Last week, the New York Times reported that the Iranian government had donated $400,000 to Tehran’s only Jewish hospital, the Dr. Sapir Hospital and Charity Center. The news—delivered in person by Hossein Fereydoon, brother of President Hassan Rouhani—was a source of much skeptical bemusement/eye-rolling on Twitter, and elicited this doubtful reaction from Stephanie Butnick at Tablet:

I don’t mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but the unexpected donation, which appears to have been given with little warning or context, raises a few questions. Is this part of Rouhani’s skillful charm offensive—a generous gesture of goodwill to a religious minority could potentially go a long way in softening the country’s image in the eyes of the West—or a genuine attempt at cultural change within the country?

The “charm offensive,” in case you were wondering, is not an invasion of militant beauty queens (if only!), but this thing the Iranian government is doing right now to woo world powers and end sanctions. In a romantic-comedy it’d be a montage scene with a peppy soundtrack culminating in a happy disarmament for everyone, in real life it kind of falls flat when you execute poets for blasphemy.

Disturbing (and unsurprising) dictatorial hypocrisies aside, there’s a really nice piece about the history and current status of the hospital in The New York Times:

Named after a Jewish doctor who died in 1921 while trying to cure patients during a typhus epidemic raging through Tehran, the hospital started out as a clinic where all Iranians could come for medical care at vastly reduced rates. For more than 50 years it has been a meeting point for Iranian Jews and Muslims and the most prominent Jewish charity in the capital.

Situated across the street from a Shiite seminary, the Dr. Sapir Hospital and Charity Center continues to offer affordable treatment. Says Mohammad Mirghanin, a seminary student who has sought treatment at the hospital: “They might have a different religion, but they are fellow Iranians. I do not see why I should not go to the Jewish hospital.”

This sentiment was reiterated by the hospital’s Muslim managing director, Khoddad Asnashahri, who told the reporter, “here all people can come, no matter what religion, color or race.” Ninety-six percent of the patients and most of the staff are not Jewish.

Remarkably—despite the vicissitudes of revolution, war, and emigration—the Jewish character of the hospital has remained intact. The charm offensive blunders on, but the beneficiary of the Rouhani’s latest act of generosity, it seems, is a worthy recipient.

Read the full piece here.

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Remember last year when a group of Israelis made a series of “We Love You Iran” YouTube videos in an effort to subvert the de facto enmity between the two countries? The feelings were mutual, and the whole exchange was heartwarming and inspiring and reminded us all that the opinions of a country’s citizens can be quite different from those of their government.

This past week, Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to rally Iranian citizens against their country’s nuclear weapon program by highlighting their lack of civil liberties. In an interview with BBC Persia, Netanyahu attempted to appeal to the citizens of Iran with the following statements:

If the people of Iran were free, they could wear jeans, listen to Western music and have free elections. You, the Persians, will never get rid of this tyranny if it is armed with nuclear weapons. For God’s sake, don’t let them have nuclear weapons.

If this sounds a bit desperate, that’s because it was. But the main problem was that Netanyahu did not really have his facts straight. Just after the statements, Iranians took to Twitter to let the world know that Western music and culture is a part of their lives.

.@netanyahu Here are my #Jeans and #Western music you idiot. pic.twitter.com/pxv2hqv8WV

— Sallar (@sallar) October 6, 2013

@netanyahu I'm wearing #jeans like many other young & old people in #iran pic.twitter.com/OXUsJounwF

— Mohammad HZG (@mohhzg) October 6, 2013

And, if Netanyahu’s statements come across as a #fail, that’s only because his information was a bit outdated. It is true that many progressive Iranians don’t agree with the views of their current leaders who were all preapproved prior to the election. Perhaps a more educated dialogue between the people of Iran and Israel might still prove helpful in the future.

(Photo by Pool/Getty)

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Larry David lent his star power in the ’18-24 young person demographic’ to a voting initiative directed at young Americans, filming a slightly awkward, if well-intentioned, short video.

“Not to vote…why are you even living here?” he asks. “You could be living anywhere. You could be living in Iran, or North Korea, how would you like that? Then you could sit on your couch.”

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• Supposedly an Iranian chess player has broken the Guinness world record for simultaneous games previously held by Israeli, Alik Gershon

• AWKWARD: A woman teaching 10-year-old boys is compromising their chastity, according to Holon’s Chief Rabbi Avraham Yosef.

• Turkey considering chemical castration for rapists. Go Turkey!

• This is how you start an uprising in Egypt.

The post Daily Jewce: Iran Claims Chess Victory Over Israel, Teachers Compromising Chastity, Turkey Castrating Rapists And More appeared first on Jewcy.

• Ahmadinejad thinks the U.S. planned the WikiLeaks documents to come out to put pressure on Iran.

• Netanyahu doesn’t think the leaks will effect Israel, but he also thinks the cables proves him right about Iran.

• If you’re looking for a job, may we suggest Iranian nuclear scientist?  Or maybe not….

• Do we really have to say more than “Wolf Blitzer dancing with Doug E. Fresh at the Soul Train Awards” to get you curious?

• Interviews with Mad Magazine cartoonist Al Jaffee are always welcome.

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