[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 58 (Thursday, May 11, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E717-E718]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   MEMBERS OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY BEING UNJUSTLY IMPRISONED IN THE 
                        ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. STEVEN R. ROTHMAN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 11, 2000

  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I submit for the Record a statement 
that I issued yesterday concerning the plight of the 13 Jews in Iran 
who have unjustly been imprisoned on unfounded charges of spying for 
the State of Israel. I am pleased that this statement was read 
yesterday at a rally in support of the imprisoned Iranian Jews that was 
held at the Jewish Community Center in Tenafly, New Jersey. I am 
encouraged that the rally, which was sponsored by the UJA Federation of 
Bergen County & North Hudson, the Rabbinical Council of Bergen County, 
the North Jersey Board of Rabbis, the JCC on the Palisades and the YJCC 
of Bergen County, served to raise the public's awareness of the plight 
of the 13 imprisoned Iranian Jews.

                                                     May 10, 2000.
       Dear Friends: I want to express my solidarity with each and 
     every person who has gathered at the JCC tonight to show 
     their support for the ``Iran 13.'' Your presence at this 
     community meeting sends a clear message to the political 
     leaders of Iran that the eyes of the American people are 
     strongly focused on the plight of Jews who are being 
     imprisoned unjustly in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Just as 
     importantly, tonight you are also sending a message to the 
     Iran 13 that they have not been forgotten.
       I regret that Congressional business requires me to be in 
     Washington tonight, but I do want to share with you my full 
     support to the leaders and members of the UJA Federation of 
     Bergen County & North Hudson, the Rabbinical Council of 
     Bergen County, the North Jersey Board of Rabbis, the JCC on 
     the Palisades and the YJCC of Bergen County for sponsoring 
     and arranging this community-wide gathering.
       When fanatics within the Iranian Government first moved 
     last year to arrest Jews living in the southern Fars province 
     of Iran, on trumped up charges of spying for the ``Zionist 
     regime,'' I promptly wrote to the President of Iran, Mohammed 
     Khatami, to demand that they immediately be released. Not 
     surprisingly, to this day, I have yet to receive the courtesy 
     of a reply to my letter. And truthfully, I do not expect the 
     Iranian authorities to respond to my letter, because that 
     would force them to put on paper a case that is based solely 
     on anti-Israel rhetoric and bolstered by lies, mistruths and 
     fabrications.
       More recently, I have cosponsored legislation, House 
     Concurrent Resolution 128, that calls on the Clinton 
     Administration to condemn the arrest of members of Iran's 
     Jewish minority and urges their immediate release. The bill 
     also calls on all nations that have relations with Iran to 
     condemn the treatment of religious minorities in Iran and to 
     call for the release of all prisoners, including the Iran 13, 
     who are being held in prison solely on the basis of their 
     religious beliefs.
       Today, my fear for the physical safety of the Iran 13 is 
     very real and predicated on the fact that five Jews have been 
     executed by the Iranian government in the past five years 
     without ever having been tried. These executions help explain 
     why over half of the Jews in Iran have fled since 1979, many 
     of them leaving to escape the state sponsored religious 
     persecution orchestrated by supporters of the late Ayatollah 
     Khomeini.
       I urge each and every person present tonight to be vigilant 
     and continue your demand that the Government of Iran 
     immediately release the Iran 13. The fact is, our voices can 
     be heard by the Jewish community in Iran and we owe that 
     beleaguered community no less than to work diligently and 
     tirelessly for the freedom of those innocent people.
       Again, I commend those in attendance tonight. I commend the 
     organizers of this community meeting and I commend those 
     public officials and members of the clergy who this evening 
     have come forward to shine the public's spotlight on a 
     terrible injustice occurring within Iran.
       I look forward to working with all of you in the days ahead 
     to seek the immediate release of the Iran 13.
           Sincerely,
                                          Steven R. Rothman,      
                                            Member of Congress.   


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