#rasht

People keep asking me: “As a Jew who was forced out of Iran, why do you keep defending them?” ​I tell them to look at the shoes. ​In the Holocaust Museum in D.C., there is a room filled with thousands of shoes. Silent witnesses to millions who were turned to ash. ​In Budapest, sixty pairs of iron shoes sit on the bank of the Danube. They mark the spot where fascist militiamen forced Jews to strip before shooting them into the freezing river. ​And then, look at this photo from January 8th. Image on right. ​These are the shoes left behind in the historic bazaar of Rasht, Iran. Image on Left. They belong to unarmed protesters who were trapped by the Islamic Republic’s forces. They were gunned down in the streets. Those who couldn’t escape were burned alive inside the bazaar. ​What starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews. ​The same "Nazi-like" tactics used to purge my ancestors are being used today to slaughter Iranians whose only "crime" is a hunger for freedom. When I see those abandoned shoes in Rasht, I don't see "strangers." I see a mirror of my own history. I see a crime against humanity that the world is choosing to ignore. ​Today is MLK Day, and his words have never felt more haunting: ​"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." ​We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. If we allow the fire in Rasht to burn, eventually, the smoke will reach us all. ​I defend Iranians because I know where silence leads. I defend them because "Never Again" means Never Again for anyone. 🕊️ Speak up. Share. Make others see injustice. 

"Beside the car, in the middle of nature, under the rain… this is where life flows."