The Duality of Absolute Hostility and Overprotection between Persians and Jews

The duality of absolute hostility and overprotection between Persians and Jews

/ Jerusalem
The relationship between Persians and Jews throughout the long history of the Middle East appears to be governed by a sharp duality that knows no gray or neutrality. Either the Persians emerge in Jewish memory as liberators and protectors, or as a source of existential danger. This duality is not just a sequence of political events; over the centuries, it has transformed into religious and cultural narratives that continue to cast their shadows on the understanding of the present.

One of the most significant moments in this relationship begins with the Babylonian exile in the sixth century BC, when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and transferred a large portion of its Jewish population to Babylon. This event was a profound historical shock that established the idea of exile in Jewish consciousness, making Jerusalem an irreplaceable spiritual center for Jews. However, this historical incident was soon associated with a dramatic transformation when Babylon fell to Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, as they claim, a decision that was uncommon in the policies of ancient empires. Thus, Cyrus entered Jewish memory as an exceptional figure, with some religious texts attributing to him a role that is almost prophetic in achieving salvation. From that early moment, the name of Persians in Jewish imagination became linked to the possibility of redemption after exile; hence, no city today is without naming Cyrus on its most important streets.

However, this positive image was not the only one. Within the Persian framework itself, another more tense story appears in the Book of Esther, where in the Persian court, the minister Haman plots to exterminate the Jews in the empire. Events turn thanks to the intervention of Queen Esther, wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus, and her cousin Mordecai, who hid from her husband the fact that she was Jewish. Esther thwarted the plot, and the threat turned into salvation, which is annually commemorated in the Festival of Purim, preceded by the Fast of Esther (Ta'anit Esther), a brief fast symbolizing the moment of anxiety over failure and the execution of the queen to prayer before the relief. In this sequence, a deeper idea in Jewish history is embodied regarding the danger that arises within the empire itself, which may later turn into a source of protection.
This duality between protection and danger reappeared in later times. In the Byzantine era, especially after Jerusalem became a city with central Christian symbolism, severe restrictions were imposed on Jewish presence in the city, and at some periods, Jews were banned from residing in it. However, with the advance of the Sasanian Persian armies and their control of Jerusalem in the early seventh century AD, Jews were allowed to return to the city. This situation did not last long, but it left an imprint in historical memory as another moment in which the Persians played a different role than the ruling powers at that time.
As the centuries passed, Jews settled in the Persian lands themselves, forming one of the oldest Jewish diaspora communities. In major Iranian cities like Isfahan, Hamadan, and Tehran, Jewish life emerged and continued for long centuries, preserving unique cultural and linguistic traditions. In this context, the relationship was not just a matter of religions; it was also a relationship between two communities that lived in the same civilizational sphere.

In modern times, this fluctuating relationship entered a completely new phase characterized by strategic alliances between nations. During the reign of Shah Mohamed Reza Pahlavi, Iran was a secular state with a strategic orientation towards the West, viewing Israel as a regional partner in confronting geopolitical challenges in the Middle East. Thus, between them and the emerging Israel, a network of cooperation developed in the fields of economy, energy, and security. This alliance, in the eyes of many analysts, seemed to be a continuation of an old image in which Persians appear as allies to Jews in facing a hostile environment, as was the case during Nebuchadnezzar, Haman, and the Byzantines. However, this equation radically reversed after the Iranian revolution in 1979. The new Islamic regime adopted a political and ideological discourse hostile to Israel, and Iran became one of its most prominent adversaries in the region. Since then, the confrontation between the two sides has evolved into a long indirect conflict, encompassing multiple arenas in the region, taking various forms of intelligence and cyber warfare, and limited military confrontations. The United States now participates in this war, aiming to undermine the Iranian regime as they declare, revealing the most intriguing philosophical dimension in this relationship. History does not literally repeat itself, but it leaves symbolic patterns in collective memory. In contemporary Israeli discourse, the model of Haman is sometimes evoked as a symbol of the existential danger coming from the East. Conversely, some Iranians evoke the history of ancient empires that saw themselves as major powers in confronting the West. Between these two memories, myth intertwines with history and politics with symbolism.

Reading the relationship between Persians and Jews over this long temporal extension reveals that it is not just a series of alliances or wars; rather, it is a relationship shaped within multiple layers of religious, political, and cultural memory. At one moment in history, Persians appear as liberators from exile; at another moment, danger emerges within their own court; in a later period, they become home to one of the oldest Jewish communities; and then in modern times, they transform into a geopolitical adversary and an existential threat to the State of Israel.

Thus, this relationship appears to be a mirror reflecting the history of the Middle East itself, a history in which peoples and empires move between alliance and conflict, while ancient memory continues to influence how the present is understood and the future imagined.

Is the current war merely nostalgic and longingly for the relationship that ended between Persians and Jews with Khomeini's rise after the Shah? Or is it a modern conflict in which historical narrative is used as a political mobilization tool to serve regional interests and great powers in the area?

It cannot be ignored that, in the prevailing right-wing mentality, whether overt or hidden among all parties, the reality of motivations hovers between the two answers to the above questions!