Maurice Motamed, a member of the Iranian parliament representing the Jewish community and a supporter of the Iranian nuclear program has recently visited the large Iranian Jewish population in Los Angeles and held meetings with the local Iranian community.
Motamed’s visit drew a heated debate within the Jewish community whether to meet a person who represents a regime which denies the Holocaust. The members of the Iranian-American Jewish Federation chose to host Motamed at their synagogue.
Motamed said during the visit that the economic situation of the Jews in Iran is good and that Jews can openly practice their faith without fear of reprisals. The evidence he gave to that was the construction of a new Jewish community center in Teheran. On the other hand, another Iranian-Jewish organization (the Council of Iranian Jews) opposed the meetings with him, and said that it is inconceivable that Jews will sit with a man who represents a regime which calls for the destruction of Israel.
Motamed tried to deflect the allegations and presented his actions for the Jewish community in Iran and the harsh criticism he sounded against the Iranian president for denying the Holocaust.