US Jewish groups condemn arson as ‘blatantly anti-Semitic assault on Jews and Judaism,’ call on Tehran to protect Jewish sites and bring perpetrators to justice
TOI staffToday, 11:25 pm
An ancient shrine revered by Iranian Jews as the burial place of the biblical Esther and Mordechai was reportedly set on fire overnight, the US-based Anti-Defamation League said Friday.
“Disturbing reports from #Iran that the tomb of Esther & Mordechai, a holy Jewish site, was set afire overnight,” tweeted ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, without citing the sources of the report.
There was no immediate information on the damage caused by the fire.
“We hope that the authorities bring the perpetrators of this #antisemitic act to justice & commit to protecting the holy sites of all religious minorities in Iran,” he said.
Disturbing reports from #Iran that the tomb of Esther & Mordechai, a holy Jewish site, was set afire overnight. We hope that the the authorities bring the perpetrators of this #antisemitic act to justice & commit to protecting the holy sites of all religious minorities in Iran.
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) May 15, 2020
It follows reports in February that Iranians were threatening to raze the shrine in an act of revenge against Israel and Washington.
According to reports in the Iranian press, members of the hard-line student Basij group in Hamadan province, where the shrine is located, released a statement threatening to tear down the building and replace it with a Palestinian consulate, amid anger over the Trump administration’s peace plan released last month.
The reported arson came on May 14, the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel.
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations also condemned the incident.
“We are outraged by reports that the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan, Iran, was desecrated by arson last night,” a statement said.
“Since February, members of the Iranian Basij militia have once again threatened to raze the tomb of historic Jewish heroes Mordechai and Queen Esther. It appears that these domestic terrorists attempted to carry out this outrageous act of desecration with this premeditated attack,” the umbrella group said.
“This abhorrent and unconscionable act represents not only a blatantly anti-Semitic assault on Jews and Judaism, but an assault on all people of faith. It must be unequivocally condemned by the international community. The government of Iran must act to prevent further attacks and bring to justice those responsible.”
According to the Alliance for Rights of All Minorities, a US-based group which pushes for religious freedom in Iran, reports in February had included Iranian authorities calling for the site to be torn down, though the veracity of this could not be immediately verified.
Ali Malmir, the head of Hamadan’s tourism office, told the regime’s ISNA news outlet on February 7 that turning the shrine into a consular building would not be possible, noting that the site was protected as a work of historical heritage under Iranian law, and could not fit the needs of a diplomatic office.
However, the head of the Hamadan Basij told the outlet that Iranian officials should see defending Palestinian rights as a more important cultural heritage.
The building is believed to hold the tombs of Esther and Mordechai, the heroes of the Jewish Purim story, in which they frustrate plans by a Persian viceroy to destroy the Jewish community there.
While the site is protected under Iranian law, officials in 2011 reportedly downgraded its status, weeks after a protest was held at the site in response to claims that Israel was threatening to tear down the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Content retrieved from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/tomb-of-mordechai-and-esther-in-iran-reportedly-set-ablaze/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter.