An apparent Israeli air-strike on the Iranian capital Tehran “completely destroyed” one of the city’s synagogues, according to local media. Iran’s Mehr news agency and the reformist Shargh media outlet said the Rafi-Nia synagogue was hit early on April 7. Footage appeared to show rescue workers searching through the rubble of the building, with Hebrew liturgical texts strewn on the ground. The strike came during the Jewish holiday of Passover. There was no immediate report of casualties.
In a statement run by Mehr and quoted in The New Arab, the local Jewish community condemned the bombing. “We, the Jews of Iran, condemn the brutal attacks carried out by the American-Zionist enemy against our dear homeland and the Rafi-Nia synagogue,” the statement said, adding that the Jewish community stands “alongside the people and the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” prepared to defend the country “until our last breath.”
A representative of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Middle East Eye that the IDF “regrets the collateral damage to the synagogue and emphasizes that the strike was targeted at a senior military target within the regime’s armed forces, not at any place of worship.” The representative identified the target as a neraby “emergency headquarters” of Iran’s joint military command, and added that a review would be launched.
Iran has the third-largest Jewish population in the Middle East after Israel and Turkey, with a 2016 census placing the number of Jews at just over 9,000. However, some members of the community believe the real number is higher. The community maintains some 30 synagogues, as well as schools and kosher facilities, mostly in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz. Judaism is one of Iran’s legally recognized “minority religions,” alongside Sunni Islam, Zoroastrianism and Christianity, with each represented in parliament.
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) 3,600 Iranians have been killed since US-Israeli bombardment began in late February, including at least 1,665 civilians.
Screenshot via JTA
