'Our hearts hurt—and are filled with hope': Why Iran's ongoing protests matter to the Jewish community

Earlier this month, an estimated 50,000 people came out to a rally organized by Iranian Canadians in downtown Richmond Hill, Ont. The event was a show of support for the freedom protests currently going on across Iran being led by women and girls, a reaction to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who is largely believed to have been beaten to death by police for not covering enough hair with her hijab. Meanwhile, the Canadian government has announced sanctions on Iran, banning 10,000 members of the Iranian goverment and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from entering the country and laundering money here. Watching all this unfold has been Dyanoosh Youssefi, a Jewish lawyer and human rights activist living in Toronto. Born in Iran, she and her family lived through the Iranian Revolution and escaped in 1982, when Youssefi was 11, with just the clothes on their backs and some jewellery sewn into their coats. Youssefi joins The CJN Daily to break down the current situation and explain why it matters to Canadian Jews. What we talked about: Visit Dyanoosh Youssefi's website, dyanooshyoussefi.ca Read Youssefi's 2014 essay on being mistaken for a Muslim woman in The CJN archives Visit Omnitsky Kosher's website at omnitskykosher.com Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We're a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.