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by thisislife2·3mo ago·view on hn ↗
Yes, the Iranian government has indeed targeted Jews suspected of working against Iran, especially when things were in a turmoil post-revolution, and that did lead to around 70%-80% of the community migrating to US and Israel. But I don't believe it is just the fear of persecution that was their motivation in migrating - for some it was zionism, for others it was more of the political ideological difference with the revolutionaries (they were in the Shah's camp) and the real uncertainty and lack of political stability and violence during and after the revolution.

> the Iranian diaspora is conspicuously absent from anti-Israel protests in the US

Iranians who migrated to the west are largely supporters of the Shah, who was overthrown by the revolutionaries, and thus they despise the revolutionary government. Israel hates the Iranian revolutionaries too and so the Iranian diaspora found themselves in favour of Israel because of this shared sentiment of hate against the current Iranian government. However, anti-Israeli sentiments in Iranian diaspora has increased now because of Netanyahu's foolish genocide in Gaza, and the supporters of Shah (and Israel) have now increasingly have resort to intimidation to suppress many of them from speaking out for Palestinains and against Israel. As this MEE article outlines - How pro-Israel Iranian Americans are silencing Palestine supporters - https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-how-pro-israel-i... :

> Several Iranian-American activists who spoke to Middle East Eye on condition of anonymity have said they fear speaking out in support of Palestine, saying that anyone who does so publicly has been faced with doxxing campaigns and even threats to their lives. "It's one of those things where it's caused a huge divide in the community," said one Iranian activist ... They say the reason that it appears that most Iranians in the diaspora are pro-Israel is because most of the ones who do support Palestine are afraid to speak up. "The vocal presence of Iranian Zionists online and at rallies might create a misleading perception. In reality, many Iranians are afraid to speak out and do not align with this viewpoint," said one Iranian activist who spoke to MEE on condition of anonymity. "The loudness on social media doesn't accurately represent the broader sentiment."

> But let's be clear: Jews in Iran live in a state of submission and fear ... jews are eternally suspected of duplicity and disloyalty, and must continuously prove that they are not secretly "zionists".

This is a common propaganda for fear mongering amongst the minorities. Interestingly, Pakistanis say the same thing about Muslims living in India. And yes, while there are isolated incidents of minority violence against Muslims in India too (just as there are against the Jews in Iran), it is not a common occurrence in society driven by hate against these minorities.

1 comments
Your entire argument is built on a single source: Middle East Eye. That source is a known Qatar propaganda outlet, they do not meet even the lowest bar of journalistic integrity or credibility. You might as well be quoting Russia Today about the war in Uraine.

A few facts about MEE:

1. During the 2017 diplomatic crisis with Qatar over their support of terrorism, Saudi Arabia and the UAE issued a list of demands to Qatar. One of these demands was to shutdown their propaganda outlets - including MEE. Other demands included the severing of ties with Hamas and Hezbollah, and the handing over of internationally wanted terrorists harbored by Qatar. Another demand was to cut off collaboration with Iran's REvolutionary Guards... [1]

2. MEE is entirely controlled by a single individual, Jamal Awn Jamal Bessasso - formerly director of planning and human resources at Al Jazeera in Qatar [2]. Bessasso was also a director at Samalink TV, a company that broadcasts Al-Quds TV - a Hamas-controlled station. [3][4] He has a history of social media posts praising Hamas and advocating for violence against the enemies of Islam.

3. Several other MEE employees have previously worked at Al-Jazeera. At least one MEE employee has previously worked for a Hamas-funded nonprofit.

4. Over the years, MEE has often gained exclusive access to Hamas leadership, and acted as their de facto PR arm.

5. MEE does not disclose its sources of funding. It is a complete black box.

In short: you are uncritically quoting a known propaganda outlet of Qatar, that was explicitly designated by several countries as part of Qatar's terrorism support network, has several links to Hamas, does not disclose its sources of funding, and is controlled by a known supporter of Hamas.

So, I hope you'll forgive me for not taking any of your derived arguments seriously. I took the time to share this information to make sure that nobody reading this exchange takes them seriously, either. This uncritical amplification of obvious propaganda has got to stop.

[1] https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-... [2] https://honestreporting.com/behind-middle-east-eyes-viral-re... [3] https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/18388/ [4] https://honestreporting.com/behind-middle-east-eyes-viral-re... [5] https://www.aei.org/foreign-and-defense-policy/middle-east/q...

In my country, Qatar is not considered as a "terrorist" sponsor. Neither is Hamas considered a terrorist organisation (like in most parts of the Global South). Neither is RT nor MEE nor Al-Jazeera banned or considered a part of any "terrorism network" - I treat them the same as any State run media outlet (including the BBC, DW, or NPR).
> In my country, Qatar is not considered as a "terrorist" sponsor. Neither is Hamas considered a terrorist organisation

May I ask what country that is?

India.
India very much does consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Modi has clearly condemned its actions and repeatedly expressed support for Israel against terrorism.

It's true that they have not publicly criticized Qatar for harboring Hamas or supporting terrorist groups.

We Indians, in general, despise political violence, and so we do sympathise with the Israeli victims of Palestinian violence. We however also recognize that the political violence is of Israeli-right's own making - one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. That is why PLO or Hamas is not officially recognized or banned as a terrorist organisation by India (or the most of the Global South). Israel's pursuit of being a settler-colonial state has been criticised since the time of Gandhi, who has never supported Zionism at the expense of Palestinian's right:

> “My sympathies are all with the Jews… They have been the untouchables of Christianity. The parallel between their treatment by Christians and the treatment of untouchables by Hindus is very close. Religious sanction has been invoked in both cases for the justification of the inhuman treatment meted out to them,” Gandhi wrote in the Harijan article ... “It is wrong and inhumane to impose the Jews on the Arabs…,” he wrote. “It would be a crime against humanity to reduce the proud Arabs so that Palestine can be restored to the Jews partly or wholly as their national home,” Gandhi said ... “A religious act [the act of Jews returning to Palestine] cannot be performed with the aid of the bayonet or the bomb,” he wrote ... “The Jews have a good cause. I told (British Zionist MP) Sidney Silverman that the Jews have a good case in Palestine. If the Arabs have a claim to Palestine, the Jews have a prior claim.” ... “But for their [the Jews’] heartless persecution, probably no question of return to Palestine would ever have arisen,” he wrote in “Jews And Palestine”. “They have erred grievously in seeking to impose themselves on Palestine with the aid of America and Britain and now with the aid of naked terrorism,” he wrote.

(Note that India's current one-sided bonhomie with Israel is an exception and based more on the rapport of shared political values between Modi, Netanayhu and their respective political parties - Sanghis, i.e. Hindu religious fundamentalists, in India, and religious fundamentalists Zionists in Israel share a common political ideology - https://youtu.be/mZhugTmSrMo?t=1696 ).

> That is why PLO or Hamas is not officially recognized or banned as a terrorist organisation by India (or the most of the Global South).

This is false. India does not have a list of named terrorist organizations, in the way that the US does for example. But there is zero indication anywhere that India specifically considers Hamas not to be a terrorist organization - you are making that up by projecting your own personal views.

You only speak for yourself, not for the Indian government or any other Indians. Your personal view is that Hamas is not a terrorist organization, and that they (and PLO before them) are justified in their use of violence. I strongly disagree with that view, and so do most people. Your view is a fringe view - and it better explains why you don't mind quoting propaganda outlets that openly align with Hamas - you yourself are aligned with Hamas.

The bottom line is that I believe Hamas is a terrorist organization, and you don't. So there's no valuable discussion to be had with you on this topic.