As the founder and president of NewPersia.org, I come to Israel for my fifth visit in three years with a clear mission: to restore what the Islamic Republic regime has destroyed, to rebuild the friendship between the Iranian and Israeli people and to help create a future founded on truth, dignity, mutual respect and peace. In Israel I am not only physically closer to Iran, the country of my birth, since I fled in 2010, I also feel a similar culture that makes me feel at home. While Iran is the country of my birth, Israel is my spiritual home.
I established NewPersia.org to give voice to persecuted Christians and oppressed women under Islam, expose the regime’s lies and work to restore relationships between Persians, Jews and Christians. The Islamic regime does not represent the heart, history or true identity of the Iranian people. Our past includes friendship, protection and respect for Jews dating back to King Cyrus. Before 1979, Israel and Iran enjoyed warm relations. The ayatollahs hijacked and destroyed all that. But I believe it will be restored once the Islamic regime falls.
I am not alone among Iranians who are committed to restoring that historic friendship, a bond that existed long before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. We will rebuild the cultural, historical, diplomatic and human connections the regime has spent decades trying to erase. I bring a message of solidarity from countless Iranians who love Israel, admire its people and stand with Israelis against the regime’s terrorism, hatred and hostility all rooted in evil, extremist Islam.
One way to do this is through Root & Branch, which I co-founded with my friend and orthodox Jewish partner, Jonathan Feldstein. We are bringing Christians to harvest olives in Israel as a symbol of love and unity, and have the vision to establish a memorial that honors the lives and shared history of Israelis and Iranians who have suffered and been murdered at the hands of the Islamic Republic.
This will stand as a lasting symbol of remembrance, reconciliation and the restoration of our historic bond. I pray it will also be the cornerstone for Iranians to establish meaningful memorials that I also have seen in Israel, to learn from Israel, and to heal from five decades of suffering with which they have been afflicted.
In the spirit of that reconciliation, we will strengthen the growing unity between our peoples and turn our shared values, history, aspirations – and enemies – into a lasting partnership. This includes recovering, preserving and telling the historical truth the Islamic regime has distorted, suppressed and attempted to erase. We will educate fellow Iranians about the suffering, trauma and challenges the Israeli people have endured, encouraging understanding, compassion and solidarity through videos like this – in Farsi (with English translation) – speaking directly to the Iranian people. We will hold the terrorist regime accountable for forcing the Iranian nation to repeat slogans such as “Death to Israel” for its own propaganda and political interests, using our country’s name, history, reputation and resources to promote hatred and wage war against Israel and the West.
We also expose the regime’s false narrative that Iranians are enemies of Israel. Many Iranians see Israel as a nation that has heard their cries after decades of oppression. They admire the Israeli people, its soldiers and its leadership, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom many regard as symbols of resistance against the Iranian regime. I seek to deliver a warm message of friendship, respect and affection to the Israeli people from the kindhearted people of Iran, many of whom dream of visiting Israel and reconnecting with a nation they consider a historic friend. Visiting the Gaza border last month, I was privileged to meet and speak with high school students who were encouraged to hear that the Iranian people love Israel, and that we – Israelis and Iranians – share the common enemy of the Islamists.
We must also express our sincere sympathy and apologies to the Israeli people who have been targets of the terrorist ideology rooted in our birthplace. We recognize the suffering, fear, trauma and loss that Israeli families and children have endured through years of terrorism, conflict and hatred.
To my dear Israeli brothers and sisters: The Iranian people are not your enemies. Even when the regime attempts to turn the world against Israel by spreading antisemitism, hatred and misinformation, we will not remain silent. We stand with Israel, defend their dignity and speak the truth.
We honor the legacy of King Cyrus by supporting the Jewish people’s right to preserve their religious heritage and historical connection to Jerusalem. Cyrus did not merely permit the Jewish people to return and rebuild their Temple; he also provided financial support through the royal treasury. As recorded in Ezra 6:3-5, a memorandum of his decree, later reaffirmed under King Darius, specified that the Temple was to be rebuilt with royal funding, including construction expenses, and that the sacred vessels taken from Jerusalem were to be returned.
Cyrus’s legacy represents something extraordinary: a Persian king who recognized the importance of religious freedom, honored the Jewish people and actively supported the restoration of their sacred heritage. We aspire to carry that model and spirit of friendship, generosity and respect into our own generation. We honor, respect and embrace the people of Israel and recognize the importance of their faith, heritage and relationship with the God of Israel and the centrality of Jerusalem to all the Jewish people. Respect for one another’s history and spiritual identity is essential to genuine friendship.
When the Islamic regime eventually falls and Iran is free again, we will welcome Israelis to our homeland with open arms and the highest honor. We want Israelis and Jews in general to visit our cities, explore our historic sites, experience our hospitality and rediscover the friendship that once connected our nations. We will serve kosher kebab, kotlet and Ghormeh sabzi. Future generations of Iranians and Israelis should grow up knowing that they were never destined to be enemies.
We are not here to create another division. We are here to heal one imposed by the ayatollahs. We want to reclaim the legacy of Cyrus, replacing propaganda with truth, hatred with friendship, destruction with restoration and fear with hope. What the Islamic regime has tried to destroy, we are determined to rebuild. What it has tried to divide, we are determined to unite.
Long live the friendship between the Iranian and Israeli people. May a free Iran and Israel become friends once again, not only for our generation, but for generations to come just as in generations past.
