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September 4th, 2013
04:47 PM ET
Iranian president's surprising message to JewsBy Daniel Burke and Mitra Mobasherat, CNN (CNN) - Marking a sharp shift from his Holocaust-denying predecessor, new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday appeared to wish "all Jews" a "blessed Rosh Hashanah" on his English-language Twitter account.
Rosh Hashanah, of course, is the Jewish celebration of the new year. As Rouhani mentions, it began Wednesday at sundown. The image in the tweet is reportedly taken from a synagogue in Tehran. Rouhani, a Shiite Muslim cleric, was elected president in June. He is widely seen as more moderate than former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, though his goodwill gesture on Wednesday stunned even veteran Iran watchers. “Not even under the monarchy do we remember such a message,” Haleh Esfandiari, a native Iranian and director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, told Al-Monitor. On Thursday, however, Mohammadreza Sadegh, an adviser to Rouhani, told Iran's Fars News Agency that the Rosh Hashanah tweet did not come from the Iranian president. The tweet came from former campaign aides, rather, who run the Twitter account, Sadegh said. "All the news regarding the president, after his election, is reflected by his appointed bureau chief and those are the only official reports. Mr. Rouhani does not have a Twitter account," Sadegh told Fars. A close aide to Rouhani, however, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that while the president does not tweet from his account, people in his office do, so it is semi-official. Interest in Rouhani's Twitter account was nearly eclipsed on Thursday by extraordinary Tweets from the official account of Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister.
If the name of Zarif's interlocutor looks familiar, it should. @SFPelosi is the Twitter account of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's daughter, Christine Pelosi. Ahmadinejad isn't as tech savvy nor as pluralistic as Rouhani, but on a few occasions, he would issue positive statements about Christmas or Rosh Hashanah. The former Iranian president was much more widely known, however, for saying that Israel should be eliminated and calling the Holocaust a myth. Usually, Ahmadinejad would caution that he was criticizing "Zionists," not all Jews. Fewer than 10,000 Jews remain in Iran, according to the JTA, the Jewish news service, which still makes it the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside of Israel. Religious minorities are not completely free to participate in Iranian government and often face discrimination, but Jews and Christians are, to some extent, allowed to live and worship openly in Iran. As Washington Post foreign policy expert Max Fisher points out, it's difficult to extricate Rouhani's tweet from the context of Israeli-Iranian politics. "It’s not exactly a unilateral declaration of peace – tomorrow, Iran will probably still support Hezbollah – but it’s yet another hint of Rouhani’s efforts to dramatically soften Iranian foreign policy and rhetoric," Fisher writes. In honor of Rosh Hashanah, here are some other things to know about the Jewish holiday: According to the Talmud, the world was created on the first day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. So Rosh Hashanah is considered a birthday of sorts for the world. (Other rabbis teach that it honors the day Adam and Eve were created.) It is celebrated on the first and second days of the month of Tishri, which generally corresponds to September or October on the Gregorian calendar. Rosh Hashanah begins the High Holy Days or Ten Days of Penitence, which end 10 days later with Yom Kippur. One of the most significant rituals during Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the Shofar, or ram's horn. It is used as a call to repentance during the High Holy Days. During this time, Jewish people attend synagogue services and refrain from working. Another popular practice is to eat apples dipped in honey, symbolizing the hope for a good year to come. Also, challah bread in round loaves instead of braided loaves is dipped in honey instead of salt. Pomegranates are eaten because the seeds are symbolic of the many commandments in the Torah that Jews must fulfill. Another popular ritual is to walk to a river or stream and recite special prayers of penitence. Afterwards, one throws breadcrumbs in the river, to symbolically cast away sins.
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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I'm surprised that they acknowledged there are Jews in this world...
i am still surprised there are any jews there either.
It must be Opposite Day in Iran!
After Herr Amedinejad any input from Iran that isn't chest-beating is SO refreshing!
good... but you miss the point....every middle eastern nation that allowed christians and jews to worship and live safely have been destroyed......... Iraq, Libya, Egypt and now Syria....... Iran is in thier sights.... the Wahabbis who work for Elite world power will never allow this........and we back the Wahabbis............GO FIGURE.
Godless Vagabond
Easy on the periods, kbcoss.
Who is worshipping in a synagogue, Satan himself. (Revelation 3:9)
You think that Satan is a man who speaks positively about the jews?
You are a perfect example of how religion poisons everything. All religions claim to know god's will and all of them are wrong.
Just plain backwards ignorance to believe any of this drivel.
Sorry to hear your thoughts. Religion no matter the domination is about tolerance. Our country is founded on relgious freedom, like it or not it is. We have lost sight of this. I wish we could go back to the time in whivch we could tolerate one another and not impose our belfries or atheist ways upon each other. It is great you believe in nothing, guess what that is a belief too! You believe in nothing and that is your choice. Guess what no one cares. No one cares you believe in nothing, as much as no one shroud are that I do believe in a God. I tired of people telling me I am wrong, I do not matter. I do matter and so do my beliefs in this world. Last I checked I live in a place in which I can have my relgious freedom as much as you can believe in your nothingness. I hope for a better America and you my friend are the type of person that breads ignorance. The idea that you know all without actually knowing or understanding. I do not claim to know all, but I can tell you that I do tolerate those that do not tolerate others and would help anyone despite what they believe or do not believe in because my religion taught me that. God Bless..
Sorry for typos autocorrect is a pain to catch.
I thought 'domination' was actually quite fitting.
Back to a time where we could tolerate each other and not impose our beliefs? Can you direct me to that time? I can't seem to find it in any history books...
Be true to your school. – The Beach Boys
No, Child, Satan is not yet in the Temple. But he will be, in his appointed time. And he will deceive many, displaying signs and wonders. It is all in the Scriptures, the Revelations and Daniel specifically.
Child, my comment bellow was in response to yours above. Don't know why it was placed elsewhere.
P.S.
Placing of comments where they are supposed to go is obviously malfunctioning
If i go to heaven or hell it won't be how other people lived their life.
And in response, Israel launches another missile into Iran and force evicts another family to build settlements on their land.
Um.... you're angry aren't you. Personally I like living on the land that natives lived on here. I have no guilt... where do you live? (Incidentally Jews have lived in that land for thousands of years in lesser or greater #s, even under Ottoman rule)
Israel and Iran don't even share a border do they?
Neither one has ever happened stupid racist
I think u might be confusing Iran with the West Bank (housing) and Gaza Strip (missiles). The USA made a big mistake when we lowed the bar in public schools.
That let in poor spellers, too.
I didn't say it was Iranian land they encroached on. Obviously I'm talking about West Bank. They don't do it to spite Iran, they just do it because they can....
The God of Jacob rules and the Star of Jacob is Christ.
Great beginning!
Hope springs eternal.
Iran is an extremely westernized nation, where folks drive Mercedes and watch CNN. The Iranians I've met ridicule the extremely small percentage of religious radicals, just as Americans ridicule the extremely small percentage of religious (tea party) radicals.
Our best bet for peace in the middle east is to work closely with Iran.
Very effective analogy
Roger that.
You wrote: " just as Americans ridicule the extremely small percentage of religious (tea party) radicals."
Most Americans do not ridicule people for their religious beliefs. Only "compassionate liberals" are that hateful.
Yes, actually. Most Americans DO ridicule people with overzealous religious beliefs, especially those who attempt to impose their morality on others.
It's too bad that minority and their enforcers have all the power. Still maybe this is a little step in the right direction ...if we & Israel would give them half a chance!
Except that Iran's radicals run the Country.
Free Pastor Abedini!!!
Next!!!
LOL, LOL!
Unbeknown to most Americans, Obama (State Dept) has been secretly talking to Iran and try to smooth things out. It's a negotiated path instead of the Romney/Israel blood oath plan to get to war as soon as possible. This might be something of an olive branch that came from those discussions.
Well I certainly hope it works better than his "reset" button with Russia. Didn't Senator Obama also call President Bashar Al Assad a reformer he can work with?
In reality Assad is more stable than the Saudi financed rejects that want to take over Syria. This is why so many Syrians stay loyal to Assad because they know what is coming if he is ousted.
...picking myself up off the floor. Let's hope this is a sign of moderation and less rhetoric...
Religion is filth.
they are some people on earth who never want love, peace and human harmony they look for every opportunity to criticize and spread hatred and war like those clamouring for war in iran. its a good thing he wished all jewish people a good rush hashana. let people understand one another peace and love shalom.
I was born in Iran, now living in the U.S. It is great to see my homeland take a keen eye to restoring it's tattered image against the West. Bravo, and I further hope those words are heartfelt.
Its, not it's.
what would the world do without you guys. Thanks so much for fixing this rather significant error!!!!
Noooobody escapes the American Grammar Inquisition.
Be careful. They tase you for getting their, there, and they're wrong.
There is a big difference between Khazar pigs from eastern Europe and real Jews,who are living in peace in Iran.
You're a very poor troll.
No! Tell us how you really feel!
"Religious minorities are not completely free to participate in Iranian government and often face discrimination, but Jews and Christians are, for the most part, allowed to live and worship openly in Iran." This is because most Muslims consider Jews and Christians brothers in faith and believe that we all worship the same God. Some countries are tolerant of other religions, Iran has historically not been one of them.
Godless Vagabond
They all worship the same non-god. That makes them all equally foolish.
you are a moron.
Why should I care about your judgment delivered without evidence of reasoning?
Why are your beliefs any less foolish than the billions of people that do believe in a god?
Why are you pulling hard on the ad populum fallacy?
Troll.
Godless Vagabond
Do you fools think truth is decided by popular vote?
Home schooled kids usually don't have much civics education.
Yes.
The difference is that the Iran is persian, not Arab. Persian are more civilized.
they also consider themselves better than others, and others are vermin.
Mind.. Blown..
Does that make you a 'suicide blogger'?