IRPO: THE STATUS OF IRAN'S ASSYRIAN AND JEWISH COMMUNITIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 005246 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR DRL, R, NEA NSC FOR M. SINGH ALSO FOR USDAO ABU DHABI E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/15/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM IR SUBJECT: IRPO: THE STATUS OF IRAN'S ASSYRIAN AND JEWISH COMMUNITIES REF: A. A. DUBAI 5191 ¶B. REF B. DUBAI 0052 ¶C. REF C. DUBAI 3131 DUBAI 00005246 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Timothy M. Brys, Acting Chief Iran Regional Presence Office, Dubai, UAE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) 1.(C) Summary: In early August, Iran's Assyrian and Jewish Majles deputies addressed the ramifications of discrimination against Iran's religious minorities generally and against the Assyrian and Jewish communities specifically. Although conditions have improved since Khatami's administration, minorities continue to emigrate and tread carefully. End Summary. 2.(C) On August 2, Iran Regional Presence Office (IRPO) Chief and IRPOoff spoke with Yonathan Bet Kolia, Iran's Assyrian MP, and Secretary of the Asian Chapter of the Assyrian Universal Alliance, an umbrella group of Assyrian organizations worldwide. Bet Kolia is in his second term. He sits on the Majles Cultural Commission. On August 7, IRPO Chief and IRPOoff met with Moris Motamed, Iran's Jewish MP. Also in his second term, Motamed works for an Iranian topography consulting company. In addition to speaking about Iranian political issues (ref A),the MPs described the status of Iran's officially recognized religious minorities. (Note: Article 64 of Iran's constitution reserves one seat for Zoroastrians, one for Jews, one for Assyrian and Chaldean Christians, one for northern Armenian Christians, and one for southern Armenian Christians. Bahais and Sunnis are not recognized religious minorities. End Note.) A Snapshot of the Assyrian and Jewish Communities -------------- -------------- 3.(C) Bet Kolia said government figures put Iran's Assyrian population at 25,000-30,000, but he estimates the real number is closer to 15,000. The Assyrian community revolves primarily around the town of Orumiyeh in northwestern Iran, although many live in Tehran. He said Assyrians have trickled out of Iran since the Islamic Revolution, when many families sent their sons abroad to avoid military service during the Iran-Iraq war. Many other family members subsequently followed, which encouraged even more emigration. Bet Kolia claimed Assyrians also leave because of discrimination and insecurity. 4.(C) Motamed estimated Iran contains 25,000 Jews, primarily in Tehran and Shiraz. He claimed Jews emigrate more slowly than Iran's other religious minorities. Bet Kolia said -- and Motamed confirmed -- Assyrians are leaving Iran at about three times the Jewish rate. Discrimination Against Minorities -------------- 5.(C) Bet Kolia and Motamed said legal discrimination continues toward Iran's four officially recognized religious minorities. Religious minorities do not receive the same legal reparations as Muslims. If a minority breaks a Muslim's arm, for example, the Muslim can demand the minority's arm be broken but not vice-versa. The only exception to this rule is "blood money," where minorities collect the same reparations as Muslims for wrongful death. Inheritance laws also favor Muslims over minorities. The Muslim child of a minority father obtains all of his father's inheritance. His wife and other children get nothing. To reclaim property seized during the Islamic Revolution, Motamed said Jews must prove they are not Zionists, a nearly impossible task. In contrast, Bet Kolia said most prominent Ayatollahs and MPs he contacts to support more egalitarian laws respond positively. Motamed also receives support for the Jewish community from some conservative MPs. 6.(C) Motamed said after Israeli Independence Day (late May) a magazine published photos of Israeli and American synagogues draped with Israeli flags. The magazine claimed the synagogues were from Tehran and Shiraz. Motamed protested in the Majles and speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel supported him, reprimanding the magazine. Motamed said this constituted the first time a Majles speaker supported the Jewish community against anti-Semitism. Still, anti-Jewish and anti-Israel demonstrations occurred in DUBAI 00005246 002.2 OF 002 Shiraz after the pictures' publication. Motamed met Shiraz's Friday prayer leader and intelligence chief who promised to ensure the Jewish community would not encounter more problems. He said the incident was unusual because anti-Semitic programs occur infrequently on television and radio. Recent events in Gaza and Lebanon have raised tensions, but the Jews' situation has not eroded. Twenty Jews recently returned from visiting relatives in Israel without incident, and Motamed said the community takes a clear "we are Iranians first, Jews second" approach. Bet Kolia said Assyrians also feel discrimination but did not elaborate. 7.(C) Motamed said President Ahmadinejad has tempered his holocaust statements after both former president Mohammad Khatami and former Majles speaker Mehdi Karrubi objected. Motamed claimed he has not been targeted for criticizing Ahmadinejad in the Majles and international press over the issue. Khatami's Improvements -------------- 8.(C) Despite continuing emigration and discrimination, Bet Kolia and Motamed indicated the climate for Iran's religious minorities has improved since Khatami's 1997 election. Bet Kolia said Khatami's administration revoked the requirement for minority food stores and restaurants to carry a sign indicating minority ownership. For instance, Khatami famously ate at a minority restaurant, indicating Muslims could do so. (Note: Some Shi'a consider food touched by non-Muslims unclean and will not buy from non-Muslim food stores or eat at non-Muslim restaurants. End Note.) Khatami also started appropriating 2 million dollars per year for minorities to refurbish places of worship or sponsor cultural events, a trend they say continues under Ahmadinejad. Bet Kolia and Motamed both reported seeing this money used to renovate churches and synagogues in their communities, respectively (ref B). (Note: On August 4, IRNA reported a Christian official in Tehran claimed the city's four churches may collapse if they do not receive promised funds. End Note.) Minority Religious Education -------------- 9.(C) Bet Kolia said Assyrian children study the Assyrian language and Christianity in school, while their Muslim classmates learn Qur'an and Islamic history. All pupils study secular subjects together. The concours university entrance exam, which all Iranian high school students must pass before applying to college, tests Assyrian students on their heritage as opposed to Islam. Bet Kolia claimed religious education occurs in a similar fashion for other religious minorities. The Assyrian Community in Iraq -------------- 10.(C) Bet Kolia said Assyrians in Iraq have not been targets of violence. General insecurity, however, has caused many to flee to Syria and Jordan, but not Iran, as they did under the Shah. Comment -------------- 11.(C) Bet Kolia and Motamed stressed life for recognized minorities in Iran is not as bad as sometimes portrayed. Yet, minorities continue to emigrate and tread lightly because of legal inequality and periodic discrimination. Indeed, both Bet Kolia and Motamed said they have thought about emigrating. BRYS