Conclusion: Remembering Through Dialogue
The 2025 Yousef Abad commemoration was more than a religious observance. It was a statement—a subtle yet poignant assertion that the memory of a leader as polarizing and pivotal as Ayatollah Khomeini can be interpreted through many lenses. For Iranian Jews, it was an opportunity to remember a figure who, despite the upheaval he unleashed, offered them a path to coexistence within a revolutionary state.
In a time of increasing global polarization, religious nationalism, and identity politics, such gestures matter. They remind us that history is not static, and that legacy is not the property of one group alone. By reading the Torah and the Psalms in honor of Khomeini, Iranian Jews reclaimed their space in the national narrative—not as outsiders, but as citizens whose faith, like others, is deeply woven into the story of modern Iran.
As the gathering dispersed and the candles were extinguished, one phrase, repeated by a young Jewish participant, lingered: “Imam ra be yade ma darim — We remember the Imam.” But they remember him not as a mythic icon or political banner, but as a human being whose complex relationship with faith, power, and people continues to inspire reflection.