LOS ANGELES — As pro-Palestinian protesters and counterprotesters rally at universities across the country, some of the most vocal defenders of Israel are members of the Iranian Jewish community. In Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian diaspora outside Iran and often referred to as “Tehrangeles,” Iranian Jews have emerged as a regular presence at demonstrations on the campuses of UCLA and the University of Southern California.
King Cyrus the Great, who ruled the Persian Empire between 559 and 530 B.C., is considered a savior of the Jewish people after he annexed areas of Babylon, in modern-day Iraq, where Jews from Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Judea lived after being exiled. He gave Jewish residents of the Persian Empire freedom to practice their faith and allowed those who had been previously exiled to return to Jerusalem.