Israeli attacl on Tehran synagogue proves 'complete hatred' for Iran's Jews: Jewish MP

By Alireza Hashemi

The Israeli regime's missile strike on a synagogue in central Tehran on Tuesday proves its "complete hatred" for the Jewish community of Iran and exposes its false claims of protecting Jews worldwide, says a senior Iranian lawmaker.

Homayoun Sameyah Najafabadi, the representative of the Jewish community in Iran's parliament and head of the Tehran Jewish Association, spoke to the Press TV website after the Israeli-US attacks on Tuesday, including against the Rafinia Synagogue in the Iranian capital.

"Three buildings were completely destroyed, and many people were injured, even in buildings far from the explosion," Sameyah said.

"Holy books and sacred objects also suffered extensive damage."

The lawmaker said the aggression, which comes amid the unprovoked and illegal war on Iran, reflects the Tel Aviv regime's deep-seated animosity toward Iran's Jewish community.

"This attack demonstrates the complete hatred of the Zionist regime towards the Jews of Iran," he told the Press TV website.

"We have always been loyal to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we have been and will continue to be involved in the development and security of Iran."

He explained his perception of the regime's motive in the attack, describing the Iranian Jewish community as a victim of the very regime that claims to act in their name.

"When the regime sees a Jewish community cooperating with its enemy, it becomes angry and shows its anger in this way," he said.

Najafabadi said the strike on a place of worship contradicts Israel's repeated claims of safeguarding Jewish communities around the world.

"Attacking a synagogue is a great insult to the Jews of Iran and the world," he said. "This attack contradicts the claim of supporting Jews worldwide and shows that they are lying.”

'Zionists use Judaism as a cover’

The Jewish lawmaker emphasized that Jewish communities globally oppose the Zionist regime.

"We know that this regime is not religious and is not committed to faith, and the Zionists themselves know this," Najafabadi noted

"But they have latched onto Judaism as a cover to legitimize themselves and use it as a tool."

Asked about Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious justifications for waging war on Iran, including his characterization of Iran as "Amalek," Najafabadi dismissed the claims.

"At least 90 percent of Netanyahu's claims do not appear in the Torah or other religious texts," he said.

The Jewish lawmaker maintained that the actions of the regime do not represent the beliefs of Jews worldwide and that Netanyahu is effectively "lying" to manufacture a religious mandate for the war.

"These claims, and the actions and behavior of the Zionist regime, are not part of the beliefs of Jews around the world. He is lying," he stated.

Netanyahu has for many years used biblical metaphors to justify a war of aggression on Iran.

By falsely framing Iran as a modern-day "Amalek," Netanyahu has attempted to cast the brutal war of aggression as a sacred, historical duty for the survival of the Jewish people.

The United States and Israel launched their unprovoked war on Iran on February 28, assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, top-ranking commanders, and striking nuclear facilities, schools, hospitals and places of worship.

The attack on the Rafineya Synagogue is one of many strikes on civilian and religious sites across Iran since the war began.

Iranian Jewish leaders have consistently rejected any link to Zionism, affirming their allegiance to the Islamic Republic and their condemnation of Israeli policies.

Iran’s minister of culture and Islamic guidance, Abbas Salehi, wrote on X that the “damage and destruction of the Jewish synagogue building in central Tehran is bitter and distressing.”

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir