'They stood publicly with us, now we're standing with them'

Iranians and Jews celebrate Khamenei’s death shoulder to shoulder in north London streets

After their Persian neighbors showed support following Oct. 7, Jewish Londoners return the gesture, joining jubilant crowds Saturday night cheering the prospect of regime change

LONDON — Cars draped in the flags of Iran’s former monarchy drove through the streets of north London on Saturday night, blaring lively music and honking their horns, shortly after reports came out that the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed earlier that day in an Israeli airstrike — and even before Iranian media confirmed the death of the man who had brutally ruled the country for 36 years.

Alongside them, pedestrians sang and cheered. They did not just bear the Iranian colors — but those of Israel and the United States, as well.

Khamenei had presided over a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in January in which thousands of Iranians were killed by security forces, and citizens at home and abroad welcomed the news of his death, which came amid heavy bombing of regime and military targets by the US and Israel. Both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have urged citizens in Iran to take to the streets and finish the job of toppling the regime once the aerial campaign is over.

In the meantime, areas home to both Jewish and Iranian communities, such as Finchley and Golders Green, saw massive celebrations that included displays of fireworks and members of the Orthodox Jewish community singing in Persian and Hebrew together with their Iranian neighbors.

“We’d just finished dinner in London when we heard that Khamenei had reportedly been confirmed dead,” Meir Porat, a 55-year-old construction manager, told The Times of Israel. “Within minutes, word spread that spontaneous celebrations were happening in north London. I knew this was not a moment to watch from a distance.”

“Since October 7, many Iranians in exile have stood publicly with us at demonstrations across London,” Porat said, referring to the bloody Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023. “Last night felt like the time to stand shoulder to shoulder with them at what could be a defining moment for their country.”

Porat said it was powerful for him to see Iranians draped in Israel’s blue-and-white Star of David together with their own flags.

“Strangers came up to us simply to say, ‘Thank you for being here,’ and ‘We appreciate your support.’ Many were in tears, a mix of grief, relief, and hope. And through it all, the crowd kept chanting, ‘Am Yisrael chai,’ Iranians and Israelis together,” he said, referring to the biblical phrase meaning, “the nation of Israel lives.”

E. Ghorbani, who asked not to share his full name, said that he and many of his compatriots have been meeting weekly in central London for months “to support Iranian opposition against this brutal government.”

The idea, he said, was to demand that the British government add the IRGC to its list of proscribed terrorist organizations.

“Yesterday’s meeting happened to be at the same time as eliminating Khamenei,” Ghorbani said.

“We have a long history with Jewish people,” he added. “Especially at this time when the Israeli and American governments are in line with the Iranian people [in wanting to] get rid of this regime.”

“Besides the fake news given by the BBC, most of the people in Iran are celebrating the death of Khamenei,” Ghorbani said.

Ghorbani told The Times of Israel that he and several members of his family had been jailed in Iran, and one had even been killed by the regime, although he did not provide further details.

“I have always tried my best to support the right opposition group. I think right now there is only one, and it’s Prince Reza Pahlavi,” he said, referring to the eldest son of deposed shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, now living in exile in the United States.

Rafael Singer, a 45-year-old lawyer, said he went to support the Iranians, having previously attended an Iranian rally in London several weeks ago.

“We noticed Iranians at rallies against antisemitism. So when they had their own, my family joined in,” he said.

Singer said that his family lives near a large Iranian community, so he ventured out on Saturday night to see what was happening. He said that there were about 50 people when he first arrived in the Iranian neighborhood, but that the crowd “rapidly grew.”

“There were lots of beeping cars with flags. A couple asked me in Persian to take their picture. I said I didn’t understand and that I was Jewish, and the man then gave me a big hug,” he said, adding that around 1,000 people had gathered by the time he left.

Sara Okrent, a 51-year-old genetic counselor who was also present at the celebration, said that her family lives in Finchley and that over the last two years, they have seen how friendly and supportive the local Iranian community has been toward Israel and the Jewish people. She said that the family went to join in the festivities, carrying Israeli flags, after her son heard about them through an Iranian school friend.

“We joined the party, and were constantly given hugs and thanks for what Israel is doing. People gave us cakes and sweets and told us how much they love Israel and the Jewish people,” Okrent said.

“One man told me that he knows Israelis are in their bomb shelters and expressed his solidarity and concern. I told him that I know it must be even scarier for his family in Iran, who don’t have bomb shelters to go to,” she said.

Okrent said there was a feeling of “hope and solidarity” on the streets, which she described as a relief after two anxious and depressing years for Jews in London following the October 7 massacre.

“Israelis should know how much solidarity there is between the Iranian and Jewish diasporas,” she said. “We greeted them with ‘Javid Shah’ [long live the shah], and sometimes they greeted us back with ‘Am Yisrael chai.’”