“As soon as I took out the Israeli flag, everyone jumped on me and took pictures with me”

During the last week, huge demonstrations were recorded throughout Australia of Iranian expatriates who demonstrate alongside the flags of Iran, Israel and Australia against the regime in Iran against the background of the brutal violence and testimonies of horror that came from Tehran.

In every support parade of the Iranian exiles, it is hard not to see the blue and white flags proudly raised. “A week ago I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to wave the Israeli flag in a demonstration that focuses on Iranians,” says Ofir Birnbaum, an Israeli who lives in Sydney. “But then they asked me, ‘Where is your flag?’, and as soon as I took out the Israeli flag, dozens of people took pictures with me, kissed the flag and asked to take it and wave it themselves.”

According to him, at one of the events of the Jewish community that was held this week, the Iranians came to the place and on their own initiative bought Israeli and Iranian flags, hung them on sticks and distributed them to the general public. “In their documented demonstrations, almost everyone who held the Israeli flag was Iranian.”

“One of the leaders of the Jewish organizations came to give a speech at the demonstration of the Iranians and he was wearing a hat because he didn’t know how they would react to a person wearing a kippah,” recalls Ofir. “As soon as I showed him and his wife the limitless love of Iranians for Israelis, he took off his hat and his wife took the Star of David out of his shirt. What I took for granted was received with great surprise from their perspective.”

“What we didn’t understand until now, that the Iranian people feel and know that the Israeli people are the only ones in the world who not only speak for the Iranians, but also fight against their enemies,” Ofir adds. “A people so lonely and leaderless knows that we are their brothers and just as King Cyrus freed Jerusalem, we will free Tehran from the shackles of the regime.”

The standing of the Iranians alongside the Israelis is nothing new. With the beginning of the “Operation with a dog” those who stood by Israel and expressed firm support for the IDF’s operations in Iran were precisely the Iranians who fled the country and now live in Australia. The relationship between the Israelis and the Iranians began after the Shevah massacre in October, when those exiles came to support the Jews and the Israelis.

“We stood by our Jewish friends from October 2023 when terrorists murdered their brothers and sisters,” says Daniel Tahdoos, a young Iranian who moved to live in Sydney about nine years ago. “We did it not only because we went through the same thing, but because our shah in exile told us that we should do it. He gave us moral clarity and the courage to do such an act,” says Tahdus.

“Now, our brothers in Iran have risen up to fight the IRGC terrorists, and tens of thousands have been killed. The Jewish community of Australia stands by us in solidarity and we welcome them with open arms because we know they are allies with thousands of years of shared history, and often also common enemies.”