This weekend saw New York’s 5th annual Persian Parade and San Jose’s 1st annual No Ruz Parade. Given that there are countless more Iranians in So Cal, I’m still trying to figure out why there hasn’t been one there. In any case, judging from the pictures of the New York parade, it seemed spectacular. Despite it’s ultra-nationalism, which is a little too much for me to consume, my three favorite pictures are posted below. To see the whole photo essay go here.
The California parade was also nice but since it was the first parade ever, they seem to have some catching up to do when it comes to meeting the bar set by the New York parade. Posted below are two pictures from the event, one of which I thoroughly enjoyed and the other which confused me. There is general disagreement amongst Iranians in the Diaspora about which flag truly represents Iran, the Shir-o-Khorshid flag, the Islamic flag, or one with no centerpiece. If it was up to me, I would scrap all flags,
seriously, but I was a little confused at seeing the royalist flag, i.e. the Shir-o-Khorshid flag with a crown (our buddy may be stuck in the past). To see the whole photo essay, go
here. In any case, cheers to the organizers of both parades!
Iran is a beautiful country and a wonderful land.
The Jewish people owe a debt to Cyrus the Great for freeing us from slavery in Babylon.
The current government in Iran, which tries to legitimize world Jewry, our history (Holocaust), and our country (Israel), is only a temporary blot in a 2,700-year old relationship between Iran and Jews.
Judaism and Iran have even deeper roots. Elements of Zoroastrianism, especially the dichotomy between good and evil and also the concept of eschatology, influenced Judaism. Judaism, likewise, greatly influenced Islam, the dominant religion of Iran today. And the Jews of Iran have a rich and long history.
Yes Yes, the Safavids and the Qajars had a VERY rich history with Iranian Jewry. They cared so much about Cyrus the Great. I mean, honestly, how big of a fraud are you to make these ridiculous and broad assertions? Do you have ANY ability to be serious and understand the nuances of history?
Oh, and did you know how Zoroastrian priests used to issue edicts against Jews and Christians? Have you read “The Zoroastrians of Iran” by Janet Amighi? Is Israels GDP higher than all its nieghbors combined?
Oh, and did you know how Zoroastrian priests used to issue edicts against Jews and Christians? Have you read “The Zoroastrians of Iran” by Janet Amighi? Is Israels GDP higher than all its nieghbors combined?
I’m sorry, but Iran’s relations with Jews isn’t all that bad, especially since the largest Jewish community outside of Israel in the Middle East lives in Iran VOLUNTARILY. And yes, Iran and the Jewish people have deep roots.
Beyond those ties, Iran, with all its [massive] imperfections [emphasis], is right to make an issue out of the Zionist treatment, murder, and colonization of the Palestinians. Please do not blur the line between Judaism and Jews and the Zionist movement. They are not interchangeable.
Zionism shouldn’t, however, be just an issue for Iranians as we are all members of the human family. Hopefully, one day the rest of the world will wake up to what’s happening in Palestine and work to end the misery wrought by Zionism.
The situation of Jew in Iran is one of political oppression, not religious. They dont have the right to support Israel or Zionism, and even though I agree that Zionism is a despicable ideology, they should not be denied the right to politically organize and support whoever they are, even a racist state. We shouldn’t whitewash it-which Pouya I know you arent doing, and we shouldnt glorify the history or Iran and Jews- which JZ IS doing.
This is ZIonism in the real world:
“Israel should declare an immediate moratorium on demolitions of Bedouin homes and create an independent commission to investigate pervasive land and housing discrimination against its Bedouin citizens in the Negev, Human Rights Watch said in a new report.”
Pouya, I know your disdain for the monarchy. But I feel like the importance of the role of Reza Shah (an authoritarian dictator, no doubt) in creating the Iranian nation state and reining in the “centrifugal forces” cannot be denied. I suppose criticism of him can be that he didnt have to be so autocratic, but I wonder where the line blurs. For example, could he have brought Iran under the power of a strong central govt. WITHOUT brutally crushing the various tribes like the Lors?
Wow, JZ is amazingly pathetic, no??
🙂 no, you are more pathetic.
So, this is probably Arash:
” no, you are more pathetic.”
So, you agree hes pathetic you just think im MORE pathetic? Wow, JZ, even your overweight allies agree with me!
🙂
I believe everyone agrees that you are pathetic. You don’t need to play with words to change people’s mind about you, just stop being such a loser. That’s all.
Wow, Karim, another pearl. You really know how to contribute on an intellectual level to the conversation. My depth of knowledge is so much greater now. WOW.
Our light unto the nations: “A United Nations military observer sent e-mails home to Canada reporting that Israel was bombing schools and waging “a campaign of terror against the Lebanese people” shortly before he was killed by an Israeli bomb in Lebanon, said his widow.”