December 9, 2007 | 12:39 pm

Jewish author recalls past Jewish suffering in Iran

Posted by Karmel Melamed

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Kudos to Farideh Goldin for not letting Iranian Jews and other individuals in the world forget the injustices our grandparents and ancestors had endured in Iran! Iranian Jewish author Goldin’s recent story in the Jerusalem Post recalling conversations she had with her late father about anti-Semitism in Iran is perhaps one of the most accurate reflections of differing attitudes about Iran among the younger and older generations in the Iranian Jewish community living outside of Iran. Goldin’s very frank and heart-wrenching responses to her father’s rosy colored depictions of Iran, reminded me of many conversations I’ve had with L.A. area Jews who once enjoyed tremendous prosperity and tranquility in Iran.

Many of these older Iranian Jews who now live in the U.S., Israel, and Europe, are now looking back with nostalgia to better times they enjoyed under the rein of the Pahlavi dynasty in Iran. They have unfortunately forgotten the 2,500 year history of continuous harassment, pogroms, mass murders, rapes, and forced conversations that the Jews of Iran had to endure. Goldin’s painful reminders of these past crimes against Jews in Iran are both refreshing and necessary for both young and older Iranian Jews to keep in mind:

“Baba, didn’t you tell me of dark nights of pogroms in the Jewish ghetto of your youth? Returning from his synagogue one rainy Shabbat morning, your white-bearded father, the community rabbi, was beaten bloody for daring to walk outside the walls of the ghetto.

Baba, we were not allowed to become six millions. We suffered in silence. Our history not recorded and publicized, our murdered ancestors die repeatedly in the elimination of their names, their stories and their faces. The Jews of Tabriz, men, women and children, were decimated in the eighth century. The Jews of Mashhad were forced to convert in the 17th century. Baba, don’t help erase the past because you still yearn for your farms and orchards in Shiraz, because after such a long period of emotional and financial despair, you became a prosperous landowner under the shah’s rule.

Baba, I remember you lighting the Hanukka candles in the corner, where no one could see from the outside. You mumbled the prayers so that no one could hear you beyond your family.

Baba, and then the tornado of the Iranian revolution shattered your life, your farm, your house and your respected status. Fleeing in a hurry, you left them behind. You forgot that as Jews you must not invest in property that you cannot secure in your pocket, in the hem of your daughters’ dresses. How can you long for your life in Iran?

I light my hanukkia by an unobstructed window. Let the candles light, growing more intense every night for eight nights, brightening my house, and the faces of those walking by the window. Let the neighbors and passersby know who I am - a Jew, no longer afraid.”

We as Jews who lived in Iran must never forget our long history and how we survived despite constantly living under the threat of annihilation in Iran. Yes, there were good times between 1925 and 1979 under the Pahlavi kings and also under the reign of Cyrus the Great in ancient times…but what about everything else that occurred between these two dynasties? What about the confiscations of property, assets, and businesses that Jews faced in Iran following the 1979 revolution? What about the two dozen Jews that have been executed or killed by the Iranian regime since 1979? We cannot close our eyes or to these sad realities.

Unfortunately the 20,000 Jews still living in Iran have ignored this long history of anti-Semitism in Iran. Sadly today as Iran is on the brink of war, the Jews in that country may not be so lucky to escape from the grips of Iran’s fundamentalist radical Islamic leaders who will undoubtedly seek revenge on them at anytime. Those who do not recall the lessons from their history are doomed to repeat the failures of the past. The Jews of Iran and Iranian Jews elsewhere in the world are no exception to this rule. We cannot forget these crimes against our people in Iran and more importantly let them occur again.

December 6, 2007 | 11:33 am

Bratz toymaker Isaac Larian living the American dream

Posted by Karmel Melamed

It’s Chanukah and toys are on the minds of many parents for the holiday. One of the most popular girls’ toys for the past several years have been the “Bratz” dolls. They are cultural diversity with disproportionately large heads, large lips, and wearing trendy fashions—all unique traits that set them apart from every other doll on the market. Recently I had a rare opportunity to chat with Issac Larian, the Iranian Jewish businessman and brainchild behind Bratz and other popular toys made by his company MGA Entertainment that is the third largest toymaking company in the world. His rags to riches story could be straight out of a Hollywood movie, but Larian has not forgotten his humble beginnings in Iran. He has been generous in his giving to a number of Jewish and non-Jewish charities.

While his competitors have tried to paint a negative image about Bratz and Larian, I found him to be an extremely down to earth and kind gentleman. He also set the record straight about the controversy brewing in the media about the live-action Bratz’s film released on DVD last month. The following is an excerpt of my interview with him published in the Iranian Jewish Chronicle Magazine online:

Can you share a little about you background and how you ended up in the toy business?

I came here in 1971 and I was 17 years old then. I had $750 in my pocket, a one way ticket, and a big American dream. My first job was washing dishes in a coffee shop in Lawndale and I was getting $1.65 an hour working from11 at night to seven in the morning. Then I went to school during the day and I worked through out college until I obtained a civil engineering degree. I was planning on going back to Iran and become a civil engineer but we had a little thing called the revolution (in 1979). I did go back to Iran briefly, but returned and started a company selling brass giftware from the back of my car. In 1987 we went into the toy business and became distributors for Nintendo Game and Watch. In 1993 we became a licensee for “Power Rangers” which was one of the hottest toys then and that basically put us on the map as a toy company. We grew that business through ups and downs and in 2001 we launched the “Bratz” dolls. I did not expect it to be as successful as it became. That grew the company to the point where we are now the third largest toy company in the world and largest privately held toy company.

The director of the “Bratz” movie, Sean McNamara was quoted in an L.A. Times article earlier this year as saying that your dolls looked like “sluts”. What was your reaction to this controversy?

He was misquoted, he never said that and we have proof that he never said that. It was a misquote that has generate negative publicity for us.

Well then, how do you respond to some of your critics that have accused the Bratz dolls of supposedly promoting sex and sending a negative message to young girls?

These are just plastic dolls and they do not promote anything. It is up to parents to promote their values to their children and not plastic toys or a TV series or actors and actress. These statements made about Bratz are nonsense. We are proud of these dolls, they are the first dolls ever to promote diversity, they promote sports and they promote education. If you go to the Bratz website for example, there’s information for kids saying that it’s good to do homework in a fun way. One of our best selling products is the Bratz educational laptop. I think the negative publicity we have received has been circulated by our competitors because they cannot compete with us in the marketplace.

I have three children myself and as an Iranian Jew—between them they have 23 cousins and we get together every Friday night. So I value children and their mental health more than anything else. A hundred years from now what’s more important to me is that the difference I make in the life of a child—not how much money I have or how many cars I own. I am very involved with many children’s causes. I have proudly coached my kids through soccer and basketball. So the accusation that Bratz promotes sex is negative publicity that has been put out by people who have a different agenda.

So what’s next for the Bratz dolls?

MGA has other brands as well such as “Little Tikes” which are perhaps one of the most respected in the country. But as far as Bratz are concerned, if Bratz stay true to their nature and change like a chameleon changes with the times, it’s going to be a brand that will continue to grow worldwide. We have also gone to the internet and we have a site called “bebratz.com” that let’s kids create their own virtual doll, they can play games and chat.

How important is Judaism in your life and what involvement do you have with the Jewish philanthropic causes?

I am a proponent of Judaism. I am not a religious Jew but I am involved in different Israel and Jewish causes that are important to me. I was fortunate last year to be honored by the JNF (Jewish National Fund) for their “Tree of Life” award. I’m proud that we were able to raise more than a $1 million for JNF at that event which I am told was a record for the west coast. But I am involved in other Jewish charities dealing with children’s disabilities, poverty and education that I would not like to mention.

What other philanthropic causes are you involved with or do you support?

For me the children’s charities are the most important in this day and age. We as a country need to spend more time and money on education because that is the foundation for future generation. I am proud to be involved with environmental causes and seeing children involved with this issue as well. My own son, decided to give all of his bar mitzvah money to environmental causes that promote alternative energy. I am also involved with Jewish causes dealing with poverty in Israel and jobs to help them. Poverty in the world and in the Jewish community is not solved by just giving money to people but teaching them to survive. You can feed a man by giving him a fish, but if you teach him how to fish then he can feed himself everyday for the rest of his life.

What reaction have you received from Iranian Jews who come to learn of your line of work?

Iranians are one of the most educated group of minorities in this country and very ambitious and it’s not only in toys. For example, if you look at Pierre Omidyar, a Persian who is not Jewish—he’s the chairman of the board and founder of eBay, one of the biggest corporations in the world. We need to be proud of the Iranian community, whether they are Jewish or not Jewish. Of course the Iranian Jews have had many major accomplishments. But the reaction I have received from the community has been from people who are proud that someone from their community has been able to been have this kind of achievement. I am humbled and I hope I can serve as an example to young people. I came from very humble beginning, so I am down to earth and connect well with the younger generation. I’d like to help them in anyway I can.

Why do you think Iranian Jewish immigrants to the U.S. have been so successful in business and other professions in the last 30 years?

I think that human beings in general are very resilient and when they are put in challenging situations, they usually rise to the occasion. And that has been the case for our community. We have been under attack and control, unable to express ourselves in the past. But now we are in America, the land of opportunity and we can do anything we want, so we have blossomed. Iranian Jews are no different than other immigrants like the Korean Americans or Chinese Americans. There are so many opportunities here and perhaps local Americans who were born here do not see that—with just a little hard work you can accomplish a lot.

What advice do you have for young Iranian Jews who are just starting their own businesses and entering the workforce?

First of all, I would say that life is not all about money. Money is just an instrument to help you in life. You should really work on your spirituality. Also I think it’s important to have dreams, being able to believe in your dreams and listening to your intuition and imagination more than your knowledge you gained in school. Your sixth sense and subconscious mind are much more powerful than the theories you learn in school. Lastly I would say that you should not be afraid of failure. In order to succeed, you need to fail.

Thank you for chatting with us Mr. Larian and best of luck with your work.

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December 4, 2007 | 2:06 am

Haji Hayim sounds off on the extravagant Persian weddings

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Haji Hayim, a.k.a. Eman Esmailzadeh , is the brainchild behind Persianrabbi.com , a website dedicated to connecting young Iranian Jews worldwide with religious leaders and their Jewish identity. The 24-year-old Esmailzadeh is a Brentwood resident and perhaps one of my biggest fans has regularly posted many of my articles on his site. To my surprise, my recent article in the L.A. Jewish Journal regarding the extravagant spending by local Iranian Jews on their weddings, had inspired Esmailzadeh to sound off about the subject in his own op/ed piece online. One particular aspect of his story that caught my eye was the fact that many of the lavish weddings in the Iranian Jewish community are causing divisions among friends and relatives. He writes:

“The saddest of them all was when, I had to console a newly married friend who felt that he had just made at least 20 enemies, all because some of his selfish guests were bothered about where they sat, or some distant family were offended that they didn’t get an invitation. And the story goes on, since we want to be accepted in the community, we try harder and harder to cater to the guests’ selfish drive and make sure it the most upscale, exciting and enjoyable wedding that they have ever attended.”

From the responses I’ve seen online to his story and my own piece about the outrageous spending that local Iranian Jews have undertaken has been overwhelming. I honestly had no idea the story would have such wide appeal and I’m pleased to see it has created a new avenue for young Jews in our community to address this issue. In too many occasions Iranian Jewry have had a tendency to sweep certain sensitive issues under the rug and not discuss them. This unfortunately habit has lead to social obstacles in our community to remain unresolved with both parents and their children feeling frustrated about issues concerning marriage, careers, pre-martial sexual relations, and even child bearing!

I am however optimistic that young Iranian Jews like Esmailzadeh are now engaging one another in a serious dialogue about their weddings and bridging the cultural differences they have with their parents. The younger generation of Iranian American Jews is quietly awakening their parents to the reality that they no longer live in Iran and cannot for logistic or financial reasons continue the social norms of that country. While Iranians in general are known for their extremely warm hospitality to even the most distant of friends and relatives…we have to draw the line some where. When the older generation appreciates this reality, then perhaps they may ease their pressures on their children and spend less on weddings and other parties.

Only with open dialogue can real change and growth in our community blossom. I urge young folks in our community to continue voicing their concerns on THIS BLOG!

(Good Iranian Jewish young man Eman Esmailzadeh praying)

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