Ali Siadatan, the Educational Director of Tafsik, a grassroots organization born out of the recent conflict, did not plan for a personal anecdote from his life story to go viral. However, last week, during his three-minute remarks testifying against the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Siadatan found that his story resonated with many more people than he initially thought, sparking a viral moment.
It all started in mid-September, as a TDSB-sanctioned field trip took students from local public schools to what was initially described as observing a rally revolving around indigenous rights.
However, the event quickly turned into the active participation of grade five schoolchildren in the rally, soon becoming a pro-Palestinian march, with some students complaining that they were forced to wear a blue shirt to signify “colonialists,” and a teacher responding, “Get used to it.”
In his testimony at a TDSB meeting last month, Siadatan recounted his childhood in Iran. In a conversation with The Jerusalem Post, Siadatan retold the story of growing up during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, a time when the newly established Islamic regime was desperate for soldiers. Siadatan recalled: "They dropped the age down to 16 years old, and once you turned 13, you couldn't leave the country anymore. They started targeting children with propaganda from a very young age.
In his testimony at a TDSB meeting last month, Siadatan recounted his childhood in Iran. In a conversation with The Jerusalem Post, Siadatan retold the story of growing up during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, a time when the newly established Islamic regime was desperate for soldiers.
“They dropped the age down to 16 years old, and once you turned 13, you couldn’t leave the country anymore. They started targeting children with propaganda from a very young age, Siadatan recalled.
“The regime’s propaganda machine created a character named Hossein Fahmideh. He was a young boy who wore bandanas with Islamic sayings and held weapons, and his posters were plastered on the walls of Iranian cities,” he said.
“The character was crafted by the IRGC as a propaganda tool, as an inspiration for kids, though not every child understood this,” Siadatan explained, adding that he himself only came to this realization at a relatively late age.
Soon the character of Fahmideh became a legend, and the screenwriters crafted a story in which he blew himself up under an Iraqi tank, now becoming “Shahid Fahmideh.”
“The impact of this propaganda was profound. I too was inspired by him and wanted to follow in his footsteps. This happened despite the fact that my family was secular and even anti-regime, and our parents would tell us not to believe anything that they said,” Siadatan reminisced.
“The indoctrination came from the school directly, and yet it got to me, highlighting the influence of indoctrinating children. I was 10 years old when I told my mother that I wanted to be like Fahmideh, and years later she told me that on that day she decided to leave Iran.”
This experience, which Siadatan shared out loud for the first time during his testimony, shaped his understanding of the power of indoctrination and the importance of protecting young minds. He drew parallels between his experience and current events, particularly the recent incident at the TDSB-led field trip.
“Even though the TDSB didn’t ask people to blow themselves up, they still decided to turn schoolchildren into what they deem to be rightful ‘social justice activists,’” he said. “They are being brainwashed, indoctrinated for the ideals of adults who decided that this is the correct way of thinking.”
From seeking martyrdom to combating antisemitism
Siadatan’s involvement with Tafsik began with a simple invitation to give a lecture on Iran. “It became clear that Iran was behind October 7, and people wanted to know what’s going on there,” he explained. What started as a single lecture soon evolved into a larger role when the organization’s founder, Amir Epstein, asked Siadatan to become the director of education.
For Siadatan, this position is more than just a job; it’s a calling. In his role at Tafsik, Siadatan is committed to combating antisemitism through education and outreach. He believes that the battle against antisemitism in Canada is primarily fought in institutions such as media, universities, and mosques, pointing specifically at universities and think tanks, where politicians are educated and taught what he described as a “pro-Islamist/Marxist, anti-Israel stance.”
Throughout his life, Siadatan underwent a significant spiritual transformation. Growing up under a theocratic government in Iran, he questioned the religious indoctrination he received.
“My family didn’t know what the things we were saying in Arabic meant; nobody knew what these words meant,” he said, referring to the Arabic prayers and Quranic verses they were forced to memorize. “I questioned reality and God,” he said.
Upon moving to the West in the late 1980s – first to France and then to Canada – Siadatan was introduced to new ideas and ways of thinking. “I was introduced to atheism – never met an atheist in my life – as well as critical thinking,” he recalled.
This exposure to different perspectives led him on a spiritual journey that saw him explore various belief systems, from atheism to Eastern religions, before ultimately finding a personal connection to Christianity.
Siadatan’s spiritual journey also deepened his appreciation for Jewish history and culture. “I opened a Bible, and the stories really spoke to me; I saw a connection to real history and geography. The Jewish people are a huge story of humanity, and Jerusalem is the heart of it. It is mind-boggling that I never learned these things under the Islamic Republic regime.”
In Canada, Siadatan’s family had moved unintentionally into a Jewish neighborhood, where the majority of the students in the local high school were Jews, which in turn meant that he unknowingly gravitated towards the Jewish community, in what Siadatan describes as a “lifelong connection, which only depended and expanded by what seemed like the call of destiny.”
“I noticed most of my friends were Jewish. It was the beginning of my relationship with the Jewish community,” he explained, adding that this connection deepened even more after the events of October 7.
“My soul was bruised as I shared the grief of the Jewish people. I spoke out against this darkness and found that it was healing and realized that fighting back and speaking out were part of the healing process,” he commented.
Following the events of October 7, Siadatan invited some of his Jewish friends for dinner to share his grief and talk about what had happened. He spoke about what he knew of the Islamic Republic regime that stood behind the attacks. “One of the people at the dinner invited me to meet Amir Epstein, the founder of Tafsik, and this is how I ended up there,” he added.
What the future holds
“We’re at a key moment in the Middle East,” Siadatan stated with historical insight. “This war will end once everything collapses. Iran has always been a trend-setting nation in the region; if Iran goes to the Islamic side, others will follow. Now that it is going through a process of mass de-Islamization and preparing for a secular state, it will tilt the Middle East in that direction as well,” he elaborated.
Siadatan emphasized the importance of understanding the changing landscape in Iran.
“People have to know, and this is an important key to the change in the Middle East – they don’t believe in theocracy anymore,” he stated. He pointed to a survey indicating that only 15%-20% of people support the Iranian government, with the rest of the country distancing itself from Islam. “For most of its history, Iran was not an Islamic country. This is just a passing chapter in Iran’s history,” Siadatan asserted.
Looking to the future, Siadatan believes that the Iranian people have a crucial role to play in reshaping the Middle East.
“The battle can’t be won without the Iranian people from the inside,” he asserted. He sees the current moment as potentially transformative, drawing parallels to biblical concepts of restoration and redemption. “Netanyahu’s speech at the UN about choosing between the curse and the blessing does resonate in the Middle Eastern minds. This is the direction, and the Iranian opposition is now finally emboldened.”
Siadatan also stressed the deep connection between the struggles of the Iranian people and those of the Jewish communities and Israel.
“Only one empire was a blessing to Israel – the Persian empire,” he noted, referencing the historical ties between Persia and the Jewish people and the historical declaration by Cyrus the Great, who urged Jews to go back to their land and rebuild their temple.
“For two millennia, the kings of Iran stood by their declaration and promise for the Jewish people, and then the Islamic Republic came and decided to put an end to our centuries-old tradition and heritage. But this is not the end,” he reiterated.
He recalled that during a radio show a couple of decades ago, an Iranian woman called former Israeli defense minister and IDF chief of staff, of Iranian diaspora descent, Shaul Mofaz, arguing that when the Jewish people were in need of help, it was the Persians who helped them, and now the Jews can redeem their debt and help Iranians crumble the Islamic Republic.
Despite all the challenges discussed, Siadatan sees hope.
“In the West, the average person is realizing what’s going on. We’re at the forefront of the battle against the revival of authoritarianism, whether Marxism or Islamism,” he stated, stressing Tafsik’s approach of bringing in speakers like Shai Davidai, Gad Saad, Mosab Hassan Yousef, and Douglas Murray to educate and tell the truth about Israel.
Siadatan reflected on his journey and his current mission.
“I’m living this story, and I’m a piece of this puzzle,” he said. His work with Tafsik, he hopes, will contribute to a better understanding of the complex issues facing the Middle East and help combat the rising tide of antisemitism in the West.
“The following years will be those of a Biblical jubilee when Iranians will finally get back the land that was stolen from them,” he announced hopefully. Until then, Siadatan hopes to stand as a bridge between cultures and faiths, holding on to his story, from a child influenced by extreme propaganda to an educator fighting against antisemitism in Canada with all his might.