PERSEPOLIS
THE STORY OF A CHILDHOOD
By: Marjane Satrapi

“Persepolis” tells the story of a young girl growing up in the midst of the Islamic Revolution; it captures what it was like living under the Shah and then suddenly to be living under religious oppression. This reading is not only a personal account of what it’s like to live in turmoil and fear but one that speaks to us today as we experience Islamic terrorism. President Ahmadinejad was raised in the fervor of that Islamic revolution and establishes Iran as a major, supportive force of Hezbollah and Hamas.

“Persepolis” is the ancient Greek name for the capital of Persia, now modern day Iran. It is ironic that we are triggering this year’s Book Day program on Chanukah and will complete the program at Purim, holidays that celebrate our spiritual and physical survival, Rabbi Stochel noted in his introduction to this year’s Book Day program. The Rabbi  also pointed out that the Holocaust Denial Conference recently held in Iran was convened by the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who made it very clear that the “Zionist regime will disappear soon…and humanity will achieve freedom.”

While showing the last slide, Rabbi Stochel read the following excerpt from the book, “When I think we could have avoided it all and a million people would still be alive, it just makes me sick.”

We are looking forward to Book Day, on February 14, where we will spend the day learning together, attending lectures and workshops discussing the intriguing issues “Persepolis” raises.   To listen to Rabbi Stochel’s introductory remarks and to view the slides, please click on Multimedia Selections “Book Day: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi”.

Stay tuned, as the program progresses we will continue to update this page.