When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad recently declared that Israel should be “wiped off the map,” he was not expressing the view of all Iranians. In fact, according to the Vancouver Iranian Unity Council (VIUC), the average Iranian would prefer to have the Iranian government wiped off the map.
The Vancouver Iranian Unity Council (VIUC), which opposes the present Iranian government, recently hosted an exhibit of photographs and articles in support of Israel on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery.“The purpose was to tell passersby about the human rights practices of the Iranian regime, something the mass media often misses, as well to tell them about the glorious history that Iranians and Jews have shared,” said Majid J., the public relations officer for VIUC. (Majid J. wishes to remain anonymous as he has family living in Iran.)The pedestrians who stopped to read the articles and look at the photos were “stunned and moved,” said Majid J., to find out about “the age-old relationship between Iranians and Jews.”“We wanted to refute the idea that the average Iranian hates Jews. It’s not true. The problem is the government.”At one time, there were 250,000 Jews in Iran. Even today, there are still 150,000 Jews in Iran, mostly clustered in the cities of Shiraz and Esfehan. Majid J. said Jews have been living in Esfehan for 2,500 years.The VIUC is planning to take the exhibit to other venues in the Lower Mainland.“We want to get the attention of more Jews living in British Columbia, and to impress upon them the dangers presented by the Iranian regime,” said Majid J.He said the overwhelming majority of Iranians living in Canada oppose “the 26-year terrorist Islamist regime in Iran.”However, many elite members of the regime’s financial and security apparatus have set up hideouts in Canada in case “something happens” in Iran and they have to leave the country in a hurry, Majid J. said.“In the past, the bad guys had their hideouts in Argentina. But after the attacks on Jewish communal organizations in Buenos Aires, they were pressured by the Argentinian government to get out of the country. The bad guys then changed their choice of hideout from South America to Canada.”Majid J. said Iranian government “agents and assassins” come and go between Canada and Iran “all the time” and “they present a very serious threat to Canada’s national security.”The Vancouver Iranian Unity Council (VIUC), which was formed in 2003, supports democratic regime change in Iran. There are similar organizations in every major city in Canada and in other cities around the world.Majid J. said there are at least 35,000 to 40,000 Iranians in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland. Most Iranians living in Canada have settled in the Greater Toronto Area, where there are approximately 150,000. In addition to clusters of Iranians in Montreal and Ottawa, there are pockets scattered across Canada.VIUC generally attracts more than 100 participants to its meetings, Majid J. said.In addition to holding meetings for its members, the VIUC also hosts gatherings to educate Canadians about the Iranian regime.
’tis good to know.
