May 2, 2008 | 12:49 pm

Podcast: Iranian Jews and the taboo of discussing violence

On March 20th, Alfred Hakim, 49, a Iranian Jewish resident of Beverly Hills, was allegedly shot by his 47-year-old brother, Adel. The incident rocked the local Iranian Jewish community which has been abuzz because such gun violence and violence in general is quite rare for the community. Now the incident may have been shocking for local Iranian Jews but what has amazed me has been the lack of community dialogue on the issue of violence. Just talking about domestic violence or other forms of violence is still taboo for the Iranian Jewish community because many feel that they be embarrassed or shamed into admitting the existence of violence in their families.

This taboo of discussing violent incidents in the Iranian Jewish community has been frustrating for me as a journalist because not very many individuals in the community are willing to go on the record to discuss the problems with this issue. Their silence has hindered my goal of educating and informing the community about certain trends and activities within their circles. Contrary to what many Iranian Jews in Los Angeles may think, reporting on and publicly acknowledging that the community has a serious problem with different forms of violence is not a bad thing. Only productive changes can be brought about with an open and honest dialogue about the issue and education about the impact of such violence. We cannot continue to sweep this issue under the rug and believe it will go away because has become worse each year among certain segments of the community.

My upcoming article in the L.A. Jewish Journal will be exploring this horrible taboo and the issue of violence among Iranian Jewry. In the meantime, our blog’s podcast recently chatted with a couple of community leaders who had the courage to pinpoint the community’s difficulities with certain types of violence and the roots of the problem. The podcast program can be heard here.

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Tags: domestic violence taboo, iranian jews, persian jews, violence

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April 27, 2008 | 12:40 pm

Podcast: Iranian Jews giving back to L.A.’s homeless and needy

On weekly basis I am approached by dozens of individuals from various backgrounds ranting about how Iranian Jews are “taking over Beverly Hills and flashing their money everywhere”. In fact one American Jewish individual at Sinai Temple in West Los Angeles asked me how involved the Iranian Jewish community is in philanthropic activities in light of their substantial financial strength. With pride I was able to list more than two dozen Jewish, Israel, and even non-Jewish non-profit organizations that are benefiting from the donations and volunteer time of Iranian Jews living in Southern California.

The issue of poverty and the homeless is one that has been a high priority for many Iranian Jews. Two individuals from the Iranian Jewish community that have stood up and have been proactive about the problem are Jennifer Chadorchi and Nouriel Cohan . In fact, I covered Chadorchi in 2005 as one of the L.A. Jewish Journal’s “mensches” for her work on behalf of the Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition in organizing a small army of volunteers. Cohan and his wife were also featured “mensches” by the Journal for their grassroots organization to help poverty stricken families. More importantly, Chadorchi and Cohan make me proud to be an Iranian American Jew because they represents the generous and loving spirit of our community. We Iranian American Jews may be quite affluent and sucessful but we are equally giving when it comes to needy causes!

Our latest podcast chats with both remarkable individuals and can be heard here

For more information on volunteering with Chadorchi and the West Hollywood Food Coalition call 310-288-0090.

For more information on supporting Cohan’s Global Kindness organizaiton call 310-286-0300

(Global Kindness founder Nouriel Cohan)

(Iranian Jewish homeless activist Jennifer Chadorchi)

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Tags: chadorchi, homeless, iranian jews, nouriel cohan, persian jews

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March 30, 2008 | 10:53 am

Podcast: Knesset members discuss electoral reform in Israel

On March 24th three members of the Israeli parliament held a press conference at the Beverly Hills offices of the Citizens Empowerment Center in Israel (CECI) a non-profit organization advocating electoral reform in Israel. One influential Knesset Member and Chairman of the Internal Affairs Committee, Ophir Pines-Paz was at hand to discuss new legislation he recently introduced in the Knesset on this very topic. His new bill is designed to create greater stability in future Israeli governments by having Israeli citizens vote directly for their representatives that will be directly accountable to them. Currently Israel’s governments are held together by coalitions of both small and large parties. If any faction is unhappy with the direction of the government, they can essentially bring the government down and call for new elections.

Also at hand in the press conference to discuss the need for electoral reform in Israel were Members of Knesset Yoel Hasson and Nadia Hilou. The purpose of the gathering was to inform the Jewish community here in Los Angeles about this new legislation that can potentially transform the landscape of Israeli politics.

CECI was founded by the very successful Iranian Jewish businessman and philanthropist, Parviz Nazarian. CECI is based in Israel and was established nearly four years ago with the objective of promoting more stable and effective governments in Israel through education as well as advocacy of the Israeli public. CECI is advocating for a change in the system of government in Israel where direct elections would be held for individual lawmakers in parliament rather than the current system where the public votes for a political party that later appoints representatives. Their belief is that such elections would create greater stability in the Israeli government and greater accountability of the elected officials to their constiutency. It gives me as an Iranian American Jew, great pride to see influential forces within our community such as Nazarian taking proactive steps to not only to support Israel financially but also in other facets. His organization is yet another example of the Zionism and the remarkable contributions Iranian Jews in America are making to Israel-- a historical achievement considering the fact that only a few generations ago, Jews lived in ghettos and extreme poverty in Iran!

I had a chance to chat with Pines-Paz, Hasson, and Nazarian about this new legislation and the substantial support of Iranian Jews for Israel. My podcast interview with them can be heard here.

Here are some photos from that press conference…

(Knesset Member Ophir Pines-Paz)

(Knesset Member Yoel Hasson)

(Knesset Member Nadia Hilou)

(left to right; Nadia Hilou, Ophir Pines-Paz, CECI Founder Parviz Nazarian, and Yoel Hasson)

(CECI Executive Director Mrs. Dora Kadisha)

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Tags: ceci, citizens empowerment center in israel, iranian jews, ophir pines-paz, parviz nazarian, persian jews

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March 24, 2008 | 10:04 pm

Podcast: Iranian Jewish professionals make waves with new mentoring program

Nearly two dozen Los Angeles area successful Iranian Jewish professionals in their 20’s and 30’s are turning heads in their community by participating in a new program matching them as mentors with Iranian Jewish teenagers. Specifically, the new Thirty Years After organization’s members and volunteers have partnered up with the Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles (JBBBSLA) to provide mentoring for these teens.

I’ve volunteered as a mentor myself because I’d like to share my own expertise and experience about the world of journalism with a Jewish teen. Many young professionals in Southern California’s Iranian Jewish community feel the need to educate and enlighten teens in the community of the other career options besides the law and medicine for them to consider. JBBBSLA is currently looking for volunteer mentors right now. Those interested in being mentors can contact JBBBSLA at: (323) 761-8675.

Our blog’s latest podcast on the new mentoring program among local Iranian Jews can be found here

Here are some photos of a recent gathering of potential Iranian Jewish mentors…

(Ze’ev Korn, JBBBSLA’s Director of School Based Mentoring)

(Potential mentor Roy Kimia filling out the paperwork to become a mentor)

(left to right; Potential mentors Jonathan Delshad and Eman Esmaielzadeh)

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Tags: iranian jews, jewish big brothers big sisters of los angeles, mentoring, persian jews, thirty years after

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March 18, 2008 | 11:20 am

Exclusive Podcast: out-going Beverly Hills mayor Delshad

Today will mark the final day for Iranian Jewish City Council member of Beverly Hills, Jimmy Delshad in his post as mayor of the city. In March 2007 he made history by narrowly winning re-election to the City Council and became the first Iranian American Jew to serve as mayor of a city in America. The post of mayor rotates among the Council members every year according to their seniority on the council.

There have been many articles written about Delshad in Jewish and secular publications, but they have failed to identify the true historical significance of his role in local government. His position on the Council is important to Iranian Jewry because for centuries Jews in Iran were prohibited from participating politics or elections. Here you have a representative of that same community (which a few generations ago lived in ghettos) now taking part in the incredible democracy of America! No doubt Delshad made splash during his time as mayor by introducing some unique measures dealing with 21st century technology being incorporated in city services as well as an Iran divestment measure. He has in many ways inspired the younger generation of Iranian Jews in Southern California serve in the public sector.

On March 10th he met with his Iranian Jewish supporters at Beverly Hills City Hall to thank them for their backing during his term as mayor and to recite a prayer of thanksgiving. Below are some photos of that gathering. Afterwards I had a chance to chat with Delshad about his activities and efforts as mayor during the last year.

Our blog’s exclusive podcast interview with former Mayor Delshad can be heard here.

(Delshad holding hands with supporters and praying in his office, photo by Karmel Melamed)

(left to right; Iranian Jewish businessman Ebrahim Simhaee, Delshad, Iranian Jewish businessman and philanthropist Parviz Nazarian, photo by Karmel Melamed)

(left to right; Magbit organization board members Doran Adhami and Gina Rofeem)

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Tags: beverly hills city council, delshad, iranian jews, persian jews

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March 8, 2008 | 7:32 am

Podcast & photo essay: Boteach vs. Prager at Nessah

The theme from the movie “Rocky” blasted through the main sanctuary at the Nessah Synagogue in Beverly Hills on Thursday March 6th with nearly 600 local Iranian Jews who came to witness a heated debate between author and television personality Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and syndicated Jewish radio talk show host Dennis Prager. Their debate focused on Boteach’s newest book “The Broken American Male”. Boteach’s argument was that American men nowadays don’t pay as much attention to the emotional needs of their wives and children. Instead he argued American men spend too much time watching sports on TV and porn on the Internet. He also said American men are often too caught up with making money and less focused on making the family work-- a reason why some marriages fail and some children may not want to be at home. Prager argued that the problem may not lie with American men but perhaps with American society where the roles of men and women have been blurred since the feminist movement of the 1960s’ and 1970s’.

While I personally did not favor the arguments of either side, I was impressed with the large turnout of mostly younger Iranian Jewish professionals. You could even say Prager and Boteach were treated like celebrities by those in attendance as small groups huddled around them before and after the debate. Boteach had previously spoken at Nessah and has many fans in the community considering the fact that his father is an Iranian Jew. Prior to the debate, some in attendance enjoyed Sushi and Saki while mingling-- after all, this was yet another opportunity for young Jewish singles to meet one another!

To listen to our podcast featuring Boteach and Prager’s views of young Iranian American Jews here

(Prager is a big celeb and hit with local Iranian Jews)

(Damn, Boteach loves to speak with his hands! photos by Karmel Melamed)

(Prager quietly writes his notes preparing for his rebutal to Boteach)

(Simon Etehad, head of Nessah’s young professionals group moderating the debate)

(The V.I.P. crowd enjoys sushi and saki before the debate)

(The main sanctuary at Nessah was packed with both young and old to listen to the debate)

(Despite their heated debate and difference in height, these guys get along great!)

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Tags: dennis prager, iranian jews, nessah synagogue, persian jews, rabbi shumley boteach

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February 24, 2008 | 6:04 am

Our podcast remembers Dr. Amnon Nezter

Several days ago this blog reflected on the incredible contributions of the late Iranian Jewish historian Dr. Amnon Nezter following his passing on February 15, 2008. An obituary on Nezter appeared in the L.A. Jewish Journal website this week, but our podcast recently interviewed Nezter’s close friends and collegues to get a better idea of his personality and his life’s work in preserving the ancient Iranian Jewish history. Our podcast chatted with George Haroonian, an L.A. area Iranian Jewish activist and Dr. Nahid Pirnazar, UCLA professor of Iranian Jewish studies, who both shed greater light on this special man.

We invite you to listen to this podcast here.

(Netzer’s mentee and close friend Dr. Nahid Pirnazar, UCLA professor of Iranian Jewish Studies)

(Iranian Jewish activist, George Haroonian)

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Tags: iranian jewish podcast, iranian jews, netzer, persian jews

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