Jewish-American dancer, singer, and activist Montana Tucker shared a video on Wednesday wherein she, and members of the Shiraz Dance Ensemble, dance in honor of the Iranian women who have stood against the Islamic regime in Tehran.

Tucker shared the video, which was initiated and produced by Combat Antisemitism Movement, on Instagram to her 3.2 million followers. She posted it along with Noor Pahlavi, the eldest child of former Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi.

“This is dedicated to the women of Iran who stood fearlessly in the face of fanaticism and brutality to fight for their basic human rights,” Tucker wrote on Instagram. “For 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, beaten to death for showing her hair. For Nika Shakarami, 16, whose body was stolen by the regime after her murder. For Sarina Esmailzadeh, 16, beaten to death by security forces for protesting. For Hadis Najafi, 22, who danced for freedom.”

The dance, choreographed by Iris Delshad Maymon, was filmed in Jaffa, Israel, CAM noted.

“For the thousands of school girls and women who dared to burn their hijabs, cut their hair, and march in defiance of the Islamic Republic, knowing it could and had cost countless their lives. For the Iranians who want to reclaim and rebuild their country.”

Iranian women who opposed the Iranian regime

The video features images and short descriptions of Mahsa Amini, Nika Shakarami, Yahoo Daryaei, and Paraastoo Ahmadi, Iranian women who opposed the Iranian regime. Amini and Shakarami were killed by the Islamic Republic

“Iranian women must be supported in this fight. Israeli women, too, know the brutal impact of this regime and its proxies,” Tucker continued. “We stand TOGETHER, bound by the cries of ‘Women, Life, Freedom,’ against a regime that denies ALL of us dignity, safety, and choice.”

Within hours of being published on Instagram, the video amassed over 10,000 likes.

“This dance is our REBELLION. It’s a tribute to the fallen, a symbol of UNITY, and a call to action,” Tucker added. “To every woman fighting for her voice to be heard: we SEE you, we STAND with you, and we WILL NOT be SILENT.”

CAM Public Affairs Officer Natalie Sanandaji, a Persian-American Jewish woman, coordinated the dance project, CAM stated. Sanandaji is a survivor the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks, when terrorists killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 others in southern Israel. Sanandaji was at the Nova Music Festival in Re’im.

“Under the shadow of the Islamic regime, the women of Iran are not just battling for their rights — they are fighting for their lives,” Sanandaji said. “For too long, their voices have been silenced, and their basic liberties denied. Yet, despite the brutality they endure, they continue to resist with inspirational strength.”

“The unity between Iranian and Israeli women is a testament to the power of human solidarity,” she added. “By standing together, they show that freedom is a universal desire transcending traditional religious, cultural, and political divides.” 

The Montana Public Service Commission elected former and incoming commissioner Brad Molnar as its new president this week, and it discussed legislative priorities for the session, including a bill that would make “extensive” changes to the way utilities plan for energy resources.

Molnar, a former state Senator, previously served on the commission from 2004 through 2012. The Laurel Republican takes the leadership title from Jim Brown, former PSC president sworn in this week as State Auditor.

The Public Service Commission regulates monopoly utilities, and at its meeting Tuesday, the five commissioners discussed bills that were coming up in the 2025 Montana Legislature, ones they had proposed and ones that came out of legislative work between sessions.

At the meeting, PSC external affairs coordinator Trevor Graff gave a staff report on the bills, including House Bill 55, to change the way public utilities plan and acquire energy resource and speed up parts of the process.

In part, Graff said, the “extensive” bill proposes a “quick turnaround” time of 120 days for energy planning processes, “significantly shorter” than the current nine months set in commission rules.

NorthWestern Energy currently has such an effort underway. It’s a matter of high public interest, and it entails a process under scrutiny by the public and advocacy groups.

The bill also would cut the minimum time for public comment from 60 days to 45 days.

As drafted, the Public Service Commission would be allowed to skip public comment on plans by utilities for their future energy portfolio. However, it asks utilities to potentially hold more meetings, four instead of two, but with the possibility to forego two if the PSC approves.

The bill came out of a select committee on energy resource planning, and its goal appeared to be to shift the public participation component of the process from the PSC to the utilities, Graff said.

He said the idea from the legislative committee seemed to be to take off some of the burden of collecting public comment from the PSC, although he said it’s probably good for the PSC to hear from citizens for its own records.

“You still, under this bill, have the prerogative to do that (hold a hearing on a resource plan), and you aren’t required to do that at all if you so choose,” Graff said.

The draft raised other questions for the PSC as well, he said, including a call for a couple more regulatory analysts at the commission, but with half of the estimated funding for it, and with money that’s not in the agency’s permanent budget.

HB-55 will be up for a hearing Friday in House Energy, Technology and Federal Relations Committee.

In his staff report, Graff said bills in Senate Energy are getting pushed to next week given a slowdown in the Senate. A change in the rules shuffled the work and members in committees.

Graff also reminded commissioners that their policies state the PSC will generally present a unified front before the public, the media and the legislature. In other words, commissioners who are stepping out on their own should be clear that’s the case.

At the meeting, the commission’s first order of business was electing new officers, and Vice President Jennifer Fielder broke a tie to continue to serve as vice president; she said it was extra work, but she also represented continuity in the role.

In a leadership role, Fielder said it was important to pay attention to operations, and the agency in the past had been left in “disarray” because of neglect.

“A great deal of that was because agency leadership was engaged in policy advancement, and that was wonderful, but nobody was here paying attention to the agency itself,” Fielder said, noting the importance of ensuring quality staff.

The PSC is made up five Republicans, and Commissioners Annie Bukacek and Molnar supported Fielder for vice president. Commissioners Randy Pinocci and Jeff Welborn supported Pinocci for vice president.

Fielder, of Thompson Falls, Molnar, of Laurel, and Welborn, of Dillon and also previously a state legislator, took their oaths of office this week, Welborn for the first time.

Incoming Commissioner Welborn said he was excited to work on ensuring access to reliable and affordable utility services.

“Looking ahead to the next four years, I will prioritize strengthening our energy grid and producing more energy exports to lower rates for everyone,” Welborn said in a statement.

Molnar said he was humbled to have been selected with a unanimous vote, pleased Fielder would remain as vice president, and anticipated a smooth legislative session.

“With the governor’s budget restoring lost personnel, we expect to be able to better and more timely serve the families and employers that rely on us, as well as the utilities that serve us,” Molnar said in a statement from the PSC.

The PSC also is tracking House Bill 103, to change railroad track inspection.

It’s following a couple of telecommunications bills, House Bill 45, a “rehash” of a telecommunications revision bill from the 2023 session, and Senate Bill 51, to adjust telecoms registration requirements.

A change in Senate rules on the first day of the Montana Legislature led to “messed up” planning and stalled some bills.

A print-out of committee hearings for the second day of the session was mostly blank.

Tuesday was just the second day of the 69th session, however, and, according to at least a couple of senators, some politics are expected along the way, and slight delays aren’t all bad, at least this early in the game.

In a briefing earlier in the day, Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, said the bid for new rules that led to the slowdown had surprised him, and it had serious consequences.

“It was a reshuffling of the deck, which, to me, was very … dismissive of the caucus and everything we did in November and the two months prior,” Regier said.

The previous day, a band of Republicans teamed up with Democrats to change the rules in the Senate, and on Tuesday, some, but not all, committee chairs stood up on the floor and said they had yet to get off the ground.

“Senate Judiciary is still going on a field trip,” said Sen. Barry Usher, R-Billings.

“Stay tuned,” said Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, about Senate Tax.

The sloshing in the Senate caught the attention of the House.

In House Appropriations, Chairperson Llew Jones, R-Conrad, shared ground rules about how the largest committee worked and how it fit into the work at the Capitol, with a side note about the status in the Senate.

“Senate is in a little bit of chaos about who’s on where,” Jones said.

During the first Senate floor session one day earlier, Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, proposed doing away with an executive review committee in the way Republican leaders had set it up.

At the time, Flowers said its purpose was unclear, and Democrats from the minority caucus were needed on other committees.

Sen. Jason Ellsworth, a Hamilton Republican and former Senate president, also advocated for a structure that did more to spread out the expertise of lawmakers, and he and eight other Republicans voted with Democrats.

Regier said the change meant in just 15 minutes, a couple months’ worth of logistics unraveled, everything from committee assignments to letterhead and business cards.

On the floor, he said the legislative website still had incorrect hearing meeting times, and proper ones would be printed and posted in a public space outside chambers when available.

“We’re working our tails off to get that all in sync,” Regier said.

The delays weren’t all bad, though.

The Senate wrapped up quickly Tuesday, and afterwards, Sen. Janet Ellis, D-Helena, said it was early enough in the legislative session, she wouldn’t characterize the changes with committees as disruptive.

Ellis also said she was working on a bill that dipped into some unfamiliar territory — about artificial intelligence in elections — so she saw a silver lining.

“I’m glad I have some time to prepare,” Ellis said.

Not all committees were delayed as a result, and some were having “educational” meetings instead of taking up proposed bills.

Earlier in the day, Regier said the new rules were just temporary, and the Senate might revert to the plan from leadership when it adopted permanent rules. He said he would defend the work his caucus did, but he couldn’t predict an outcome, either.

“This is politics, right?” Regier said.

Coming out of the floor session, Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, said the same thing about the brake tap on committees.

“That’s why we’re here. Politics,” Windy Boy said. “Sometimes, some people don’t get what they want. Some do. It’s like two kids playing in the playground. Some get to play with the toys, and some don’t.”