Jewish solidarity on show at Iran freedom rallies

Israeli flags were held proudly alongside pre-revolution era Iranian flags, at rallies in support of freedom for the Iranian people, attended by tens of thousands in Sydney and Melbourne on January 25.

Despite massive turnouts, both rallies attracted almost no media coverage in Australia.

Rabbi Yossi Friedman told The AJN, after delivering a powerful speech at the Sydney rally, “The AJN is the only media [outlet] here … why is no-one else covering this? People here are asking the same question.”

Earlier, he told the crowd, “I cannot fully comprehend your pain – of not being able to speak with your families in Iran, and the pain of watching endlessly as images emerge of thousands being brutalised, murdered, beaten, imprisoned, and silenced.

“But I can stand together with you.

“The Jewish community knows what it means to be persecuted, and to yearn for freedom,” he said, adding his message is that, “The Iranian people are not alone, their courage is seen, their pain is felt, and freedom will prevail.”

Representing the Australian Jewish Association at the rally in Melbourne, Shane Shmuel – in his address outside of Victorian Parliament House – said “I also speak as a fellow Australian who recognises your pain, your courage, and your hope.

“Our own [Jewish] history has taught us the painful lesson that silence in the face of injustice is never neutral.

“That is why we are here today … to stand beside you.

“It is an act of humanity, and it is a refusal to accept brutality as normal, or oppression as inevitable.

“We see you, we hear you, and we stay with you.”