Iran's Ministry of Culture Grants Work Permit to American Jewish Newspaper for Reporting

The Iranian government has granted a work permit and entry visa to the prominent American Jewish newspaper, 'Jewish Daily Forward', to produce a series of reports from the country. In recent days, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance published a list of work permits for foreign media, allowing them to send reporting teams to Iran. This list, signed by the Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance for Press and Media, indicated that 'Jewish Daily Forward' has received more opportunities to report in Iran than any other foreign media outlet during this recent period. The list mentioned a three-week work visa for this American Jewish newspaper. Many reporters from reputable American media have previously reported on the lives of the remaining Jews in Iran and the religious freedom of the Jewish community during both Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency and the recent period. Some of these reporters were Jewish, but they traveled to Iran as reporters for American publications and media. However, the New York Times reported on August 6 that granting a work visa to an important American Jewish newspaper is a 'rare occurrence' by the Iranian government. 'Jewish Daily Forward' typically criticizes Netanyahu. According to the New York Times, the reporter from 'Jewish Daily Forward' effectively spent a week reporting in Iran and has recently returned to New York. The granting of a reporting visa for 'Jewish Daily Forward' coincides with a time when American Jews are divided over supporting the Israeli government's opposition to the nuclear agreement with Iran and backing Washington's stance in support of this treaty. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly taken a stance against this agreement and has openly clashed with the U.S. President. Chuck Schumer and Eliot Abrams, two Jewish Democratic senators, also announced in recent days that they would vote against the nuclear agreement with Iran alongside Republicans in Congress. Although some polls indicate that supporters of the agreement with Iran among the general Jewish population in the U.S. outnumber the opponents by up to 20 percent, the number of Jewish senators and representatives in Congress exceeds the total number of Jews in the country, suggesting that garnering the support of American Jews is increasingly important for both Tehran and Washington. Jews make up 2 percent of the U.S. population but have significant influence in American media and decision-making institutions. AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S., is campaigning against the nuclear agreement with a budget of $40 million across 40 states, urging Americans to contact their congressional members to vote negatively on the treaty with Iran. The newspaper has not taken a firm stance on the nuclear agreement with Iran but has deemed it important for the security of Jews and has called for serious and in-depth discussions about it. Ms. Janes Eisner, the editor of the newspaper, wrote that the interviews conducted by the newspaper's reporter sent to Iran, which will be published next week, sought to gather Iranian opinions on this treaty. 'Jewish Daily Forward' has a century-long history, having been published in the early 20th century in Yiddish, the language of European Jews.