Iran is the 'world’s chief trafficker in antisemitism,' says US monitor
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s antisemitic targeting its tiny Jewish population, Israel, Christians and Jews in the Diaspora, was cited in the report.
By BENJAMIN WEINTHALAn Iranian flag flutters in front of the IAEA headquarters in Vienna(photo credit: REUTERS/ LEONHARD FOEGER)
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Tuesday published its 2020 report on states who persecute religious minorities. The Islamic Republic of Iran’s antisemitic targeting its tiny Jewish population, Israel, Christians and Jews in the Diaspora, was cited in the report. The report noted that "At a USCIRF hearing on antisemitism on January 8, 2020, US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Elan Carr stated that Iran is the 'world’s chief trafficker in antisemitism' and that 'antisemitism isn’t ancillary to the ideology of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is a central foundational component of the ideology of that regime, and we have to be clear about it, and we have to confront it and call it out for what it is.”' According to the report, the "USCIRF documented a particular uptick in the persecution of Baha’is and local government officials who supported them in 2019. Iran’s government blamed Baha’is—without evidence—for widespread popular protests, accusing the community of collaboration with Israel, where the Baha’i World Centre is located. Iran’s government also continued to promote hatred against Baha’is and other religious minorities on traditional and social media channels." The report said "The Islamic Republic of Iran is a theocratic, authoritarian state with restricted political participation. Ninety to 95 percent of the population are Shi’a Muslim, while Sunni Muslims account for 5–10 percent. Approximately 0.3 percent ascribe to other religions, including the Baha’i faith, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Judaism." The USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity. The US congress created the USCIRF to monitor, analyze and report on threats to freedom of religion.
The study continued that :While the Jaafari (Twelver) school of Shi’a Islam is the official religion, the constitution extends full respect to the five major Sunni schools. It also recognizes Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians as protected minorities. Five of the parliament’s 290 seats are reserved for religious minorities—two for Armenian Christians and one each for Assyrian/Chaldean Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians." In January, the Anti-Defamation League’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, testified before the House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism on confronting the rise in antisemitic domestic terrorism and said that Iran’s regime is the top state-sponsor of Holocaust denial and antisemitism.The Islamic Republic was listed by the US State Department as the worst state-sponsor of terrorism.
