147: Dr. Meir Javedanfar: What's it like for the Jews who STILL live in Iran?
What’s it really like in Iran - for its citizens and the Jews who still live there? Iran’s major cities, Tehran and Isfahan still have functioning synagogues, but the communities have declined sharply since the Islamist revolution which shapes the world today. Let’s discuss today's Iran with someone who really knows it. This is an interview conducted in Israel just a matter of weeks before October 7th. During the heady late summer days of weekly judicial reform rallies, this is Dr Meir Javedanfar. He was born in Tehran to a family from the city of Isfahan. Meir Javedanfar is an Iranian-Israeli lecturer, author, and commentator. He's taught Iranian politics at Reichman University in Israel since 2012. He is the coauthor of Ahmadinejad’s biography, “The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran". He has published many articles on Iran and Iran-related matters for Foreign Affairs, Al-Monitor, The Diplomat, The Guardian and others. He's guest lectured at more than 20 universities and his Ph.D dealt with Mohammad Reza Shah’s security decision-making in relation to threats posed by Iraq and the Soviet Union. Eight months after his bar mitzvah in 1987, Meir and his family moved to the U.K as Jewish refugees from Iran. He remains a committed Anglophile, he never quite left the English sense of humour behind, so listen out for a Basil Fawlty joke! Whatever the status of the JCPOA in the wake of Iran’s first ever direct assault on Israel, he told me he supported it - and said Israeli military experts in the know did too… Why? And he took part in the Iranian Revolution in 1979 - yes really! - but seven Jews were killed and the Persian Jewish population collapsed from 100,000 under the Shah to where it is today: a paltry and declining 7,000. So why was there a revolution in 1979 in the first place? The mullahs are wary of their own people, scared of American soft power, led by the threat of feminism. This really is a fascinating interview which deserves the light of day, its own episode. This is Dr Meir Javedanfar Ph.D. Jonny Gould's Jewish State is proudly supported by Dangoor Education. If you'd also like to support Jonny's podcast work, you can find all his episodes and buy him a coffee here - or make a bigger donation here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices