Younes Hamami Lalehzar, one of the leaders of Iran's Jewish community, spoke with Iranian media on Thursday and said that there is no antisemitism in his country.
Criticizing Israel during the interview, Hamami Lalehzar attributed this to "the separation of Judaism from Zionism by the leaders of the revolution, and the continuation of this policy by the current Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei."
Hamami Lalehzar also spoke about the war in Gaza, saying "The war in Gaza affects antisemitism worldwide. The actions of the Zionist regime create problems in places where people do not distinguish between Judaism and Zionism. Just as many people saw ISIS as a symbol of Islam when it existed."
He praised the Islamic Republic's regime: "With the long history of Jews in Iran, spanning 2,700 years, and considering the friendship between Jews and the Iranian nation, there is fortunately a distinction between Judaism and Zionism. Therefore, there are no issues of antisemitism in Iran. Synagogues and Jewish centers are attacked in Europe and even in America and Canada, but we do not have such problems in Iran."
"We live alongside our fellow citizens in markets, universities, and public centers," Hamami Lalehzar added. "It is well-known that Judaism is a divine religion, while Zionism is a political whim that has misused various Jewish ideals and is not accepted by many Jews. Jews in Iran and elsewhere oppose Zionism. You can see examples of this in Europe and America, where Jews declare their opposition to Zionism."