Guest Post: Author Esther Amini

 Welcome to My Third Post in the Mizrachi Heritage Month Series

Today, we have the privilege of hearing from the talented author Esther Amini. This marks our third post in the series, but it's our second visit to Iran, a country rich in history, culture, and a deep Mizrachi Jewish heritage. If you've been following my site, you may remember that I had the pleasure of interviewing Esther in the past. In that interview, she shared her unique perspective as a Jewish woman of Iranian descent, providing a heartfelt glimpse into the complexities and beauty of her heritage.

In today's post, we will dive deeper into Esther's story, exploring the nuanced experiences of Jewish Iranians and how those experiences have shaped her life and work. We'll also touch upon the ways her writing celebrates this heritage while shedding light on the challenges and triumphs of Mizrachi communities.

As always, this is a space to honor the diversity and richness of Mizrachi Jewish culture, and I'm excited to share more of Esther's insights with you today.

 I come from parents, ancestors, and centuries of Jews who lived in the Iranian city of Mashhad, a Shi'te stronghold and pilgrimage site with a long history of maiming and massacring infidels. Many were assaulted and lynched simply for being who they authentically were: Jewish. My own parents, and their tightknit underground community, were crypto-Jews. They survived not only by living a hidden life but by living dual identities. Above ground my mother wore the black chador, the burka, which concealed her body, from head to toe, whenever she stepped foot outside her home. Fully cloaked, peering through eyeslits, she pretended to pass as Muslim. Likewise, my father kneeled and prayed in public squares, reciting daily from the Koran. However, in the privacy and secrecy of their home, behind shuttered windows, they were devout, crypto-Jews.

In the fanatically religious city of Mashhad, Jews were deemed najis, impure, of an inferior sub-race, a creed that deserved to be destroyed. Throughout Iran, they were considered dhimmis, inferior subjects of the Islamic empire, and deemed ritually unclean—najis. My father said that even during the 20^th century, when making a purchase from a store owner who suspected he might be Jewish, my father had to place his coins in a washbasin filled with water so the owner could then pluck out the money. A cleansing of all currency coming from the pockets and hands of Jews, otherwise known as infidels, was a widespread practice.

My parents, along with my two young brothers, fled Iran and immigrated to the U.S. right after World War II. They managed to escape a country but never did rid themselves of their night terrors.

Today, if asked who are you, my first and only response is Jewish. The teachings, traditions, and values handed down from generation to generation for thousands of years, dwells deeply in my DNA, and will always be who I am. But I also carry the historic feelings of an outsider, marginalized, due to my ancestral past.

Jews of various backgrounds with complex identities have been stereotyped, distilled into a caricature, their unique differences discarded. As an ethnic group, we have been inaccurately and far too simplistically defined. Even though there are those who came from Eastern Europe and far-reaching parts of the world such as Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Russia, China, India, and Africa, we have been erroneously lumped together as one and the same. However, in each case we are individuals, raised and shaped by a different nationality and culture.

We are not a monolithic group, and our experiences have varied depending on time and place. The untold stories of Iranian Jews, and more specifically those from Mashhad, inform, illuminate and shatter stereotypical thinking. They invoke understanding and compassion for a people who had the courage and tenacity to hold onto their principles and their faith in the face of daily persecution.

Building brotherhood means humanizing the "other." Doesn't everyone want to be seen accurately, as a person—not as an oversimplified idea?

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Author's bio:

Esther Amini is an author, painter, and psychoanalytic psychotherapist in private practice. Her debut memoir is entitled: "CONCEALED"—Memoir of a Jewish-Iranian Daughter Caught Between the Chador and America.

KIRKUS REVIEWS anointed "CONCEALED" one of the BEST BOOKS of "2020." Katie Couric and Zibby Owens showcased this memoir on Nov. 30, 2021 at The Streicker Center in Manhattan. Her short stories have appeared in Elle, Lilith, Tablet, The Jewish Week, Barnard Magazine, TK University's Inscape Literary, Proximity, Paper Brigade, and Medium.com. Her essays can also be found in Zibby Owens' Anthology: "Moms Don't Have Time To," as well as in Zibby's anthology: "Moms Don't Have Time To Have Kids. "Eight of her pieces have been performed by Jewish Women's Theatre, (a.k.a. The Braid), in Los Angeles and in Manhattan, and she was chosen by Jewish Women's Theatre as their Artist-in-Residence.

Her website: Esther Amini.com