Since the outbreak of the war, the regime in Tehran has tried to portray Iran’s Jewish community as supportive of the government and its policies. Representatives of the community have appeared more than once before Iranian state media cameras, voicing unreserved support for the regime and attacking Israel.
During Operation Rising Lion, Iranian media published footage of damage to the Rafie Nia synagogue in Tehran following an Israeli strike. The IDF later confirmed that it had carried out the strike, saying the target was a senior commander in the emergency command of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya forces. The military later expressed regret over what it described as “collateral damage” caused to the synagogue.
Since then, Tehran has sought to leverage the incident, emphasizing what it presents as the regime’s “protection” and “support” for the country’s Jews. On Saturday night, as part of that same propaganda line, the regime published footage of renovation work at another synagogue in the city, Ezra Yaghoub.
Earlier, on May 16, Iran’s English-language Press TV aired a video report about what it called a “gathering near the Rafie Nia synagogue in Tehran to console Iran’s Jewish community.” The reporter stressed that the site, which was damaged in the war, “is not only a place of worship, but also a testament to the long history of peaceful coexistence and harmony among religions in Iran.”
One woman interviewed in the report said: “As a group of civil activists in Tehran, we have come together to deliver the message of peace, friendship and deep-rooted coexistence in Iran.” Another interviewee added: “The damage to this place stems from the hostility of the United States and the Zionist regime toward Iran’s culture, identity and history.”
The Iranian regime needs to show the world its “support” for the country’s Jews. Tehran wants to present the Islamic Republic as free of antisemitism and as a government that nurtures the Jewish community, while insisting that its opposition is directed only at Israel and “the Zionists.”
The synagogue that was destroyed in Tehran
(Video: Mehr)
But while the regime is trying to showcase the supposed “freedom” of Iran’s Jewish community, most of the information about it in recent weeks has come from regime mouthpieces. Community members who had previously been active on social media have also almost completely disappeared from those platforms. That may be linked to internet disruptions in the country, but not only to them.
Last Thursday, on the eve of Shavuot, Iran’s state broadcaster published images from a Jewish community event at a synagogue in Isfahan. It wrote: “On the eve of Shavuot, the anniversary of the giving of the Torah, the Jewish community of Isfahan pledges allegiance to the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution,” referring to Mojtaba Khamenei.
The broadcaster claimed that Isfahan’s Jewish community held a memorial ceremony for Ali Khamenei and declared loyalty to Mojtaba Khamenei. It was another Iranian propaganda move meant to display the community’s connection to the state.
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Damage from last month’s strike on a synagogue in Tehran
(Photo: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
Earlier this month, Younes Hamami Lalehzar, a senior figure in Iran’s Jewish community, told Iran’s ISNA news agency, which is also affiliated with the regime, that Iranian Jews see themselves as an inseparable part of the Iranian nation. The Zionist regime presents itself as the defender of world Jewry, but it has shown that it does not even respect Jewish holy places.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also used the damage to the Tehran synagogue as part of Tehran’s messaging immediately after the strike. He said that the Rafie Nia synagogue in the heart of Tehran was attacked by a regime that falsely claims to represent the Jewish people. He added that the 70-year-old synagogue was destroyed and Torah scrolls were desecrated. As Homayoun Sameyah, the representative of the Iranian Jewish community in parliament, explained, this heinous crime was committed during the Jewish holiday of Passover.
He added that the attack on the synagogue, like the attack on mosques, churches, schools, hospitals, residential areas and industrial and production infrastructure in Iran, is a heinous crime aimed at the existence, identity and civilization of Iran. Iran, he said, with all its religions and ethnic groups, stands as one against the brutal American-Israeli aggression.
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Tehran synagogue damaged in strike during war
(Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)
Against the backdrop of these and many similar reports about Iran’s Jewish community in recent weeks, the regime announced Saturday night that it was restoring the Ezra Yaghoub synagogue. It was another attempt to present the Iranian regime as a supporter and protector of the Jewish community.
But given the community’s sharply lowered public profile, it remains clear that the real picture of what is happening to Iran’s Jews is still missing.