I Was Born in Iran. My Heart Is Broken Now

Ruti Eliasi-Shuster

I was born in Abadan in southwestern Iran, very close to the border with Iraq. I lived there until we immigrated to Israel shortly before the Islamic Revolution. Today, when I look at what is happening, my heart is broken.

It is true that the regime in Iran is theocratic and very extreme, and that it controls its people and restrain their freedom. But the people of Iran are different – they are not like the regime. And my heart breaks when I see so many innocent people in Iran being killed. I find it terrible that they are suffering because of their own leaders, and now they are also suffering because of Israel and the United States.

When it was announced that Iran’s Supreme Leader had been killed, I did not feel joy. I cannot be happy when someone is killed. I do not believe that killing Khamenei will solve the problem, or that it will change the political system in Iran. It will not change that way. I do not know what it will bring to the world – it might even be worse, both for us and for them, for the Iranian people.

I believe that Iran deserves different leadership. But who are Netanyahu and Trump to intervene? I do not think they are better than him, and I do not think they are doing better things for their people. From my perspective, Netanyahu is responsible for what happened on October 7, for the genocide in Gaza, and also for what is happening today in Israel – where extremists are taking over and controlling more and more spaces, and where innocent Palestinians are being killed in the West Bank.

My dream is that Iran will be free. The people there are wonderful – they love life, poetry, music, and art. I hope that one day they will be able to be free, to feel that they can move and live without the control of extremists. Especially the women.

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Ruti Eliasi-Shuster is a veteran facilitator at the School for Peace, and a graduate of the Conflict Facilitation Course.

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