Iranian Jewish Leaders Call for Blood Revenge Over Khamenei Assassination

Representatives of Iran's Jewish community gathered in Tehran on Wednesday at a conference titled "Fulfilling the Promise of Revenge," invoking Torah verses to justify retaliation against Israel following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Siamak Shamh, the Jewish parliamentary representative, criticized Western countries for applying double standards regarding terrorism by Israel and the US. He claimed that while Iran has long been accused of supporting terrorism, the West remains silent about the targeted killings of Iranian commanders, officials, women, children, and civilians by Israel and the US over the past year, with no condemnation from Western governments or international media.

Shamh emphasized that revenge is rooted in religious values, citing the Torah's principle of justice and punishment proportional to the crime, referencing the "eye for an eye" concept. He argued that Iran must present revenge as a legitimate right derived from justice and the rights of peoples, even to its enemies, framing the fight against terrorism and punishment of perpetrators as a just demand.

Joining the call, Younes Hamami La Zar, the chief rabbi of Iran's Jewish community, quoted the Book of Numbers: "The land cannot atone for the blood that is shed on it except by the blood of the one who shed it." Hamami urged killing those responsible for Khamenei's assassination and described the killing as an unprecedented act of cruelty and disrespect for human dignity. He stated that the assassination failed to divide Iranian society, instead strengthening unity around the regime. Hamami preferred the term "blood revenge" over "revenge," to avoid negative connotations and to convey a clearer, regionally and internationally understandable meaning.

The conference underscored the Iranian Jewish community's alignment with the regime's stance on retaliation and framed the killing of Khamenei as a catalyst for national unity rather than division.