Local Iranians rally for Israel in downtown San Diego

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGTV) — Some members of San Diego’s Iranian community held a rally in support of Israel downtown on Tuesday.

“Honestly — I have been crying over the last 48 hours because this is kind of PTSD… Remembering all those things that happened in my own country in Iran,” said Dr. Kourosh Khamooshian, a rally participant.

Several Iranians in the crowd echoed that sentiment: Watching the violence in Israel brings back the emotions of watching the violence unfold in Iran, where people have been protesting against the country’s regimes.

“People are being oppressed, killed, detained, prisoned in Iran because they have been fighting against this behavior of the government,” said Khamooshian.

And with questions mounting about the Iranian government’s connection to the Hamas attacks in Israel, Iranians at Tuesday’s rally renewed their calls for regime change.

“Even though it may not be fully confirmed that the Islamic Republic is behind it, the Islamic Republic has officially celebrated the death of innocent women and kids in Israel. And it is an absolute parallel to the events in Iran this year and last year,” said Parnian Sartip.

Others also in attendance included members of the Ukrainian and Jewish communities.

“These people are here to support my country, and I’m here to support them,” said David Feingold, who has family in Israel. “My friends are all in bomb shelters. Bombs are raining down. The Jewish community in America is scared right now because I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Feingold joined others calling for peace in the Middle East.

“I believe everyone has the right to coexist,” added Sartip