Jason Reza Jorjani, PhD, is a philosopher and author of Prometheus and Atlas, World State of Emergency, Lovers of Sophia, Novel Folklore: The Blind Owl of Sadegh Hedayat, and Iranian Leviathan: A Monumental History of Mithra’s Abode.
Here he maintains that the Persian emperors of the Achaemenid dynasty organized and paid for the building of the second temple in Jerusalem. He envisions this as part of a long-term project of the ancient Iranians to use religion as a tool in their quest for a global empire. He notes that the codification of the Jewish scriptures took place under the auspices of Ezra with support from the Iranian regime. He also observes that changes in the Jewish religion under Ezra differed in various ways from ancient Israelite religion. He also points to the Book of Esther as exemplifying a close relationship between the Jews and Persians of the Achaemenid era.
Many viewers will know that Jason Reza Jorjani has suffered from libel and persecution as a result of his, generally misunderstood, political views. He is a brilliant scholar who has now been unfairly disgraced and is forced to fight a legal battle, while continuing his research and writing, without any regular employment. Therefore we have set up this “Go Fund Me” page in order to assist this worthy individual. Please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-fund-jason-reza-jorjani039s-next-project and contribute generously.
(Recorded on July 4, 2019)
Published on September 12, 2019