[R-G] Iran Jews in Israel prefer Ahmadinejad

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Alas, Mr. Mousavi can't get any break.  ;-)
Yoshie

<http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443737189&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull>
Jul 6, 2009 23:58 | Updated Jul 7, 2009 2:34
Iran Jews in Israel prefer Ahmadinejad
By CARRIE SHEFFIELD

Despite unrest and violence following last month's presidential
elections in Iran, some Jewish Iranians living in Israel and abroad
say life in the Islamic republic is better under President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad than it would be under challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.

At a conference of Iranian Jews in Jerusalem on Monday, leaders of the
Mashadi Jewish community said that despite Ahmadinejad's blustery
rhetoric against Israel, Iran is a safe place for Jews to practice
their religion.

"Ahmadinejad speaks badly about Jews, but he is preferable to
Mousavi," said Shlomo Zabihi, a Mashadi rabbi. The current government
is relatively stable and provides a safe environment for Jews, he
said.

Monday's event marked the first meeting of the Global Mashadi Jewish
Federation, an umbrella organization of community and religious groups
preserving the historical and cultural identity of Jews from Mashad,
Iran's second largest city, with a population of about 2.5 million.

During the 1979 Islamic Revolution, many Mashadi Jews fled to the
United States, primarily New York City - where some 6,000 Jews with
ties to Mashad now live. There are almost no Jews in Mashad today,
though an estimated 25,000 still live in Iran, concentrated in
Teheran.

"They've found it very safe and pleasant, no problems," said Bahman
Kamali, founder of the federation. "Actually, the regime during [the
time of reformist president Mohammad] Khatami and the regime now have
been very good with Jewish people. There has not been any problem."

Kamali said Ahmadinejad's calls for the destruction of Israel were not
the same as condemnation or encouragement of violence against Jews in
the Diaspora.

"There's a distinction between the two because Iranians, they respect
the religions that have books, Christianity, Judaism," Kamali said.
"They respect people freely going to the synagogues and praying there
without any problems."

He doesn't think the Jewish community in Iran will face persecution
stemming from political unrest following the disputed elections.

"I'm not concerned about that," said Kamali, who downplayed the
political involvement of his group. "The purpose of this conference is
not political. It's only our heritage, that we are proud of to be from
Mashad, Iran, and we would like to preserve that."