New law cuts contact for families split between Israel, Iran
Prearranged contact with Israelis has become a criminal offense in Iran in a harsh blow to remaining Jews in the country and tens of thousands of Iranian-Israelis, populations already traumatized by loss and disconnection.
Iran’s parliament has passed a law criminalizing any prearranged contact with Israelis. The punishment, depending on the background of the defendant and the prerogative of the judge, could include anywhere from six months to two years in prison, 31 to 74 lashes or 20-80 million tomans (about $1,200-$4,800) in fines. There are also other less severe forms of punishment at the judge's disposal that include depriving the guilty party of benefits such as housing, state pensions and state education for a period of six months to five years.
With the passing of this law, tens of thousands of Iranian-Israelis have lost their last remaining connections to Iran, the land of their birth and the land of their ancestors for the last 2,500 years.
This latest move by the Islamic Republic will be personally traumatic for many Iranian-Israelis, as they will be cut off from their immediate families in Iran. The Islamic revolution of 1979, followed by the eight-year war between Iraq and Iran, tore apart many Iranian families of all religious convictions due to immigration. With 5-6 million Iranians living in the diaspora, there are millions of cases of family members split apart. Many parents are separated from their children, some staying in Iran and the other in another part of the world. This large group includes Iran’s Jews.
Tens of thousands of Iranian Jews were forced to leave Iran after the execution of a number of prominent Jews after the revolution and policies such as forcing Jews to attend school on the holy Sabbath. Leaving Iran, their only home, was a serious emotional blow to many Iranian Jews. There have been so many cases of depression among Iranian Jews who fled to the United States after the revolution that a PhD thesis that later became a book was written on the topic in order to help psychological professionals deal with them.
