(Scotland on Sunday) Annette Young - Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power last June, life for Iran's 25,000 Jews has become even more precarious as the president defiantly pursues a nuclear policy while declaring Israel should be "wiped off the world map." "Every Iranian Jew who had the financial possibility or courage has already left, but there's still a small but flourishing community," said Israeli broadcaster Menashe Amir, who moved to Israel in 1959 and has been broadcasting for 46 years in Farsi for Israeli state radio. "While there are Jewish schools, the principals and most of the teachers are Muslim, the Bible is taught in Farsi, not in Hebrew, and the schools are forced to open on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath," Amir said. "So while the regime declares that there is freedom of religion, it is all just for the sake of appearances."
2006-05-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive