Head of Iran's Jewish Community Calls Israel's Claims of Defending Jews a 'Shameful Lie' After Synagogue Bombing in Tehran

Head of Iran's Jewish Community Calls Israel's Claims of Defending Jews a 'Shameful Lie' After Synagogue Bombing

The head of Iran's Jewish community has publicly condemned Israel after an airstrike destroyed a synagogue in Tehran, calling the regime's stated mission of defending Jewish people "a shameful lie."

Rabbi Younes Hamami Lalehzar made the remarks while standing at the site of the destroyed synagogue, according to The Canary. Video of his statement circulated widely on social media.

"All the Israeli regime's claims about defending Jews are nothing more than a shameful lie," Lalehzar said, according to The Canary, criticizing Israel's attack on a synagogue located in a residential area.

The synagogue and its significance

The destroyed synagogue was described as one of the religious centres of Tehran's Jewish community, dating back to the Pahlavi II era. According to The Canary, citing Iran's Students News Agency (ISNA), centuries-old Torahs housed in the synagogue were "likely heavily damaged, and their fate is currently unknown."

Israel's military has reportedly characterized the synagogue's destruction as "collateral damage," according to The Canary.

Limited Western media coverage

The Canary reported that the attack received minimal attention in Western media. According to The Canary, CNN was the only major Western news outlet that appeared to have covered the attack, though that coverage was described as minimal and did not address what critics have called the hypocrisy of Israel — a state that positions itself as a defender of Jewish people worldwide — bombing a Jewish house of worship.

Several commentators on social media highlighted a perceived double standard, noting that attacks on Jewish sites elsewhere in the world typically receive extensive media coverage. The Canary quoted multiple social media users criticizing British outlets including the BBC and LBC for not covering the story.

Note to readers: The source material available for this article comes primarily from a single outlet, The Canary, a UK-based independent news site. While the topic was also reportedly covered by MintPress News, no material from that outlet was included in the source material provided to this reporter. Snopes, FactCheck.org, and other verification sources in the provided material did not address this specific claim. As a result, this article relies heavily on one source and should be read with that limitation in mind. Independent verification of the specific details — including the extent of synagogue damage and the precise circumstances of the strike — was not possible from the available material.

Broader context

The synagogue bombing occurred amid the broader U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, which began on February 28. According to Responsible Statecraft, the U.S. and Iran were engaged in ceasefire negotiations brokered by Pakistan, with direct talks scheduled in Islamabad. The conflict has included sustained strikes on Iranian territory.

According to The Canary's separate reporting on the conflict, Iran's deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh stated that U.S. bombers had killed civilians and damaged civilian infrastructure during the campaign.

Iran's Jewish community is the largest in the Middle East outside of Israel, though its size has declined significantly since the 1979 revolution. The community has historically maintained a complex relationship with both the Iranian government and the state of Israel.

International humanitarian law provides strong protections for places of worship. According to The Canary, these protections are enshrined in the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property and in the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

This article is based on limited source material. Readers seeking a complete picture should consult additional reporting as it becomes available.