Israelis rally in support of Iranian protesters
Around 100 people rallied in a central Israeli city on Wednesday in support of Iranian protesters, as the Islamic republic is shaken by more than two weeks of anti-government demonstrations.
Demonstrators in Holon, a city near Tel Aviv home to a large Persian Jewish community, waved Israeli flags next to Iranian flags from before the Islamic revolution in 1979.
"Be the voice of the Iranian people," a sign read in Hebrew and Persian.
Demonstrations in Iran erupted last month, moving from protesting economic grievances to demanding a wholesale change from the country's clerical system.
Shuli Israel, a 68-year-old born in Iran who moved to Israel as a child 60 years ago, attended the rally to show solidarity with her compatriots.
"My heart is with the Iranians. Their pain is our pain... I can't stop crying," she said.
She said her Jewish acquaintances in Iran were living in fear.
"They are unable to open the door and go out, because they don't want to be identified as Jews," she told AFP.
The crowd repeatedly shouted chants of "long live the shah", a slogan used in recent weeks by protesters inside and outside Iran. Some waved pictures of Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's ousted shah.
Among them was Miriam Kayam, who moved to Israel from Iran in 1980.
"People in Iran have no bread, no life, no freedom," she said.
"I came here to support them."
Arch-foes Iran and Israel fought a 12-day war last year, with Israel launching a wave of strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, while Iran responded with drone and missile attacks on Israel.
