This time in the Middle East, a major shift might truly be on the horizon.
It’s not about who Israel bombed, nor about how Iran retaliates or falters, but rather that Netanyahu, this time, is addressing the Persian people, not the Iranian regime.
- Persia has a long history, the Persian people are great, and Persians and Jews have a traditional friendship.
- Presently, Persia is occupied by a small group of theocrats who hold the resources of the Persian people without giving them back.
- The Persian people will soon be liberated.
Honestly, is there any historical basis for this speech? Yes, there is!
The friendship between Persians and Jews can be traced back thousands of years, all the way to the era of the great Persian king Cyrus the Great. Here’s a brief account of this history.
The First Temple of the Jews (Solomon’s Temple) was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon in 586 BCE, after which the Jews were exiled to Babylon, an event known as the Babylonian Captivity. This was a significant blow to the Jewish people, as they lost both their religious center and national independence.
In 539 BCE, the Persian King Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon, establishing the powerful Persian Empire. Cyrus implemented a relatively tolerant religious policy, and he was considered kind and lenient towards conquered peoples.
During his reign, Cyrus issued an important decree, known as the “Cyrus Cylinder,” announcing that exiled peoples, including the Jews, could return to their homelands and rebuild their religious temples.
According to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), particularly in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and assist with rebuilding the temple. This decree not only permitted the return of the Jews but also provided funding and resources to support the temple’s reconstruction.
Led by figures like Zerubbabel and Jeshua, the first wave of Jews returned to Jerusalem and began laying the foundation for the Second Temple. The reconstruction process, however, was not smooth. They faced opposition and obstruction from surrounding peoples, and at one point, the rebuilding efforts stalled. Under the reign of Persian King Darius I, construction resumed, and the Second Temple was finally completed in 516 BCE, after about 20 years of work.
The reconstruction of the Second Temple had a profound impact on Judaism, as it restored the religious rituals and sacrificial practices of the Jewish people. The Second Temple became not only a religious center but also a symbol of national unity. The Persian Empire played a crucial role in this sacred history and the political context of the time, and Cyrus was hailed as “Yahweh’s shepherd” and “the anointed” in the Bible, reflecting his special status in Jewish history.
So, you see, isn’t it a traditional friendship? Absolutely.
Over the long stretch of time that followed, although there was some religious repression under the Sassanid Persians, for most periods, the policies of the Persian empires were relatively tolerant, especially compared to Western Christianity. Jews lived relatively peacefully in Islamic lands as well.
For example, during the expulsion of the Moors from Spain, Jews were also expelled alongside them.
Even in modern times, during the Pahlavi dynasty, Iran was Israel’s most important ally in the Middle East and also the most crucial ally of the U.S. in the region against the Soviet Union. Just look at the map.
The reconstruction of the Second Temple had a profound impact on Judaism, as it restored the religious rituals and sacrificial practices of the Jewish people. The Second Temple became not only a religious center but also a symbol of national unity. The Persian Empire played a crucial role in this sacred history and the political context of the time, and Cyrus was hailed as “Yahweh’s shepherd” and “the anointed” in the Bible, reflecting his special status in Jewish history.
So, you see, isn’t it a traditional friendship? Absolutely.
Over the long stretch of time that followed, although there was some religious repression under the Sassanid Persians, for most periods, the policies of the Persian empires were relatively tolerant, especially compared to Western Christianity. Jews lived relatively peacefully in Islamic lands as well.
For example, during the expulsion of the Moors from Spain, Jews were also expelled alongside them.
Even in modern times, during the Pahlavi dynasty, Iran was Israel’s most important ally in the Middle East and also the most crucial ally of the U.S. in the region against the Soviet Union. Just look at the map.
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