90210 Persians for Hillary

The Washington Post ^ | 02/20/2007 | Mary Ann Akers

[StilettoRaksha]

While Barack Obama snags the Hollywood limelight this week (and the movie stars' mega bucks), his fellow frontrunner in the Democratic presidential sweepstakes will be cozying up with the Persian Jews of Beverly Hills.

Barack gets Denzel Washington, Jennifer Aniston, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Hillary Rodham Clinton gets Nina Ansary, Hassan Nemazee, Rashel Pouri and lots of other people you've never heard of. Another way to look at it: Obama attracts the stars to his fundraiser in Hollywood, but Clinton is the star of her fundraising gig in Beverly Hills.

Or reframe it this way: While the minority candidate gets to hobnob with the crème de la crème of the silver screen, Clinton is seeking out one of the most obscure voting blocs imagineable.

The Clinton event (take a gander at the invitation here), slated for Thursday night at the home of Nina Ansary and Ali Saffari, is expected to draw a Who's Who among Persian Jews living in Los Angeles, many of whom supported George W. Bush for president. (Ansary herself contributed $2,000 to Bush in 2004. Her husband, Saffari, gave $2,000 to Bush, though he also gave $2,000 to John Kerry and $1,000 to Howard Dean.)

[ConservativeDude]

Persian Jews? Not sure that I understand the term, but is the idea here that there are some who have grown comfortable in exile and have no need for the homeland (ie, anti-Israel, liberal Jews)?

[ConservativeDude]

Actually, looking at the names of Hillary's supporters, it doesn't appear to me that they are Jewish, but just Persian.

[lilylangtree]

"Persian Jews" sound derogatory but not sure.

[Nathan Zachary]

"Or reframe it this way: While the minority candidate gets to hobnob with the crème de la crème of the silver screen,"

Uggh! PUKE! Creme de la Creme? These Hollywierdo's are nothing but high school drop outs who got lucky and made a few bucks being filmed for acting as they normally do.

Tom Hanks does not "act" in rolls such as Forrest Gump, or bachelor party.
Jennifer Aniston does not "act' in roles such as Friends. She's just normally ditsy and clueless, moraly bankrupt.
They are all clueless morons who live in an alternate reality fueled by parties, booze, drugs and "things". They haven't a clue how the real world works.
Obama is something shiney and new, and hey, he's black too! They can be seen hob knobbing with a rizing star, get some exposure, which of course earns them more money so they can afford those $10,000 a nighthotel party rooms where they can feel pampered like the royalty they think they are.

[lilylangtree]

"Persian Jews" sound derogatory but not sure. Just read the article which makes me want to gag.

[Nathan Zachary]

"Actually, looking at the names of Hillary's supporters, it doesn't appear to me that they are Jewish, but just Persian."

The Mullah Mafia? That would make sense. It can't see Hillary deviating far from Bubba's network.

[ClaireSolt]

I know a little bit about the Iranian refugees in LA, but this is the first mention of Jews. Certainly they would flee a Mullocracy, though.

[ozzymandus]

Shouldn't that be "Iranian Jews"? Iran ceased being Persia some time ago.

[wtc911]

LA's $$$$ nabes and Great Neck (also mega-bucks) on Long Island are the centers of population of Farsi-speaking Jews who fled iran thirty years ago.

[July 4th]

Persian Jews? Not sure that I understand the term

Persian = ethnic heritage

Jew = religion

That's about all the term means. There are tons of them in LA, including my half-sister and her family.

[StilettoRaksha]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Jews

[freedom44]

Please stop the derogatory comments.

Persian is an ethnicity. Judaism is both an ethnicity and religion. Jews from Iran are both Persian and Jewish. Persian due to ethnicity because of their blood and Jewish because of religion.