When Chief Rabbi of Iran Rabbi Yehuda Gerami arrived Thursday, as he does every year on the Fast of Esther and Purim, to pray at the tomb of Mordechai and Esther in Hamedan, he discovered that the Palestinian flag had been raised there.
Video: The Mordechai and Esther shrine with a Palestinian flag / Credit: Social media
In recent months, because of the war in Gaza, the holiest site for Judaism in the country has been the subject of arson attacks.
The tomb of Mordechai and Esther is, according to tradition, the burial place of the Jewish Mordechai and Esther mentioned in the Book of Esther. The site has served as a pilgrimage site for Jews for years, just west of Tehran.
In a rare interview with a Haredi outlet in 2022, Rabbi Gerami said that there was no danger to Iranian Judaism and that Iranians have enormous respect for Jews. He added that Jews in Iran stayed out of politics and that the treatment by the authorities was also excellent.
It is worth recalling that in the past, Gerami referred in an interview to Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force who was assassinated by the United States, as a national hero and a revered person. Additionally, he disavowed Zionism, expressed a desire for peace, and claimed that there was freedom of religion in Iran.
