Iranian Jewish leader renews attacks on Israel after threats against Trump, Netanyahu

A senior leader of Iran's Jewish community renewed his attacks on Israel in an interview with Iranian state media over the weekend, days after publicly calling for the killing of U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Rabbi Younes Hamami Lalehzar, one of the most prominent rabbis in Iran's Jewish community, accused Israel of killing children, claimed many Jews around the world oppose Zionism and pointed to ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel who do not serve in the military as evidence of Jewish opposition to the Israeli government. His latest remarks followed comments last week at a conference in Tehran, where he invoked biblical passages while calling for the killing of Trump and Netanyahu in retaliation for the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during the recent war. Hamami's public statements are widely viewed as reflecting the messaging of Iran's government rather than his personal views, as the Islamic Republic has long used representatives of its Jewish community to reinforce its distinction between Judaism as a religion and Zionism as a political movement. Iran's Jewish community, estimated at fewer than 10,000 people, is the largest in the Middle East outside Israel but operates under tight government oversight. Speaking to Iranian television over the weekend, Hamami said all religions are founded on "mercy, kindness and divine grace" but argued that justice is equally central. "From the perspective of the Torah, intentional murder is among the gravest sins," he said, adding that "taking the life of an innocent person is one of the greatest sins because life is a divine right bestowed by God, and no one has the right to take it." Citing the biblical story of Cain and Abel, Hamami said the Torah requires that anyone who unjustly takes a human life face a fair trial, including capital punishment where applicable. He argued that "the blood of an innocent person shed unjustly can only be atoned for by bringing the murderer to justice," saying mercy and justice are complementary principles. Hamami then turned to Israel, repeating Tehran's longstanding distinction between Judaism and Zionism. "Opposition to Zionism, which is a political movement, has existed among many Jews from the beginning," he said, adding that those views expanded after the establishment of Israel. He also pledged loyalty to Iran's leadership, noting that before and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran's Jewish community had consistently maintained that Judaism is fundamentally different from Zionism, echoing a position long promoted by the Islamic Republic's late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Hamami claimed that "free Jews" around the world have condemned what he described as Israel's killing of children and other crimes against civilians. He also cited Israel's ultra-Orthodox community, saying some members oppose the government's policies and refuse military service. While some ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups reject Zionism on religious grounds, most Israeli Haredi men have historically received exemptions from mandatory military service, a decades-old arrangement that has become increasingly contentious during Israel's ongoing war in Gaza. The issue has prompted political disputes and legal challenges as Israel seeks to expand military service amid manpower shortages. Hamami concluded by saying that Judaism's religious teachings are incompatible with what he described as the "violent and unjust policies" of the Israeli government.