Times' Alternative View of Iran's Jews

"The Jews of Iran: How Much Freedom?"
A26, Friday 2/27/09,
Letters to the Editor

There were only two smart and critical letters on Roger Cohen’s rescripting the story of Jewish life in Iran. Of the five letters, two were critical of Cohen, one supportive, and two neutral.

As with the Times’ recent publication of Qaddafi’s plug for an end to Israel, readers should ask if there was any intellectual value at all in printing the piece in the first place.

The hollowness of Cohen’s work is captured by two of these letters. A “romantic picture” of Jewish life in Iran is a point made by the first letter, which then aptly notes “positive personal relationships within the context of communities cannot be compared with a government with policies that specifically vilify and persecute its minorities.” Another writes of Mr. Cohen “discrediting the long history of Muslim oppression and to deny the experience of generations of Jews,” while in a heartfelt ending stating that “we must never forget the true history of Jews under Muslim regimes — my history.”

Of the two neutral letters, one writer missed this point and was actually “saddened” by the picture of persecution – past and present – of Iranian Jews, conveyed by Cohen. The other writer sounds hopeful that Iran can play a constructive diplomatic role in the region – especially with a Palestinian unity government, a mountain of evidence to the contrary.

The letter supportive of Cohen’s piece was short and revealing. He sets up a straw man, fear-mongers who “are invested in denigrating conditions” there. There may be fear mongers. There may also be those deeply concerned about the toll on the Jews the Revolution has taken. It seems the truth to this writer is just the inversion of what fear-mongers believe.

He says Cohen’s piece is a “refreshingly accurate sketch of Iranian Jewish life” there, based on his “more than 30 years of research in Iran.” If only the sketch was based on 30 years of being a Jew in Iran.