January 9, 2012 | 7:13 am

Lalezary is what is right about L.A.’s Iranian Jews

Posted by Karmel Melamed

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Southern California’s Iranian Jewish community has been abuzz this week after a recent press conference held by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca who announced that Iranian Jewish volunteer deputy Shervin Lalezary was responsible for the arrest of an alleged serial arsonist in the Hollywood area. The 30-year-old Lalezary, who is also a real estate attorney, spoke humbly at the press conference about his detection and arrest of the suspect in the case. To say that local Iranian Jews are thrilled and proud of Lalezary is an understatement. Community leaders and members I have spoken to this past week have all demanded that I give proper coverage in the L.A. Jewish Journal to Lalezary because they believe he is one of the great examples of what is right about Southern California’s Iranian Jewry.

Following last year’s conviction of former local Iranian Jewish banker Ezri Namvar and the recent arrest of Iranian Jewish radio talk show host John Farahi, many in the community have been disappointed with the lack of good news coming from those within their ranks. So this story of Lalezary comes at a great time when L.A. Iranian Jewry can proudly point to one of their own as an example of our generosity to the greater community in L.A. and our desire to bring about “Tikun Olam” or healing of the world. Iranian Jews live in a very insular and tight-knit community, often not allowing outsiders to really understand them. Sadly as a result, sometimes a few individuals from outside the community are often quick to write-off or judge the entire community based on a few rotten apples. Yet every once in a while a great example of our community’s giving nature, love of community and desire to help others shines— such was the case this week with deputy Lalezary. He is not only an educated productive contributor to the economy of L.A. but also volunteers his free time for the benefit of law enforcement and protection of all Angelinos. This blog salutes deputy Lalezary and congratulates his family for giving us an individual who has given back to the larger community unselfishly and with bravery.  Again, he is what is truly right about L.A.’s Iranian Jews and a fantastic example that the new generation of young Iranian Jews can emulate.

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January 3, 2012 | 7:13 am

World says nothing after Christians jailed on Christmas in Iran

Posted by Karmel Melamed

More than two dozen Christian men, women and children celebrating Christmas earlier this week in their church located in the southern Iranian city of “Ahvaz” were promptly arrested and hauled off to a local jail. The small evangelical congregation was hauled into two buses that were waiting for them in what local witnesses described as a planned raid by the local police. What was their supposed crime? Well accordingly to Iranian officials, these families were allegedly proselytizing Christianity among Muslims in Iran which the current government considers illegal and is punishable by death! While the worshipers of this Iranian church were eventually released, their pastor, Farhad Sabokrouh and his wife still remain in jail and are being held on crimes against Islam.

This horrid Christmas day raid and arrest of innocent Christian families in Iran is yet another prime example of the pure evil nature of Iran’s regime, which despite its propaganda machine, has zero tolerance for individuals who are not from the Shiite Islamic faith. It’s a travesty that the news media in the West have given no coverage to this story and governments in Europe and the U.S. have remained silent while the Iranian regime commits this unspeakable crime on Christmas, a day of peace and holiness for billions of people worldwide. What amazes me the most is how the depraved Iranian police can handcuffed and hauled off to jail innocent children! How can this heinous Iranian regime accuse children, of all people, for proselytizing Christianity?!

What is most hypocritical of this entire fiasco is the fact that just a day earlier the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani sent Christmas greetings to Pope Benedict XVI. The audacity of the Iranian regime to attempt to curry favor with the Pope and attempt to “improve their tarnished image” in the world while at the same time persecuting innocent Christian families in their own country is just remarkable! Where is the outage from the international community and the Vatican for this crime against innocent Christian families in Iran? Why hasn’t the current Pope denounced the Iranian regime for this unspeakable crime committed on Christmas against families in Iran? It seems as if while Pope John Paul II had the courage to speak out against the evils of Communist regimes in Russia and Eastern Europe more than 30 years ago, the current Pope Benedict XVI lacks the same courage to speak out against the evils of Islamo-fascism spewing out of Iran.

The Christmas arrest in Iran is not the first incident of Christian persecution by the Iranian regime. The government in Iran since 1979 has systematically persecuted non-Muslims in Iran (especially Jews, Bahais and Zoroastrians) including Christians. Individuals from the Christian faith have typically been imprisoned or executed— and of them, many were former Muslims who converted to Christianity or encouraged other Muslims to convert to Christianity. For instance, in October 2009, an Iranian Christian Evangelical pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani was arrested in his home by Iranian police in the city of Rasht after seeking to register his house church. In September 2010, Nadarkhani, who is married with two children, was found guilty of abandoning Islam and sentenced to death. While his case is pending appeal, the Iranian judiciary has offered to spare Nadarkhani’s life if he denounces Christianity and returns to Islam. To the contrary, Nadarkhani has refused to leave his faith and remains imprisoned as the Iranian regime attempts to use whatever means possible to force his conversion back to Islam.  Nadarkhani’s case has uniquely gained international attention with media coverage of the story in Europe and the West which has placed some pressure of Iranian’s leadership. Yet the case remains unresolved and just before Christmas this year, an Iranian court ordered Nadarkhani be imprisoned for another year before being executed.

The millions of practicing evangelical Christians and other Christians in the U.S., Canada and South America must demand that their governments and the U.N. hold Iran’s regime accountable for their Christmas crimes against innocent Christian families in Iran. The world cannot continue to remain silent while the Iranian government continues to persecute peoples of others faiths and blatantly violates human rights. What should scare the international community is the clear fact that the same Iranian regime that abuses and threatens its own Christian population would not hesitate to do the same to other countries in the world if their regime ever obtains nuclear weapons.

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December 27, 2011 | 6:52 am

Hillary Clinton’s speech fails to call out Iran for its LGBT abuses

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience of diplomats at the United Nations in Geneva that “gay rights are human rights” and that “it should never be a crime to be gay”. Yet what was surprising about Mrs. Clinton’s gay rights speech for many of us who have been following the Obama administration’s foreign policy on human rights was its lack of real substance. She stated the U.S. would make decisions on asylum and aid to countries based on their record of human rights towards LGBT but nothing more. Why wasn’t there a bold call to rally western nations to pursue a tougher “no nonsense” stance against regime’s who abuse or kill LGBT because of their sexual orientation? There seems to no “bite” to the Obama administration’s supposed support for human rights for LGBT around the world. Moreover Mrs. Clinton’s speech failed to mention the serious violators of LGBT rights in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia and Iran where homosexuals are routinely executed for their sexual orientation. Iran’s government follows Sharia or Islamic law that prohibits any type of sexual activity outside the realm of heterosexual marriage, and homosexuality is considered “a violation of the supreme will of God.” Specifically, in Islamic law homosexuality is referred to as “lavat,” which is Arabic for sodomy and in Iran is punishable only by death.

Those interested in reading about the Iran government’s significant human rights abuses against LGBT in Iran, can read my recent article about it in the Advocate magazine.

One is left wondering why Mrs. Clinton and the Obama administration for that matter are shying away from or frightened to call out the Iranian regime for their unspeakable crimes against LGBT living in Iran? One would think that the current U.S. administration would make sure to use almost every opportunity they come across to single out and isolate Iran’s fundamentalist Islamic regime. While many nations around the world may be swayed into believing Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful, the majority of them cannot deny that Iran’s policy of executing LGBT is utterly horrid. So why isn’t the Obama administration trying to win world support against Iran’s regime for their human rights violations instead of the nuclear issue? This move would no doubt more easily isolate Iran among the countries of the world. And if would seem that once Iran is isolated to a greater extent, it could potentially change its behavior when it comes to the nuclear issue. But it seems as if the Obama administration is fine with not doing anything of the kind when it comes to isolating Iran internationally on all issues. Yes one can argue that there are many violators of LGBT rights in the Middle East and Africa— but are any of them actively pursuing nuclear weapons and calling for their neighbors to be “wiped off the map” like Iran’s leadership has? The crimes against LGBT and humanity in general committed by Iran’s current leadership during the last 32 years are some of the most horrendous to date and cannot be ignored! For this simple reason alone, Iran must be singled out from the family of nations for their human rights abuses. And for Mrs. Clinton to avoid mentioning Iran in her very important speech, yet again I believe shows weak leadership by the Obama administration when it comes to the issue of Iran policy by the U.S.

I hate to admit it but it seems as if Mrs. Clinton’s speech was nothing more than a 2012 election ploy by the Obama administration to fire up her party’s support among LGBT in the U.S. for President Obama. If there was more substance in her speech and if she had made a real effort to call out Iran’s regime for its LGBT abuses, it would have revealed Mrs. Clinton’s true courage to stand up for real human rights and stand up to Iran for its failed human rights record. In the coming 2012 elections those who truly care about LGBT human rights should call out the Obama administration for their failure to do and say nothing about the unspeakable LGBT abuses occurring in Iran today.

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December 19, 2011 | 9:30 am

Obama refuses to sign tougher sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank

Posted by Karmel Melamed

The United States Senate very rarely passes votes unanimously on major legislation during the course of a year and in its long history. Yet earlier this month the U.S. Senate voted unanimously on one of the most stringent sanctions to date on Iran’s Central Bank. The legislation was spearheaded by both Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Republican Senator Mark Kirk of Illionis— indeed a very unusual occasion when both parties come agree to hammer out a bill that benefits the country and the world. But these two courageous lawmakers and the rest of the U.S. Senate clearly realized that Iran’s attaining nuclear weapons is a very serious matter and stopping that regime now with tougher economic sanctions without firing a single bullet was the right move. Despite passage of this landmark amendment known as “Menendez -Kirk” in the Senate, President Obama and his administration have for some foolish reason refused to support it!

I think it’s important to lay out what the amendment truly calls for in order for one to realize how totally ludicrous it would be for any U.S. lawmaker to oppose it. The amendment does the following…

“Prohibits the opening or maintaining in the U.S. of a correspondent account or a payable-through account on foreign financial institutions engaged in non-petroleum-related transactions with the Central Bank of Iran after 60 days. In addition, it imposes sanctions on foreign financial institutions, including central banks, engaged in petroleum-related transactions with the Central Bank of Iran after 180 days with 180-day special exemptions tied to the availability of non-Iranian oil on the market and a country’s significant reduction in purchases of Iranian oil. Likewise it provides a humanitarian exception for food, medicine and medical devices. Lastly it allows the president with an unclassified national security waiver authority every 120 days”.

Now those of us who are well aware of the serious threat a nuclear Iran is to the free world and also believe the military option is not the right route to take against Iran, are simply baffled at why President Obama will not sign this amendment into law! We all know that a key component that is keeping Iran’s radical fundamentalist Islamic regime surviving is its financial lifeline— which is now a shaky economy. So one is left wondering why the President who has said “a nuclear Iran is not acceptable” has failed to take a solid step in squeezing Iran’s lifeline? Moreover one is shocked at how the President has failed to sign Menendez –Kirk, even though it was unanimously passed in the Senate by both Democrats and Republicans? How can President Obama oppose Menendez –Kirk that also gives him both a national security waiver and a waiver to avoid international difficulties to the flow of oil in the world? Mr. President what is stopping you from delivering a strong blow to Iran’s regime without taking the military option? Mr. President what more do you need to sign this necessary bill that could expedite demise of the Islamic Republic of Iran with firing a single shot?

I contacted the White House press office a few times via e-mail and asked for a legitimate answer as to why the President refuses to sign Menendez –Kirk, but never heard back from them. Yet I’m not the only one frustrated by the President’s failure in taking a strong leadership role on Iran policy and this amendment, just listen to U.S. Senator Menendez, who is from the President’s political party, expressing his disappointment and outrage at President Obama’s lack of support for this powerful amendment…

 

 

The President’s refusal to support this amendment is yet another prime example of a golden opportunity that the President has passed on in effectively stopping Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons without taking military steps. President Obama’s first passed up golden opportunity to help stop Iran’s regime came in the summer of 2009 when the brave people of Iran began protesting in the streets of Iran against the rigged presidential elections. The people of Iran began marching in the streets demanding for greater freedoms, democracy and an end to the brutal dictatorship of Iran’s notorious mullahs. What did the President do in response to the Iranian people’s cries for help? For several days he did nothing! He did not utter a word of backing for their cries for help. Finally after a week or so when the protestors were killed, beaten and imprisoned, President Obama gave a watered-down weak speech asking for the Iranian regime to “allow for greater freedoms” for their people. The people of Iran were disappointed with the President’s catastrophic failure to back them and their quest for true freedom— and they showed this disappointment when they chanted in the streets; “Obama you are either with us or you are with them!” The President did nothing when he could have more vocally stepping onto the world’s stage in support of Iran’s people. The President wanted to “make nice” with the mullahs ruling Iran in an effort to lure them to the negotiating table on the nuclear issue. Well this approach clearly failed and the regime’s leadership spat in his face and refused to negotiate. President Obama instead could have pledged economic and diplomatic support for the people of Iran’s desires to be free from their oppressive regime. He could have urged the people of Iran to topple their bloodthirsty oppressors by promising support from the U.S. All of this potential help from the President could have possibly helped start the demise of Iran’s current regime and Iran’s nuclear weapons program without a single bullet or missile fired by the U.S. or any other country. Yet in the end the President missed this golden opportunity and proved that his approach and policy of dealing with Iran is an utter failure.

Lastly what continues to baffle me about the President’s failure to sign this stringent sanction on Iran’s Central Bank is the fact that the European governments, whom have more trade with Iran and purchase Iran’s oil in larger volumes, are now considering similar tough sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank— while we in the U.S. who do not trade with Iran and do not purchase Iranian oil are doing nothing! It just doesn’t make sense for us here in the U.S. not to stop Iran’s financial lifeline when we have little if nothing to loose financially from doing so!

Readers of this blog often e-mail me or post comments asking why I am so critical of President Obama’s approach on Iran. Well his failure to take courageous and effective leadership steps (without taking military steps) as I’ve listed above are prime examples of why this U.S. President is either a complete fool when it comes to dealing with Iran, or surrounded by fools who are advising him poorly on Iran, or just completely incompetent when it comes to serious foreign policy issues relating to Iran and the Middle East! The President’s lack of effective leadership on the Iran issue should put into question his competency to be the commander-in-chief of this great nation in next year’s presidential election. My only hope is that average Americans and the media will ask the President the tough questions when it comes to his lack of leadership on the Iran issue and ask him why he refused to sign the bi-partisan supported Menendez –Kirk amendment that could have helped stop Iran’s nuclear program without firing a single bullet! If Iran ever obtains nuclear weapons during President Obama’s watch, he will go down in history as the president who brought both America and the world closer to nuclear annihilation.

 

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December 13, 2011 | 12:52 pm

Iranian Jewish Businessman Farahi indicted for ponzi scheme

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Los Angeles area Iranian Jewish radio talk show host and financial investment manager, John Farahi last week was charged in U.S. Federal District Court in downtown Los Angeles with allegedly defrauding more than 100 local Iranian American investors and various financial institutions of nearly $20 million through an elaborate Ponzi scheme he carried out for nearly five years.

The 41-count indictment stated that 54-year-old Farahi misled investors by telling them their funds were being invested by his Beverly Hills firm, NewPoint Financial Services Inc., in unsecured corporate bonds, FDIC-insured certificates of deposit, government bonds, and corporate bonds issued by companies backed by funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Yet the indictment alleges that Farahi did not make these investments for his clients but instead used the funds to make Ponzi payments to his firm’s earlier clients, traded in high-risk future options trading and used the funds for his own personal use and to support his family’s lavish lifestyle.

“Starting in 2008 Farahi allegedly failed to tell NewPoint Financial Services investors that he had lost at least $15 million through his undisclosed options trading— even as he continued to solicit investors for NewPoint Financial Services,” indicated a recently released U.S. Department of Justice statement about the case.

In addition, the indictment states that since 2003, Farahi used his radio program, “The Economy Today,” featured on the Studio City-based Farsi-language Radio Iran KIRN 670 AM, to target members of L.A.’s Iranian American community— many of whom were Iranian Jews, recommending they make appointments at his firm. According to the indictment, Farahi also allegedly lied to major banks about his financial condition in order to drawn funds from lines credit he had with the banks.

In April 2009, following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into Farahi and his firm, the indictment states that Farahi allegedly conspired with his Century City attorney, David Tamman, to cover up his fraud scheme from the SEC. As a result Tamman was also recently indicted for his alleged involvement with the cover up of Farahi’s supposed Ponzi scheme.

According to U.S. Federal statutes, if convicted on all 41 criminal counts, Farahi could face a maximum sentence of more than 700 years in federal prison and Tamman could face a maximum sentence of 190 years in federal prison.

Farahi’s indictment has only added to the local Iranian Jewish community’s embarrassment as it comes on the heals of the recent conviction of Ezri Namvar, another local Iranian Jewish investment banker and real estate developer. Namvar was sentenced in October to seven years in federal prison for stealing about $20 million from four clients who had given money to his company to facilitate1031 exchanges— transactions in which property sellers defer paying taxes by parking proceeds with an intermediary until they find another property to buy.

In late 2008, two dozen creditors — most of them from Southern California’s Iranian Jewish community — filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Namvar and his Namco Capital Group company, accusing him of losing as much as $500 million loaned to him in an alleged Ponzi scheme. While that case is still ongoing, a substantial number of local Iranian Jewish victims of Namvar’s alleged scheme have been financially devastated.

A. David Youssefyeh, a local Iranian Jewish attorney representing nearly a dozen former Namvar investors, said Farahi’s indictment has only further shaken the trust among the tight-knit local Iranian Jewish community who once closed business deals with handshakes alone.

“Farahi’s indictment is another blow to our community, but hopefully out of all of this we will rise with even higher ethical standards in our business dealings, said Youssefyeh. “Although 99.9 percent of our community has had no issues in their business dealings, hopefully Mr. Namvar’s conviction and Mr. Farahi’s indictment will be warning to those who may be tempted to take the easy road in the future”.

In January 2010 the SEC filed a lawsuit against Farahi, his company, his wife, Gissou Rastegar Farahi, and the firm’s controller, Elaheh Amouei for allegedly misleading and defrauding individuals working with his financial investment firm. While the SEC suit has been placed on hold pending the current criminal charges against Farahi, the suit alleged that Farahi’s investors’ money was transferred into personal accounts controlled by Farahi and his wife to build their mansion in Beverly Hills.

Both Farahi and his wife moved in high-end social circles within the local Iranian Jewish community and were involved in organizing fundraising events at the West Hollywood-based Temple Beth El, which is owned and operated by the Iranian American Jewish Federation (IAJF). Farahi’s wife, a former IAJF board member, also helped organize high-profile fundraising events in the community for Hilary Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid.

The Justice Department statement indicated that after voluntarily surrendering to authorities and being arraigned on December 9th, Farahi was taken into custody. A spokesperson for the Justice Department indicated that bail was denied for Farahi who still remains in custody.

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November 20, 2011 | 6:36 am

Mother of Jersualem is Crying novel humanizes Middle East conflict

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Dr. Rosemary Hartounian Cohen is perhaps one of the rare authors and academics you’ll ever come across today because of her identity as an Iranian, Armenian and a Jew. Her unique background, her life experiences and those of her own family have enabled her to see the world— especially the conflict in the Middle East in a totally different light. So when she asked me to read and review her latest book, “The Mother of Jersualem is Crying” I gladly accepted. To my delight Dr. Cohen does indeed manage to convey the heart wrenching personal pain that the three families in the novel who are Jewish, Christian and Muslim encounter because of the blind hatred and lack of human decency in their world.

I particularly enjoyed learning about the tremendous hardships Armenians living in what is now Turkey encountered at the hands of the Turkish military during the early part of the 20th century. It was not easy reading the story of the Armenian family in her novel that was decimated and devastated in the genocide, but it is an example of just one of the thousands of true life stories many Armenians today carry with them about their own families. The Armenian genocide is among one of humanity’s worse episodes and its occurrence must be recognized. My hope is that this novel and others will continue to raise awareness in the world about the Armenian genocide and encourage human beings to stand up against future genocides! Dr. Cohen’s ability to humanize the suffering endured during the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust as well as Arab and Israeli conflict in this novel is remarkable. The emotional, historical, religious and cultural complexity of the Middle East and its people are often very difficult for authors, journalists and even politicians to explain to individuals not from that part of the world. The Middle East is just not easy…but Dr. Cohen’s message in this novel lays out the overriding solution to the suffering endured in that part of the world— that with love and tolerance, those who truly cherish life can overcome all difficulties. Readers of “The Mother of Jersualem is Crying” will not be disappointed because the novel tells three compelling stories and conveys a powerful message for humanity’s need for co-existence in the world.

Here’s a recent online video interview of Dr. Cohen about her latest book…

 

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November 19, 2011 | 2:51 pm

Is Obama listening to the people of Iran’s calls for help?

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Two weeks ago on the 32nd anniversary of the hostage-taking of the American embassy in Iran, nearly two dozen current and former Iranian student activists wrote a open and very heart breaking letter to President Obama. The letter which was translated into English online was practically begging President Obama for greater diplomatic help, strong leadership and open support for the people of Iran who have been enduring unspeakable human rights abuses at the hand of Iran’s current regime. The letter also speaks volumes about how the average people of Iran are truly disappointed with the President’s failure to stop the Iranian regime from killing and torturing its people— human being that are just yearning for democratic freedoms. The following is just one excerpt from the letter…

“On numerous occasions in recent years, the Iranian people have demonstrated to the world that they want to free themselves from the oppressive grip of the Iranian regime. Two years ago today, the Iranian people, while being beaten by batons and shot at with guns, cried out to you. They asked you which side you were on, the hostage-taking regime’s or the people’s. The Iranian people chanted, “Obama, Obama, you’re either with us or with them.” They cried out for your direct help. However, you have been considering talks with the hostage-taking regime, based on the advice of your advisers, which has worked to the benefit of the Islamic Republic and the disadvantage of the Iranian people. Your administration’s Iran policy gave the Iranian authorities much confidence to visibly suppress citizens during peaceful protests”.

One is left wondering why President Obama and his administration have continued to sit on the sidelines since the 2009 Iranian elections after seeing the people of Iran being crushed by their evil government when protesting in the streets for greater freedoms? Why has President Obama not responded to the student groups and democratic opposition groups in Iran that have repeatedly asked him to apply stiffer economic and political pressures on the Iranian government? Why did the President and his administration repeatedly call for the immediate removal of Egypt’s dictator Mubarak and voiced support for the Egyptian people’s freedom this year, but not call for a similar regime change in Iran and support for it’s people that want to be free? Why has President Obama extended a hand of friendship and desire for negotiations with Iran’s leadership since 2008 even though the ruling Iranian mullahs have repeatedly said they do not want dialogue and only want to destroy America? Why has the President and his administration failed to publicly shed greater light and taken the Iranian regime to task for imprisoning torturing and killing hundreds of innocent people whom have spoken out against the regime? Why have the President and his administration not more actively engaged the world’s leaders to shut down or slow down Iran’s banking and financial institutions that are keeping the Iranian regime alive? These questions and others about President Obama’s lack of leadership on the Iran human rights issue are the main reasons why the people of Iran have lost hope in our president who wrote about “the audacity of hope” and won a Nobel Peace Prize, but has clearly failed to help them.

I think what is most powerful about this latest student letter directed to the President is the fact that the Iranian students do not ask for U.S. military help, but rather ask the President to apply greater sanctions on Iran’s individual leaders, call for human rights abuses to end in Iran, obtain greater international pressure on Iran’s banking institutions and more actively voice support for the average Iranians who are seeking to overthrow their evil government. By the way, the Iranian individuals who signed their names to this letter are perhaps one of the most courageous individuals in Iran that you will meet because they have risked their own lives by identifying themselves and potentially making themselves targets for being imprisoned or killed by the Iranian government they are openly criticizing.

Yes the Iranian government’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is an important issue, but many Iranian Americans believe the U.S. should be more actively encouraging regime change in the news media, in diplomatic channels and creating both a diplomatic and economic environment where average Iranians can themselves throw off the yoke of oppression place upon them by Iran’s fundamentalist Islamic leaders. One would think that President Obama’s administration would encourage a policy of regime change in Iran by the people of Iran as a more effective and less violent method of solving the Iranian nuclear weapons crisis. But it seems as if the President and his advisors are totally asleep at the wheel because for the last three years they have done none of this, but followed an obviously ineffective and foolish policy of engaging the Iranian mullahs in “diplomatic dialogue”. Your first term as President of the United States is fast coming to an end Mr. Obama and the people of Iran have lost faith in your ability to help them, when will you listen to their pleas for real help and real solutions to overcome the tyranny they are plagued with?

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November 13, 2011 | 2:17 pm

Q&A: Ebrahimi’s new book sheds light on life of Jews in revolutionary Iran

Posted by Karmel Melamed

Three years ago I had the rare opportunity to interview Simon Sion Ebrahimi, one of Southern California’s prominent Iranian Jewish authors about his true life experience of being held hostage in his own accounting firm in Iran during that country’s revolution. In November 1979, when the U.S. embassy in Iran was taken over by armed revolutionary thugs, Ebrahimi and his partners were also held hostage inside their nearby offices by his armed employees.

Now 73, Ebrahimi recently published “Veiled Romance”, his first book in his fictional multi-generational Iranian Jewish family saga. The book is a twisted love story about two young Iranian Jews caught up in the whirlwind of Iran’s revolution. Ebrahimi is among a small but growing group of Iranian American Jews who have gathered the courage to write about the life-altering trauma they endured as Iran begun to plunge into the darkness of fundamentalist Shiite Islamic rule. I enjoyed the book and found that its correct portrayal of historical events in 1979 Iran offers non-Iranians a better perspective of the pure evil that is the current regime in Iran. After reading this very compelling story, I recently caught up with Ebrahimi to chat with him about his new book and experiences in revolutionary Iran. The following is a portion of our recent discussion…

The characters in this book encounter some of the same circumstances that you faced at the start of the revolution in Iran while being held hostage in your accounting firm. What was your main motivation in telling this particular story? Was it to tell your story but in a fictional setting?

My motivation in writing “Veiled Romance” was to tell the life stories of our people in Iran while at the same time addressing some of the questions many of us faced when we first immigrated to the States. A writer’s work is a blend of personal experiences with the power of imagination. “Veiled Romance” utilizes my experience of being taken hostage by my 500 employees on the same day— November 4, 1979 that the American Embassy compound in Tehran was raided by Khomeini’s followers. However I chose to tell the story from the point of view of another character, Leila, who personifies women who live under fanatic, autocratic regimes where they are, at best, treated as second class citizens. The 53 American Embassy hostages who endured 444 days of captivity were seen by Khomeini as agents of “The Great Satan”—America. I was merely a Lesser Satan: an Iranian Jew who, because his position, knowledge of the world and perspective on government and law, made him equally a threat to the new regime in Tehran. To sum up my response to your question, this state of affairs, which many Iranians shared during the Khomeini’s Revolution, begged to be told not just from my experience but from the experience of many people who have suffered from the Khomeini regime.

Many of your contemporaries in the Iranian American Jewish community have written their memoirs in the Persian language, so why did you decide to break the mold and write this book in English?

Numerous books, both fiction and non-fiction, have been written in Farsi about the events surrounding the 1979 Revolution in Iran. There is a big vacuum in English-language fiction on this subject and also on how Persian Jews have lived in Persia for over 2,500 years.  I believe that we need to approach English speaking readers who are curious about the way religious minorities were treated in Iran, not to mention millions of Americans of Persian descent who, regardless of their religion, are hungry to read historical fictions set in their homeland.

Your book is in English, but I noticed you’ve woven in many words in Persian into the story. So what were you trying to achieve with this unusual mixing of another language?

I believe this gives the work both authenticity and a sort of native flavor. You see, in every language, words and expressions carry their particular music, melody and message. For example, the Farsi word “aaraam,” as it has been employed in the novel, literary translated means “relax.” “Aaraam or relax,” I’ve asked many, “Which one sounds more soothing and comforting?” And “aaraam” has won the contest. By the same token, there are many instances that the reverse has been true.

Please explain the reason why your Iranian “thug” characters use such foul Persian language in the story?

I’m sorry, but I based that on my experience. I wouldn’t have been honest with my readers if I had censored myself. Although fictional, “Veiled Romance” tells it as it is. I’ve talked to many people who have been incarcerated in the Islamic Republic’s jails, and do they have stories to tell! I have a Muslim friend here who endured five years of verbal, physical and psychological abuse at “Evin”, the notorious jail of the mullahs. 

One of the book’s main characters, Cyrus, goes in depth about the anti-Semitism and the brutal beatings he encountered as a Jew living in the Jewish ghetto of Esfahan, also known as “Jewbareh”. How much of your own personal experiences while living in the Jewbareh did you incorporate into this story and what message are you hoping to convey to Iranian Muslims who may read the book about this anti-Semitism?

The brutality of our neighboring nomads was beyond words. Admittedly, some of my childhood memories are vague, therefore I conducted extensive interviews with the elders of my community to corroborate my own memories. Of course, as in any other community, there’s a major gap between the educated and non-educated. I have many Muslim friends who are shocked by some of the bitter experiences of my childhood and even adulthood. They don’t believe that we were considered “najes”, Farsi for “filthy” or “untouchable”, by Muslims in Iran. They have a difficult time believing what I say, and I don’t blame them, for I am not “najes” to them. These are the very people who helped break the hostage situation I was caught in. These are friends to whom I am beyond grateful for having saved the life of my family and myself. And the more they hear the stories of our people in Iran, the more they feel embarrassed for what their forefathers have done to us. My hope is that with “Veiled Romance,” my Muslim readers learn more about the history of their Jewish compatriots, because it is through knowledge that the walls of prejudice can be destroyed. 

What feedback have you received from Iranian readers of your book who are not Jewish?

The feedback has thus far been overwhelmingly positive from Jews and non-Jews alike. Many people have identified with the story and have been moved by it. On the other hand, one of my Muslim friends who ordered ten copies of the book to give as a gift to his friends tells me that one of the recipients of the book has called me a “Mossad agent!”

Can you please explain why you decided to include real life individuals from the Iranian regime such as the current Iranian president Ahmadinejad and the notorious late Ayatollah Khalkhali in your book?

From my office, I witnessed the American Embassy hostage-taking situation and, to be honest, although these hoodlums look very much alike, I can swear it was Ahmadinejad that I saw on the top of the Embassy wall. So, with that on my mind, he very easily fitted into the puzzle of my novel. As for the notorious Khalkhali who was known as Khomeini’s Angel of Death, he was born for my story.

Your book does not spare the details of the true brutality of the current Iranian regime and the bloodshed of the revolution. Do you think Iranian Jews like yourself who witnessed this brutality by the regime firsthand are perhaps the best individuals in the U.S. today to educate Americans on the dangerous nature of Iran’s government?

Yes and let me tell you why. In the 32 plus years that I have lived in this great country, I have shared all such information through my articles in “Shofar”, the monthly magazine of the Iranian American Jewish Federation, and on my radio and TV programs. Even to this day, I continue to get first hand information about the situation in Iran from my Muslim friends in Iran—and NO, I’m NOT a Mossad agent! 

You’ve indicated that this book is just a part of a larger Iranian Jewish family saga. Can you give us some insights about the remaining parts of this saga?

As I mentioned, “Veiled Romance” is the story of the fifth generation of a family of Iranian Jews. The first generation begins with “Rueben the Rhino” in the early 19th century, followed by four more generations, headed by patriarch and matriarch protagonists. However, when you read the stories of these five generations, you will get acquainted with 1,100 years of the history of Persian Jews who have lived under the Islamic rule.   

It’s been more than 30 years since the revolution, why is it still so hard for people in the Iranian Jewish community who witnessed it first hand and endured its horrible outcome to discuss it openly?

Years into the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, there were émigré who sat in Paris side-walk café’s and discussed the return of their lost emperor. Perhaps the people you’re referring to are dreaming of the old days that might come back, when they’ll go back to the old country and recover what they have left behind. Who knows, though!

For more information on “Veiled Romance” and Simon Sion Ebrahimi, visit his website: www.simon-writes.com 

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