Iranian Jews refuse cash 'bribe' to move to Israel

Tuesday July 17, 2007 03:59 by Jenka Soderberg - 1 of International Middle East Media Center - IMEMC Editorial Group

In Iran today, the country’s Jewish minority unanimously rejected cash offers from supporters of the state of Israel to leave Iran and move to Israel.

Group of Jewish Iranians

 The Israeli government promised to provide a package of housing and jobs for the twenty-five-thousand Iranian Jews.  A special fund created by Israel supporters promised a ten-thousand-dollar cash award for any Iranian Jew who moved to Israel.

The Society of Iranian Jews dismissed this move as a bribe. Iran's sole Jewish member of parliament, Morris Motamed, said the offer was insulting to Jewish Iranians.

Instead of taking the pro-Israel group up on its offer, the community of Iranian Jews instead took a loyalty pledge to their home country of Iran.

Iran's Jewish population has dwindled from around eighty-thousand at the time of the 1979 Islamic revolution.  But, it remains the largest of any Middle Eastern country apart from Israel. Jews have lived in Iran since at least 700 B-C.

arab world | israeli politics | news report jenka at imemc dot org