionist regime as a religious state," Sameh said, calling Israel "a purely political regime." He also criticized Jewish, Christian and Muslim Zionists who "remain silent in the face of the regime's crimes."
Iranian Jewish representative at an event marking Iranian Jerusalem Day
Ahead of the rallies, Sameh had urged Iran’s Jewish community to participate, saying: "We will take to the streets in unity to support the oppressed Palestinian people and to condemn the Zionist regime."
In a separate event Thursday, a large pro-Palestinian rally was held in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr, where Jewish religious leaders and rabbis also spoke out against Israel and expressed support for the Palestinian cause.