I Can't Visit Iran, So I Did This...

what it says up there Persian square but we're not  in Persia or Iran we are actually in the country   that is the greatest enemy of Iran the United  States in the city of Los Angeles home to the   largest Iranian Community outside the Homeland  in an area also known as Tehrangeles [Music] and I'm looking around I see lots  of shops in Farsi the letters are like   in Arabic but it's not Arabic it's Farsi so let's see what other signs of Iran we   can find here in Tehrangeles aha you see  a flag of the Shah with letters in Farsi hello this is your shop yeah oh wow I see you have  this Iranian flag yes and the plate of the Shah Reza Pahlavi yeah that's super interesting you have a  good information ah yes so you were born here here   yeah no from Iran where in Iran Kermanshah very interesting  to see ah this is Iranian money old Iranian money   thank you all right thank you see you byebye wow  look at that Persian rugs uh plates with pictures   of the Shah um old bills from Iran in that period  it's probably time to tell you a little bit about   the history and how this community came about in  the early 60s and the' 70s Iran was ruled by a   monarch known as the Shah and he was very close to  the United States and pretty much controlled by   the United States the reason being among others  because the US and Britain instigated a coup in   1953 to depose the Prime Minister Muhammad Mosaddegh who was trying to limit the powers of the Monarch   and this was due to a conflict over Iranian oil so  once they got rid of him they were able basically   to be the main controlling power through the  monarch the Shah and Iranians started coming   here to the United States setting up some of these  shops but it was after the Iranian Revolution in   1979 when the Islamic Republic took power that  this community really started to balloon as   thousands and thousands of people fled Iran and  the changing conditions in the country to join   their Brethren here in the United States and  in the city of Los Angeles and what you have   here is a microcosm of life in Iran all types of  Iranians Shia Iranians Azerbaijani Iranians Armenian   Iranians and Jewish Iranians all told over  half a million people here in the city of Los Angeles how's it going my friend somebody that  guy that lady the place you were filming that   booking I'm from Persia okay and then she was so  sad she was crying if you film everything people   can see it this is a Persian neighborhood yeah and  everybody loves you guys so much coming visiting   the Persia bunch of homeless guys they walked up  Sir yeah and they broke the whole window and she   was crying why did they break her window this  just crazy this morning I had a pack a lot of   garbage here at night they come here they ransack  the whole place who who's they it's like homeless   people with the shopping cart they do it on purpose  and then I told them keep the name Persia is the   only thing America left be peaceful and then  this Rabbi guys here and this what guy? the rabbi place is right next yeah there  a bunch of rabis here they're Israeli they're   so nice they give us some beans and some and then  and my dad's mom was Israeli and my mom's dad was   Israeli so you're Jewish yes sir me too I'm I'm  from Israel you look like my mom's brother shalom   how's it going and I than you said as well maybe  that's what God sent you here for them because   believe it or not this book over here is Torah  yeah it's the book of Musa Moses and Moses the   prophet Moses was the only Messiah you notice I  you look a bit like Moses correct sir that's it   looks like Moses look shalom shalom but what is  this I have a question this is a newspaper correct   yeah this is a Persian newspaper that they put  out here smart yeah wait wait wait wait wait   let me guys try to read Persian see if  I get it right which is like in Arabic which means news so news and information and information  yes sir and then who puts out this newspaper   someone in the this area they put out  a newspaper in is that's their address   ah and look there's news about uh the war  in Israel and all that if you notice that's   a synagogue right there there a synagogue yes right  there all right there right here was he's a Persian to okay and this is a Persian  restaurant usually the is if I save $103 I don't   sleep here at night there's this Motel he so  $103 yes that's the cheapest one the other one   they charge you 200$ you need a there's no uh place  here where they help homeless people like where   you can get more cheap accommodation and they  don't like me Refugee from Iran Persia when did   you leave Iran uh 41 years ago ah and you're  still wow yes I worked 38 years in Texas and   other state I was a truck driver recruit for US  Army Commander he's a Persian everyone   is Persian here he look like Moses too they  why there and stuff but what is your questions   are God this information is God you mean good  Perfection questions are God that's   a Turkish Bible oh really yeah some lady she paid  $40 to buy this book but you don't read Turkish I   can read it is my my last name is Turks this is my  artwork this is like a Mormon book some Mormons   they give me that so everyone here is trying  to convert you to their religion? Correct but you're   Jewish correct how could I change because the only  true God is the Mighty God he has no name he's god we had to live in Iran because of the Islam  guys they showed up killing everybody they said   we have to be a Muslim I didn't say nothing I  said I want to leave the country they said kid   you got to serve the military for two years because  somebody named Saddam Hussein is attacking Iran took   over Iranian cities everybody died except me and  nine soldiers I told him God's commandment is you   shall not kill but they they didn't listen to me  believe me sir everybody died United Nation was   scared the Americans were scared everybody left  the country because there was mustard gas everywhere   but you as as a Jewish person you were able to  be a commander in the Iranian Army in the 80s they   didn't know that uh they just needed soldiers  they said I said I need a passport to leave   the country they said the no but the Iranian  Army allowed you to be a commander when you   were Jewish yeah because they were all their  last name was like me they were military but   they the government Left but they couldn't kill  the military because they needed the soldiers   all right I got to go um if you want we can get  lunch later I definitely owe you a lunch after   this conversation no you're okay so I'll come by  later to say goodbye yes if you save money or tell   people the I'm Leo sitting here homeless Refugee  guys if you come to Tehrangeles in Los Angeles   around Persia Square Westwood Boulevard Wilkins  Boulevard come and say hello to Leo yes sir to   Leo um he'll be sitting here this is his home  over here is where you sleep at night right in   the corner right here in the corner okay he'll be  over here so you know where to find him and maybe   you can help him get a hotel for the night persian lion and oh yeah Community Auto Service that's nice and then don't forget to help this lady  yeah thank you very much s thank you so much I   love thank you best of luck to you as if you're  watching this tape remember Leo from Persia   we love you you and God bless USA God bless  Shalom thank you thank you sir thank you so much they be famous wow some life story huh  crazy and the the what he was saying there it's   interesting if it's true because sometimes you  know you don't know how accurate these stories   are but there was a huge war between Iran and  Iraq in the'80s over the oil producing area of   Southern Iran and huge tremendous casualties  over a million on each side the deadliest war   in the Middle East in modern times and he was  saying that he fought in that war and a lot of   people got killed and that's something that we  know happened and I believe him oh wow Persian bookstore hello Hi how are you how you are you recording  yeah not good no okay thank you a bit of paranoia   here about recording maybe it has something  to do with people having family back home in   Iran which is of course not a country that has  freedom of speech and they don't know where this   video is going how it will be interpreted  their family members so forth I understand it [Music] look at these Persian rugs one of the  things that they're famous for in Iran the   Persian rugs Community here want to feel  at home can get them are these imported   from uh Iran or they're made here imported  right it's very nice thank you some Persian products here Shaharzad  tea Shaharzad is a famous Persian folk tale I've seen a lot of these services  for passport related issues there are   obviously people right now in Iran  who would love to come to United States so many homeless  people in the city so sad just crazy oh look Persian ice cream let's try  this excuse me what is Persian ice cream   what's special about Persian ice cream so  the Persian ice cream is the ingredients   and the way that it's made is more stretchy  and the ingredients are organic and also   like the the flavors like the saffron all  right people Iranian ice cream let's try it whoa that is very strong and  you can taste like the saffron   inside it's very unique taste it's  actually really good super unique It says Mahsa Amini that was the Iranian woman who was killed by the police in Iran for not wearing a hijab that   sparked huge protests and unrest in the country  several years ago a lot of unrest that's still   ongoing what actually 10 commandments Iranian  style I am myself a television and radio producer   for 55 years where here in LA and in New York I had  the radio station I had the TV station here too   and you were born in Iran I was was born in Iran  I've done a lot of things I've been I'm a very   active member of the community where in Iran in  Hamadan the where you had the Feast of Purim yeah   ah wow like the actual site of the events that  are list are written in the story one of the best   communities there are because for joke they call  the Iranian Community the Gucci immigrants yeah   because mostly are very well to do and fortunately  we have lot of doctors lawyers engineers and as   far as the education the Iranian Community is one  of the top top educated community and they're very   active they are a lot of very very big American  businesses owned by the Iranian community and   it's a good community and now we're Americans as  anybody else and we're proud to be an American   from Iranian descent so are you sad about uh the  relations between the US and Iran the fact that   you can't go back easily to Iran all all the  stuff that's going on well I don't want to   talk too much about myself but I have been very  active I am as far as Iran concerned I was 13   years an assistant to the late Shae of Iran and I did a lot  at the time we were very good relationship we had   with Israel Iran and Israel were actually allies  until the Islamic revolution like Israel got all   the got all the oil from Iran actually I was  instrumental in sending the oil to Israel at   that time as I mentioned I was an assistant to the  late Shah and the relationship was pretty good and   unfortunately, since these Mullahs came in and uh  terrible because there was always uh good   relationship with the Jews and Iran and actually  the second historical and religious place of the   Jews is Iran because we have the Tomb of Daniel  and also we have the Esther the queen of Persia   and uh it's been always in the cultural thing it's  been very very good friendship and everything and   Cyrus the great is the one who came and freed  the Jews of course that is the very end of the   Bible where Cyrus the Great issues his famous  declaration allowing the Jews to come back to   Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple and I don't know  this this looks a little bit like uh Cyrus the great   in his Palace or Darius or one of these other  Persian kings Cyrus the Great and also this is   called this is was the Palace of the Cyrus  the great which is in in province of fFars Shiraz   in Iran and uh that represents and this is where  the different uh nations were bringing gift to the   Cyrus the king looking for the future hopefully we  can get together again yeah who knows I hope so me too thank you so much really thank you so much  for this peace Shalom how you say uh thanks in   Persian thank you Mercy like the French ah  no but that's a that's a thank you which actually is like Arabic came  to the persan but anyway are the people here   very involved in the basically like the news I  saw there's a sign there says Mahsa Amini was the   woman without the hijab who was arrested and  killed and a lot of like were killed by the   this fanatic Islamic regime because not  every Islamic country is like this but in   Iran unfortunately that is the case the these  are very Fanatic in a way I don't want to use   bad word stupid manner of running the country  and well hasn't hasn't been very successful   because the country is not doing well no not not  country went back back over a, 1,000 years when we had   the 2,500 years of Persian Empire in Iran we  celebrated during 1970s we had 82 heads of   states to be in the biggest party of the heads  of the countries ever in the history so I have   a question is there anyone here in um the US that  supports the Islamic Republic in US Iranian yeah   they are sent by the Islamic regime they here  they are the moles they call you know they they   very few and they're paid by the Islamic regime to  be here to do few things okay because I and also I   maybe also there's a bit of concern for those who  have family because when I walked into some shops   here and they saw I was filming they're like  get out yeah because they afraid that they'll   be Target I myself I have four counts of execution  waiting for me to go back there but you I think   they're afraid more for their families back there  if they have families yes if they have families   if they retaliate you know of course if the son  does something here they go get the father or   the sister or the brother or the mother whatever they have no mercy thank you so much t uh thank you guys all right some people who want to talk  how nice what a story he sent us the oil in   Israel what would we have done without him my God  but we've made it back to Persian Square where we   started the video um yeah I was kicked out of  quite a few shops until I found uh people that   were willing to talk to me so that was super  cool to find the guy who sent us the oil in   Israel back in the day and yeah very interesting  basically a microcosmos of the Iranian life here   in Los Angeles of all kinds of all religions of  all communities and many of them obviously have   family back home are uh in this situation of the  bad relationship between the US and Iran want to   see the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran  will that happen in our lifetime I don't know but   I'm happy that I came here I hope you enjoyed  this video and I'll see you next time bye-bye

Channel: Insightful Nomad

Views: 12,069

Keywords: Israeli visits Iran, Israel, Iran, Los ANgeles, Tehrangeles, iranians in USA, American iranians, Persia Vlog, Iranians in America, Iran attacks Israel, iran travel video, iran vs israel

Id: YbyJZ5GDgWM

Length: 20min 26sec (1226 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 14 2024