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

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STATE FOR DRL, R, NEA
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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

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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
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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

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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