PLO flag flies at Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Iran
When Chief Rabbi of Iran Rabbi Yehuda Gerami arrived on Thursday, as he does every year on the Fast of Esther and Purim, to pray at the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan, he discovered that the PLO flag had been raised there.
A PLO flag atop the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan, Iran. Screenshot: Social media.
In recent months, because of the war in Gaza, the holiest site for Judaism in the country has been the subject of arson attacks.
According to tradition, the tomb is the burial place of Esther and Mordechai, mentioned in the Book of Esther. It is 220 miles southwest of Tehran and has served as a pilgrimage site for Jews for years.
In a rare interview with an ultra-Orthodox outlet in 2022, Gerami said that there was no danger to Iranian Judaism and that Iranians have enormous respect for Jews. He added that Jews in Iran stayed out of politics and that the treatment by the authorities was excellent.
In the past, Gerami referred, in an interview, to Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force who was assassinated by the United States, as a national hero and a revered person. Additionally, he disavowed Zionism, expressed a desire for peace, and claimed that there was freedom of religion in Iran.
Report by Shirit Avital Cohen (Israel Hayom via JNS)
