May 20, 2011 | 1:24 am

Iranian Jewish banker Ezri Namvar convicted on federal fraud charges

Posted by Karmel Melamed

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Ezri Namvar, photo by Karmel Melamed.

Yesterday, Los Angeles Iranian Jewish banker and real estate investor Ezri Namvar, 59, was convicted on four counts of fraud in a downtown L.A. federal court. After only three hours of deliberation, the jury found that Namvar had failed to return $23 million given for safekeeping to his company, Namco Financial Exchange Corp. (NFE), and instead invested the money in risky real estate deals.

The NFE’s controller Hamid Tabatabai, 62, was also convicted on four counts of working out a scheme with Namvar from March 2008 to August 2008 to defraud five of NFE’s clients of 1031 funds, which, according to the federal tax code, refers to profits realized from the sale of a business or investment property that are not immediately liable for capital gains taxes if the money is used to purchase a similar replacement property.

Namvar’s September 2010 indictment had charged that he returned only $4 million of the $27 million NFE’s clients’ 1031 funds gave his company for safekeeping, and that these funds were used by Namvar without authorization for various purposes unrelated to the clients. The indictment had also indicated that Namvar, with the help of Tabatabai, used NFE’s clients’ funds to pay off creditors and investors of Namvar’s investment company, Namco Capital Group Inc. as well as Namvar’s personal creditors.

Several Iranian Jewish victims of Namvar’s ponzi scheme expressed satisfaction at the jury’s verdict today since Namvar has long denied any wrongdoing among those in his community.

“Many of us victims feel that justice has been served somewhat today with this conviction,” said Abraham Assil, an Iranian Jewish business man and victim of Namvar’s ponzi scheme. “But we still believe more criminal charges need to be brought against the other Namvar family members involved for their role as accomplices to the criminal actions of Ezri Namvar”.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice statement, both Namvar and Tabatabai face statutory maximum sentences of 80 years in federal prison. U.S. District Court Judge Anderson ordered Namvar who is free on bond to be subject to home incarceration with electronic monitoring. Anderson has scheduled a June 1 hearing to determine if Namvar should be taken into custody prior to his August 22nd scheduled sentencing.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in downtown L.A. and Namvar’s attorney did not return calls for comment on the case. A. David Youssefyeh, a Century City Iranian Jewish attorney representing some of Namvar’s Iranian Jewish creditors in other civil cases against Namvar, said the banker’s conviction has been a long time coming for his victims.

“The fact that Ezri Namvar was convicted of fraud is a surprise to no one,” said Youssefyeh. “However, justice is not done yet. Justice will be done when Mr. Namvar is sentenced to prison for the rest of his life.”

Namvar was forced into involuntary bankruptcy in December, 2008, and accused by investors of creating a Ponzi scheme that lost as much as $500 million loaned to him — most of it by Los Angeles’ Iranian Jews. The petition followed 17 lawsuits filed against Namvar, his company Namco, entities owned by Namvar and other Namvar family members, alleging breach of contract and contractual fraud in a case that attorneys estimate involves 300 to 400 creditors, the majority of them Iranian Jews.

Youssefyeh said Namvar’s victims have been particularly frustrated during the last near three years because they have had to endure tremendous financial hardships while Namvar has continued to enjoy his lavish lifestyle and made a concerted effort to hide his assets during the bankruptcy proceedings.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Namvar has no one to blame but himself,” Youssefyeh said. “If he hadn’t spent so much time and effort trying to hide his assets from his victims, he would probably not find himself here today”.

A report released in early 2010 by the trustees in Namvar’s bankruptcy case, Namco owes more than $500 million to more than 170 secured and unsecured creditors. The report also states that Namco is owed more than $600 million from loans it made to 16 members of Namvar’s family, various limited liability corporations owned by Namvar and to more than 60 individuals and entities. In addition, the report indicates that Namvar gave himself a loan of more than $32 million, and he also gave $50 million to each of his four children.

Many of Namvar’s Iranian Jewish creditors are low- to middle-income couples, individuals or retired seniors who invested their small savings with Namvar and his company, hoping to receive higher interest rates than what most banks were offering at the time. Their investments ranged anywhere from $10,000 to $300,000, and most said they had lost all hope of regaining their funds.

The Namvar case has bitterly divided many in Southern California’s tight-knit Iranian Jewish community, with many of the Namvar victims expressing frustration with the community’s social and religious leadership for remaining largely silent about Namvar’s culpability.

“Early on Rabbi David Shofet (of the Nessah Synagogue in Beverly Hills) indicated in a formal letter that if Namvar was proven in court to be a thief, then he and his family must give back the money they took from people,” said Assil. “Today I’d like to see what the rabbi’s response is to Namvar’s conviction”.

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April 25, 2011 | 6:01 am

Larian wins round two of Bratz toy lawsuit against Mattel

Posted by Karmel Melamed

"Bratz" toymaker and Iranian Jewish businessman Issac Larian.

Southern California’s Iranian Jewish community has been abuzz following news last week that one of their own, businessman and toymaker Isaac Larian won his second lawsuit against U.S. toy giant Mattel over a seven year dispute regarding copyright ownership of the widely popular “Bratz” toy dolls Larian’s MGA Entertainment created and sold.  The jury last week awarded MGA nearly $89 million in damages. Larian throught out the lawsuit has become an underdog hero to many local Iranian American Jewish business owners who have come to admire his strength in standing up to a major competitor who has been trying to crush his successful business from the start.

Local Iranian Jews have by in large stood by Larian despite his 2008 lawsuit loss to Mattel which claimed that his company had stolen the idea for the “Bratz” dolls. The 2008 jury decision was overturned last year by an appeals court, which ruled that MGA deserved “sweat equity” for producing and marketing the dolls. The appeals court said Mattel couldn’t claim a monopoly over dolls and ordered a new trial in U.S. Federal Court. This time around, jurors heard not only the copyright claims but also accusations from each company that the other side stole trade secrets. Among its claims, MGA accused Mattel of sending employees into its showrooms at industry trade shows to spy on its products and also accused Mattel of passing out an internal “how to steal” manual.

While this lawsuit may continue with Mattel potentially appealing the second trial, I can’t understand why in god’s name they have spent nearly $400 million to fight Larian for all these years. From a business perspective it seems like a financially unwise move and downright vindictive! It seems as if their hope was to drive Larian out of the toy business with all these years of litigation. In 2007 I interviewed Larian and found him to be a genuine and hardworking individual who was indeed living the American dream.  He came to the U.S. as an immigrant teenager who worked hard at a minimum wage job and over years finally achieved tremendous success through his own hard working efforts.  His ties to the local Jewish community and support of various charities has been widely publicized over the years.

My 2007 interview with Larian can be found here.

Bratz Dolls

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April 23, 2011 | 5:01 pm

Sam Nazarian dubbed most powerful West Coast nightclub operator

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Sam Nazarian

The L.A. Times recently named L.A. area Iranian Jewish businessman Sam Nazarian as the most powerful nightclub owner on the West Coast after his company, SBE Group recently acquired its largest Los Angeles night-life competitor, Syndicate Hospitality. The move now gives Nazarian’s SBE a total of 12 popular club venues primarily located in the Hollywood area and gives the company control of a total of 25 trendy hotels, restaurants, lounges and nightclubs. According to the Times article Nazarian has said his privately held company will own or operate 35 venues by April of 2012. The now 35-year-old Nazarian made headlines back in 2007 when his privately-held company acquired the iconic Sahara Hotel in Vegas for an estimated $300 million. He recently announced plans to shut down the hotel but reopen it in 2014 as an SLS Las Vegas, with six restaurants and two nightclubs.

For many Southern California young Iranian American Jewish professionals, Nazarian from the start of his success has been an icon they have admired. Their main interest is in the fact that Nazarian is someone from their generation who has gone outside their community’s traditionally desired career path of medicine, law or engineering and ventured into the hospitality industry, quickly rising to the top. I believe the younger generation of Iranian American Jews has also had admiration for Sam Nazarian because over the past several years he has also opened his nightclubs here in L.A. for fundraisers on behalf of the “Friends of the I.D.F.” and to benefit Israeli victims of terror during the 2006 Hezbollah war. Likewise Nazarian comes from a Zionist Iranian Jewish family that has been well known for being very philanthropic to Israel related causes and universities in Israel for many years. In October 2010 his parent’s philanthropic “Y & S Nazarian Family Foundation” donated funds to UCLA for the created of the university’s new Israel Studies Center.

On a side note I have interviewed Nazarian on a number of occasions and found him to be one of the few down to earth, genuine and straight forward individuals in Southern California’s Iranian Jewish community. Overall I think he has been unfairly portrayed in the media over the years as some sort of flashy or slick night club owner, when in reality he is quite the opposite.

My 2008 exclusive podcast interview with Sam Nazarian can be heard here

Read about SBE’s desire to open an SLS Hotel in Tel Aviv.

Read about Sam Nazarian’s past political activities and local Jewish community activities.

Sam Nazarian speaking at a symposium on Iranian American Jews at Sinai Temple in 2009, photo by Jon Vidar.

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April 16, 2011 | 12:01 pm

Exclusive Iranian Blogger Q&A: Obama letting down the new generation in Iran

Posted by Karmel Melamed

This blog probably receives more traffic and inquiries from Muslim bloggers in Iran and just plain curious individuals living in Iran than perhaps any other blog on the JewishJournal.com site. Unfamiliar with the lives of Jews living in the U.S., these non-Jewish Iranian visitors to my blog are surprised and often proud with their “fellow Iranians” success outside of Iran. I am also constantly bombarded with e-mails from Iranian bloggers opposed to the current regime and other pro-democracy individuals living within Iran who wish to share their insights, feelings and thoughts with the Jewish world and Americans in general. They write their messages with English letters that when read are words and sentences in the Persian language.

One frequent visitor to this blog is a student opposition leader living in Tehran who vents the frustrations of many young individuals in Iran have with the Obama administration and its inconsistency with regards to human rights and democracy issues in the Middle East. I recently asked him to go on the record with me about the true sentiments of his compatriots living in Iran regarding President Obama and he agreed to an interview on the condition that I not use his real name. The following is a translation of my recent telephone interview in Persian language with this student opposition leader who I will refer to as “Hassan P.” because he fears arrest and retribution from Iranian officials if they discover his true identity.

So why did you agree to this interview with a Jewish publication’s blog based in Los Angeles regarding Iran?

Well first and foremost, the vast majority of average Iranians living in Iran do not hate Jews nor do we hate Israel. The murderers controlling our country have that hate only. Your blog not only reflects positively on the lives of many Iranians living in American but you consistently tell the true about the horrors of Iran’s regime. I thought this may be a good forum for me to outreach to your readers because of our common Iranian background. Plus I would say no people on this planet have endured more suffering than the Jews during the course of human history—so many of us who are not Jews but suffering under a horrible government like this one in Iran like to think that your readership would understand with our current plight.

Hassan, why do you consider Obama unfriendly to those in Iran who are opposed to the Iranian government?

It’s very simple, just look at his actions and words during the last three years—they have been very tame toward the brutal regime in Iran. For example, in 2009 when we protested in the streets because of the fraudulent elections and the regime sent its thugs to beat and kill us. Many lost their lives including that famous girl “Neda” seen on YouTube who was shot by Iranian government militia. And what did Obama do or say? Not much. In very mild language he condemned the crackdown on us by the regime but did nothing more. We believe he was very tame in his response because he was trying to extend an olive branch to the mullahs ruling Iran so they would negotiate with him on the nuclear issue. We now know this was a failure by Obama because the mullahs never came to the negotiating table for the nuclear weapons program. Well, Obama’s move was the stupidest because it sent a clear message to the government here in Iran that they could get away with beating and murdering their own people and the America nor the West would raise a finger for the people of Iran. So in the eyes of the regime in Iran, Obama is seen as weak and in the eyes of most people who hate this government he is seen as someone who doesn’t care about us.

So is this just your opinion of Obama, or do you know other young people who feel the same way as you in Iran?

It’s not just my views, just look at the YouTube videos online of the thousands of young Iranians marching in the streets after the fraudulent 2009 elections and chanting “Obama, you’re either with us or you’re with them!” Here is just one of those videos….

With the protests in Iran earlier this year, do you think the Obama administration’s attitude or behavior toward those who seek democracy in Iran has changed?

No it hasn’t. It has only reinforced our earlier belief that he’s no friend to average Iranians who want to live free in our own country. In general he has shown that America turns its backs on its friends in the Middle East and doesn’t have the stomach to come down on its enemies in the region.

Why do you say that?

Well look at the example of Egypt. For the last 30 years Egypt has been a moderate Arab friend of the U.S. in the region. Now I am not defending Mubarak because he’s no different than many other dictators in the region. But when the protests began in Egypt, Obama came down hard almost everyday on Mubarak and his government and called for him to step down immediately. Obama rallied the European countries to pressure him to step down because of the human rights violations and the need for more freedom in Egypt. The world’s attention and pressure was on Mubarak and it ultimately forced his government to collapse. Now look at Obama’s behavior toward the Iranian leadership, who are not America’s friends in the region after they cracked down on the student opposition protests this February. He and Hillary Clinton did condemn the violence against us protesters but that’s it—he did not forcefully call for the regime to be removed, he did not rally the Europeans and the United Nations against the regime and his administration did nothing to place the international media spotlight on the Iranian government’s crimes against its own people during the protests. Where was his outrage at the slaughter of young men and women in the streets of Tehran? Was it not worse than what people endured while protesting in Cairo? Is this how Obama or America treats its enemies and friends? So Obama’s actions speak louder than his words and he’s proven to us not to be a friend of average people in Iran who hate the mullahs running our country. Obama’s administration has only emboldened the Iranian regime to continue their killing and terror against its people because they know the U.S. under Obama will do little if nothing to them for their crimes.

What would you like to see done differently by the Obama administration or the U.S. Congress to help your cause?

I think the most important thing for U.S. leaders to do is to express a very strong and unified voice against the human rights abuses the Iranian regime is committing against its people. Obama and his team have been “too nice” and “too diplomatic” in their public talk about the Iranian government. America and its leaders need to say very clearly and frequently in the media that they will not stand by and not allow for the mullahs and their thugs to continue killing innocent people in Iran who just want to live free. Your leaders need to keep the world’s pressure and media spotlight on Iran. Why don’t they call for the International War Crimes Tribunal to bring charges against the Iranian leadership for crimes against humanity? Why don’t you expose the thousands of innocent people they kill everyday on false charges of marital infidelity, treason, homosexuality and supposed crimes against Islam? This I think is very important rhetoric that needs to come from the American leadership and will give encouragement of the heart to average Iranians who will not feel hopeless in standing up against the current Iranian regime. I think that if we feel America is truly behind us and the U.S. government will do everything on the diplomatic end to pressure the Iranian government, then this regime cannot possibly continue its campaign of terror against its citizens and their house of cards will eventually collapse.

I also think that the U.S. and the world need to apply much more economic pressure on the Iranian government. The United Nations Security Council sanctions have scared the regime’s leadership and tightened the screws of their financial lifeline a little. But more needs to done. Banks in Europe and Asia need to decline major transactions from the Iranian regime’s companies. International companies need to stop their billion dollar contracts with the regime. The Arab Gulf states need to refuse or reduce their refining of Iranian oil to gasoline that is sold back to Iran. In Iran we do not refine our oil into gasoline, so all of our gasoline must be imported. Without gasoline the country will come to a standstill and bring the regime to its knees. All of these economic measures will gradually squeeze the current regime and lead people in Iran to stand up against the government which has failed them. It saddens me to say it but Iran is already in financial ruin because the mullahs running the country have been so corrupt and for years have been using funds from the sale of our natural resources to fund the Palestinian terrorist causes or Hezbollah’s terrorism instead of building up the country. I think that just a few more economic pushes will bring the regime to near collapse.

Do you have hope that one day Iran will be free of the current regime?

Of course. We never loose hope. We as a people have had a long history of being ruled by dictators and conquerors, but we have always overcome them. The majority of Iranians living in Iran today are younger people who want better lives for themselves and as they continue growing up, they will not want to endure these current hardships. Also don’t forget that Iran is the birthplace of human rights and equality. It was under Cyrus the Great, the ancient ruler of Iran who declared human rights for all of the world’s inhabitants. We are of course the descendants of Cyrus and will eventually rise up against these murderers who have taken over our country.

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April 4, 2011 | 6:41 pm

Journalist Lisa Daftari sheds light on LGBT abuses in Iran

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Iranian American journalist Lisa Daftari

Last week I had the opportunity to hear my friend and talented fellow Iranian American journalist Lisa Daftari discuss her expertise on the human rights abuses gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders encounter today in Iran at the hands of that regime’s radical fundamentalist Islamic leaders. Daftari spoke to the LGBT political group the ”Stonewall Democrats Club” based in West Hollywood about the the lack of freedoms that homosexuals face in Iran and elsewhere in the Islamic world. Daftari is a seasoned journalist and Iran expert having appeared on CBS, NBC, PBS and Fox News television programs. She’s also a frequent contributor to the Washington Post and Front Magazine online. She discussed the reality that many individuals living in the West are unaware that Iran’s current fundamentalist Shiite Islamic laws consider homosexuality to be a disease. (Her interesting article about the Gulag for Gays in Iran can be found here). Gays, lesbians and transgenders live secret lives in Iran and are often harrassed, beaten and imprisoned if their sexual identity is discovered by the Iranian authorities. Over the past three decades dozens of men have been promptly executed for the “crime of homosexuality” in Iran. In fact Iran’s current laws require men who are publicly discovered to be gay, to have sex change surgeries so that these indivduals can “live normally in Iran’s society as women” and the government will even pay for such surgical procedures.

Kudos to the Stonewall Democrats Club for engaging the local LGBT community on the issue of abuses that homosexuals face everyday in Iran. Andrew Lachman, the past president of Democrats for Israel group in L.A. who is also on the Stonewall’s board, shed light on the LGBT community’s interest on the topic of human rights abuses in Iran. “There is a natural alliance between the LGBT community and the Iranian community here in Los Angeles in opposing the current regime in Iran,” Lachman said. “This kind of outreach really helps everyone find out just how much they share a revulsion to a regime that locks up and executes gays and political dissidents alike, merely for being who they are.” On an interesting side note, Daftari also explained how Israel was the only country in the Middle East that has provided LGBT with significant equal rights and freedom to live their lives as they wish without fear of abuse. In fact Israel every year has a “Gay Pride” parade in the captial city of Jerusalem unlike the other countries in the Middle East that kill or torture individuals who are LGBT.

Here is video I captured of Iranian American journalist Lisa Daftari exposing the extent of abuse LGBT encounter at the hands of Iran’s fundamentalist Islamic regime…

Andrew Lachman

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March 29, 2011 | 2:18 pm

No Rooz celebrations this year source of pride and joy for L.A.’s Iranian Americans

Posted by Karmel Melamed

For the last seven years Los Angeles City Councilman Tony Cardenas has been one of the few local elected officials who has championed the recognition of “No Rooz” or the secular Persian New Year at L.A.’s City Hall. This year’s honoring of No Rooz on March 18th by Cardenas and the L.A. City Council was no different and drew more than 100 local Iranian Americans of various faiths to officially mark the new year with a proclamation and a dessert reception afterwards. L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaragosia was also on hand to address the council and acknowledge the leadership of countless Iranian Americans working in city government and contributing to the continued growth of the city’s business. Cardenas’ embracing of No Rooz and the local Iranian American community is indeed unique as he has very few if any Iranian Americans living in his district. City officials should be applauded for honoring No Rooz which not only marks the beginning of Spring but also encourages a sense of harmony, mutual respect and love among all peoples. No where else but Los Angeles, which has so many different immigrant communities is the message of No Rooz more important.

The following is a brief message on video I captured of Cardenas sharing his No Rooz thoughts with local Iranian Americans at L.A.’s City Hall:

Here are some of my photos of the L.A. City Hall No Rooz celebrations…

(left to right; L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaragosia acknowledging L.A. City Councilman Tony Cardenas for honoring No Rooz at L.A. City Hall on March 18, 2011, photo by Karmel Melamed)

L.A. Convention Center’s Iranian American General Manager, Pouria Abassi addressing the City Council during the No Rooz celebrations, photo by Karmel Melamed.

(left to right, Iranian American businessman Michael Delijani and L.A. City Controller Wendy Gruel, photo by Karmel Melamed)

Los Angeles’ official proclaimation of No Rooz 2011

(left to right; L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Mario Trujillo, Celine Cordero L.A. Deputy Mayor of Legislative & Political Affairs and Iranian American attorney A. David Yosefeyeh, photo by Karmel Melamed)

Likewise on March 27th, the No Rooz festivities in Los Angeles continued with Persian food, music, dancing and live media broadcasts from Westwood Village’s “Persian Square”. The gathering that drew more than 1,000 local Iranians was organized by local Iranian American businessmen and Westwood’s “unofficial Iranian mayor” Alex Helmi, who over the years have been pushing to have a public honoring of No Rooz. Likewise countless city and state officials including L.A. City Council members Paul Koretz and Dennis Zine were on hand for the celebrations as well as L.A. City Controller Wendy Gruel and California Secretary of State Debra Bowen. More than a dozen Iranian radio and satellite television programs were broadcasting at the venue while local Iranians enjoyed cultural foods and music.

The following is a video I captured of the No Rooz “haf seen” table which contains many of the symbolic items Iranians put on display in celebration of the new year….

Here are some of my photos of the No Rooz festivities in Westwood Village this year…

Iranian TV entertainment reporter broadcasting live from Persian Square.

(left to right; Iranian American businessman and publisher Bijan Khalili and Los Angeles Police officer Jafari, photo by Karmel Melamed)

(left to right; L.A. City Councilmember, Paul Koretz and Iranian American Beverly Hills Commissioner Joe Shooshani, photo by Karmel Melamed)

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February 23, 2011 | 9:18 pm

The fate of Iran’s Jews in 2011?

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Frank Nikbakht, Iranian Jewish activist and head head of the Committee for Religious Minorities in Iran, photo by Karmel Melamed.

Since demonstrations and political upheaval enveloped Iran last week just as in 2009, again worldwide Jewry and particularly thousands of Iranian Jews living in Southern California have been concerned about the safety of some 10,000 to 20,000 Jews still living in Iran today. My piece in this week’s Jewish Journal sheds light on the dangers the Jews of Iran are living with an recent threats certain Iranian militia forces have made to destroy the tombs of the Esther and Mordechai, the heros of Purim.

The following is a segment of my latest interview with Nikbakht about the recent developments in Iran…

How safe is the Jewish community in Iran during violent crack down on demonstrators in Iran?

The Jewish community in Iran, being considered as a sort of hostage population may be facing new pressures soon, even though they were not involved at all with the demonstrations. This is because of the repeat of the now famous street chants of “neither Gaza, nor Lebanon— Tunisia, Egypt and Iran” and it ends with “my is life dedicated only to Iran”. This was chanted on the Quds day of 2009 by regime opponents. Now the paranoid Iranian regime thinking Israel had a hand in the riots, may pressure the Jewish community to stage pro-Palestinian and pro-Hezbollah demonstrations, issue statements and hold rallies, like in 2009. The regime may, may make certain arrests connected with Israeli sensitivities or by reviving the Islamo-Nazi threats as was the calls for the destruction of Esther’s Shrine in the Western city of Hamedan.

Why are Jews such a target for different forces in Iran during times of turmoil?

Small minorities and in particular hated minorities such as Jews are always in danger of being wiped out. In times of turmoil, war and revolution are the most dangerous because not only may a Nazi-like government such as the Islamic Republic of Iran decide to use its Jewish hostages for deterrence or revenge— but smaller groups of fanatics within the society or the armed forces may decide to do something themselves during a chaotic situation.

How is the Iranian regime different from the Mubarak regime as far as cracking down hard on protestors and clamping down on the telecommunications/internet? And how much more difficult will it be for the “people” to bring down the Iranian regime with their demonstrations?

This is like comparing apples and oranges. The Egyptian regime under Mubarak was perhaps a typical military dictatorship whereas the Iranian regime is a Theocratic one.
Whereas there may have been slightly more people killed in Egypt during their two week long uprising compared with a similar period in the Iranian events of 2009 or February 2011, there are several notable differences, namely the Islamic regime in Iran would go after, target, arrest or even assassinate the family members of street activists or even kill bystanders to spread terror among the whole population. In Iran tens of thousands were arrested even for chanting “Allahu Akbar” from their roofs and thousands were so severely tortured that their stories shocked the new generation who had no direct experience with the Islamic authorities.

Also in Iran, the government forces had almost a free hand in continuing the suppression or prevention of the demonstrations. Whereas in Egypt the main government instruments of force, such as the army, the intelligence and the police, were heavily prone to American pressures not to act against street demonstrations (as the Iranian Army was during the Shah) and even pressured Mubarak to leave. In terms of shutting down hi-tech communications, the Iranian government is much more capable. It must be added that following an initial interest by CNN and some other American media in 2009, they all reduced covering Iranian events that year as soon as Obama lost interest.

In 2009 there was criticism by Iranian Americans and others of the Obama administration failing to clearly voice show the Iranian people’s desire for freedom and true democracy in their country. What in your opinion has been the administrations biggest failure on the Iran issue?

In my opinion, the administration’s biggest failure is their self deluding belief that the Islamic Regime in Iran, is just another dictatorship. Iran is a theocratic dictatorship with no mercy and no consideration for people if they are against God’s government (as they call themselves) and its armed forces cannot be re-tasked or neutralized by American pressures. Successful “velvet” revolutions organized or supported by the US, have either succeeded in countries whose regime had already been dismantled— such as the old Soviet block, or whose regime and country had been destroyed by extreme violence—as the case with NATO having destroyed and fragmented Yugoslavia, or in places where their armed forces were loyal to America and thus easily frozen in place.

Why does the regime continue to use Israel and the U.S. as a scapegoat for the demonstrations and unrest in Iran and what purpose does it serve?

The regime is trying to keep its own supporters within the society, agitated and loyal. This tactic is still effective among millions of fanatics or obedient Allah fearing population but not among millions of regime opponents or liberal Muslims who are slowly learning that LIES are the main weapon of the regime for its survival.

What is the likelihood of successful regime change this time around in Iran from the “rioting”? Can it effectively snowball, or is this a doomed cause where thousands will be slaughtered by the regime?

This “rioting” has not yet developed into an “uprising”. Therefore there should be no rational expectations for any major accomplishments. The tactics associated with these “riots” are hit and run and therefore there will not be massive slaughter. However, what remains is the still irreconcilable conflict between regime factions, massive western pressures on the regime and a huge undercurrent of popular discontent, intensified by a run away inflation and unsustainable economic situation. Taken together, sometime soon, the regime will crack open.

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December 11, 2010 | 12:05 pm

Etta Israel continues support of L.A.‘s Iranian Jews with special needs

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Last year I had the honor of interviewing Manijeh Nehorai as one of the L.A. Jewish Journal’s annual mensches for her work to support Iranian Jewish children with special needs. Nehorai is a remarkably giving local Iranian Jewish social worker and volunteer of the Etta Israel organization that supports children with special needs and their families with L.A.’s Iranian Jewish community. Nearly two decades ago, at a time when many families in the community with mentally disabled children would hide their special needs children away from the public, Nehorai was brave enough to tackle this taboo and educate these families that there was help available for their children. As in years past, she along with the help of a dozen Iranian Jewish volunteers organizes fundraising events for this important cause that no one in the community has been brave enough to champion.

A few days ago again I had the special opportunity to attend Etta Israel’s Iranian Jewish Capter annual Hanukah fundraising gala event at the Sephardic Temple in West Los Angeles. The gathering raised thousands of dollars to aid in funding the housing and other programs for the organization’s Iranian Jewish clients. While I am not one who is typically big on attending the countless Iranian Jewish community social events and fundraisers in Los Angeles, I always find that this fundraiser has been a pure delight because it is one of those rare events where the community gets together to collectively and unselfishly help others who are less fortunate themselves.

The following are some videos I captured on that evening of Nehorai and the special needs children participating in the program…

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