In modern times, while gazing across the geopolitical landscape of the region known today as the Middle East, do we witness a great tension held between the modern state of Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Though these two countries are bitter enemies today, history informs us that at one time Iranians and Jews shared a peaceful and benevolent relationship towards one another. For example, in 539 BC when the Persians conquered the kingdom of Babylon, king Cyrus of Persia not only freed the Jewish captives but also encouraged the liberated Jews to return to Judah and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, which had been previously destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. For it is written in the Bible of how the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia and charged the ancient Iranian king to build Him a house in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-2). However, this symbiotic friendship which ancient Iran and ancient Israel once maintained in Antiquity, has now unfortunately spiraled downwards into a heated rivalry in the modern era. This work will attempt to go back in time to when these two nations were at peace, and then hopefully discover how the two countries now find themselves at the brink of war.
As previously touched upon, the modern nation of Iran is in fact the surviving remnant of the once great and expansive Persian Empire. Though the country of Iran is currently made up of differing nationalities the majority of Iranians are ethnically Persians, and are not to be confused with Arabs. Though there were several dynasties of the Persian Empire throughout the centuries past, the first and greatest of the Persian Empires was the Achaemenid Empire. Originally founded in 550 BC by Cyrus the Great, the Persian Achaemenid Empire would become the largest empire the world had ever seen up until that time. It would even surpass the vastness of the territories by which the future Roman Empire would go on to conquer. Now by continuing the trend of the ancient camaraderie which existed among Iranians and Jews, do we come to a passage in the Bible that elevates the Persian king Cyrus to such a high degree by which no other person in the entire Old Testament, Israelite or pagan alike, have ever been exalted to or titled. And this most lofty of Biblical titles which has been granted unto Cyrus is none other than “Messiah”.
Now it is of no wonder that the Bible refers to Cyrus as “Mashiyach” or “Anointed”, for Cyrus was a just and benevolent ruler who was even respected by his enemies and rivals. In addition to his humanitarianism of freeing the Jews, Cyrus went on to make a charter on human rights. For discovered in 1879, and dating to the 6th century BC, an ancient clay cylinder written in the Akkadian cuneiform script relates how Cyrus declared that all people residing in his empire must live in peace. And this ancient clay charter on human rights is known as the Cyrus Cylinder. Compared to the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, and even by some to the Law of Moses, Cyrus' Cylinder stands as a testament of what made this man great. Cyrus nobly died in battle in 530 BC and was buried in a modest yet elegant tomb which still stands to this very day, even after 2,500 years.
In addition to the Persian king Cyrus the Great being mentioned in the Bible, the names of other Persian kings are also found in the pages of the Old Testament. For example, the Persian king Xerxes is know as Ahasurerus in the book of Esther. However, it is at this time when the relationship between the Persians and the Jews begins to go south. Ultimately the Jewish queen Esther would save her people from genocide by winning the favor of her Persian husband king Ahasurerus, also known as Xerxes. The Persian king Darius the Great is also favorably written of in the book of Ezra, where it is recorded how Darius helped in the efforts of repatriating the Jews, and was also highly instrumental in the task of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem.
It would seem that in the couple centuries following the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, relations between the Jews and the Persians were generally positive. But in the 4th century BC, Persia would not have little Israel or Judah to worry about. For the forces of Greece were now concentrated on challenging the Persians. For in 331 BC Alexander the Great defeated the Persian army of Darius III at the Battle of Gaugamela. After this Alexander marched into Persia's capitol city of Persepolis, looted its treasures, and then burned the palace and the city to the ground. Thus in the year 330 BC did Alexander the Great's Greek Macedonian Empire conquer the Persian Achaemenid Empire.
Now concerning the Jewish migration from Persia back to Judea, it is known that some Jews remained in Persia and established their own communities which have continued to exist within the borders of Iran ever since the days of king Cyrus. For during the height of the Persian Empire, Jews made up about 20% of the empire's population. However, in more recent times there has been a significant decline of a Jewish presence in Iran. During the early 20th century in the era of the Shah (1925 – 1979), the Pahlavi dynasty instituted modern reforms that the Jews in Iran greatly benefited from. Jews were allowed to be employed in the government, Hebrew was permitted to be taught in Jewish schools, and even Jewish newspapers were given the right to be printed. But once the state of Israel was created in 1948, anti-Jewish attitudes in Iran began to fester. For a new Jewish movement perceived as a threat to Iran had now emerged: Zionism. However, during the Iranian revolution in 1979 many Iranian Jews joined the revolution in the hopes of losing their Jewish identity and become a part of the Utopian dream promised by the architects of the revolution. After the revolution tens of thousands of Iranian Jews immigrated to Israel, while others chose to settle in America and Western Europe. When Ayatollah Khomeini became the leader of Iran, he was clear in his statements that he knew how to differentiate between Zionism and Judaism and that he also believed that not all Jews are Zionists.
Today the modern states of Iran and Israel are at war by proxy, with both sides working hard to outdo the other militarily, while at the same time both are trying to avoid a hot war. As one Iranian intellectual has stated, “war is hell!” Now Israel is a small country and it would be a huge challenge to fight a ground war against Iran, especially since neighboring Lebanon has proven a worthy opponent, as was demonstrated in Hezbollah's victory over Israel in the summer of 2006. Iran supports Hezbollah and supplies them with weapons, which has made Lebanon a deterrence factor against Israeli expansion in the region. Surrounded by enemies domestically, Israel has always had the international backing of the United States of America along with other countries such as Great Britain and Japan. But the government of America stands out among all other world powers in its defense of Israel, both in economic aid and militarily spending. In the world of religion, American Protestant Christian Fundamentalists and Evangelicals preach pro-Israeli sermons from the pulpit and make sure to support and vote for politicians who are allies of Israel, and then go on to demonize the whole of Iranians as radical religious extremists hell bent on wiping the state of Israel from off the face of the earth.
The fact of the matter is that both the Iranians and the Israelis are highly intelligent people who share an amazing ancient legacy, unmatched in the history of all mankind. It would be a shame to see either one of these nations bombed back to the rubble of Antiquity, leaving nothing for the history books but a smoldering crater. Both cultures are too rich to be destroyed for they have so much to give, not only to their own people, but to the rest of the world. Even if tensions between the governments of Israel and Iran don't settle down, at least the innocent people of both nations will have the relative freedom to live their lives and enjoy the uniqueness of what each of their countries have to offer and be proud of the achievements of their ancestors. Maybe by looking to the past can we all find the answers to the problems we face today, and God willing together we can all build a better future for our descendants.
