US-based Israeli professor says he spoke with Iran’s president at interfaith meeting
Lior Sternfeld says he gave a copy of his book to Pezeshkian, who knew he was Israeli; transgender rabbi, fringe anti-Zionist Haredi group also participated in event
A US-based Israeli academic said Tuesday he met in New York with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as part of an interfaith dialogue hosted by Iran on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Lior Sternfeld, an associate professor of history and Jewish studies at Pennsylvania State University, said Pezeshkian knew he was Israeli and had also told the UN delegation ahead of the session. Despite this, the invitation was not canceled, according to partial remarks posted by the liberal Hebrew media outlet Relevant.
The author of “Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran,” Sternfeld said he gave the president a copy of the book.
Several rabbis also attended the meeting, according to Channel 12 news, along with Muslim and Christian representatives. Among them was Abby Stein, a transgender female rabbi and activist who is a leading figure among pro-Palestinian, progressive Jews.
Iran’s Press TV posted photographs from the meeting, which showed that members of the virulently anti-Zionist fringe ultra-Orthodox group Neturei Karta were also present.
Channel 12 reported that Sternfeld was invited by Iranian researchers with whom he has been in contact. The network said he checked with officials in Israel and got their approval to participate. It also said Sternfeld raised the issue of the hostages held by Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.
President Pezeshkian has met with a number of religious leaders and scholars in New York. pic.twitter.com/IlZTP9Tklc
— Press TV ???? (@PressTV) September 24, 2024
“It was interesting. It was difficult. It was respectful,” Sternfeld said of the meeting, while quoting Pezeshkian as saying that “the war is terrible and has to stop” in the Relevant video.
Sternfeld claimed: “Iran wants to play a mediating role on the issue of the hostages.”
He also said Pezeshkian asserted that when Israel and the Palestinians reach an agreement on an end to conflict that is acceptable to most Palestinians, Iran won’t carry the flag of the Palestinian struggle.
Iran cut off diplomatic relations with Israel after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In addition to advocating for Israel’s destruction and backing terror groups sworn to do likewise — such as Hamas and Hezbollah — Tehran has several pieces of legislation sanctioning commercial relations with Israel and forbids its athletes from competing against Israelis in international competitions.
Then-Iranian president Mohammad Khatami caused a domestic storm when he was accused in the conservative Iranian media of saying hello to then-Israeli president Moshe Katsav at the Pope’s funeral in 2005. Khatami denied the interaction occurred.
