Activist Natalie Sanandaji: ‘Positive change happening’
Shortly after October 7, Sanandaji joined the Combat Antisemitism Movement because she felt she owed it to all those who didn't survive.
Natalie Sanandaji, an Iranian-Israeli who survived the Nova music festival, believes it was “serendipitous timing” that she was in Australia when the Iranian ambassador was expelled from the country.
Sanandaji, the public affairs officer of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, said she was surprised by Australia’s decision to expel Ahmad Sadeghi, but it left her feeling hopeful.
“I really came to Australia kind of scared that if something were to happen to me here, who would protect me?” she told The AJN.
“But Australia turning against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) because of the fact that they were connected to two antisemitic attacks in the beginning of this war here in Australia left me a little bit hopeful. It made me feel like maybe there’s positive change happening here.”
Sanandaji was born in New York to Iranian-Israeli parents after her father fled Iran just before the Islamic Revolution. She said it’s “disheartening” to see people at pro-Palestine rallies marching in support of the Iranian regime “simply because the regime is against Israel”.
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