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VIDEO WEBCAST: ASSEMBLY MEMBER NAZARIAN HONORS NO RUZ FOR FIRST TIME IN CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE
The Jewish Journal of Greater L.A.
March 26 2014
by Karmel Melamed
Adrin Nazarian, the first Iranian-American member of the California
State Assembly, made history on March 24 in the state capitol by
honoring the Persian New Year of "No Ruz" for the first time ever. I
had the rare opportunity to witness this historic event and was
surprised by the outpouring of support from the more than two dozen
Sacramento area Iranian-Americans in attendance for the event. Those
in attendance was surprised and filled with joy that public state
officials were honoring their community for the first time in nearly
four decades. No Ruz is a secular holiday that marks the beginning
of Spring and encourages a sense of brotherhood among all mankind.
Contrary to what the media and news media have portrayed about
Iranian-Americans, the community is perhaps one of the most educated,
one of the most successful and innovative groups that have immigrated
to the U.S. With many leaders estimating that nearly one million
Iranians living in California, the largest population outside of Iran,
California has no doubt benefited the most from the contributions of
the Iranian community.
Often times Nazarian, who is Armenian and not Jewish, gets confused by
countless individuals of being a member of the famous Iranian Jewish
Nazarian clan based in Southern California. Yet I found Assembly
member Nazarian to have made a special name for himself in the Iranian
American community since he has connected well with many of them on a
personal level. "I can sense he (Nazarian) really cares about Iranians
and the larger community issues because he speaks from the heart--
it is really surprising," one middle aged Iranian woman told me after
the No Ruz celebrations in the state legislature recently. So I decided
to chat with Assembly member Nazarian to find out his motivation for
outreaching to local Iranian Americans and the following is a portion
of my interview...
http://www.jewishjournal.com/iranianamericanjews/item/video_webcast_assembly_member_nazarian_honors_no_r uz_for_first_time_in_cali
The Jewish Journal of Greater L.A.
March 26 2014
by Karmel Melamed
Adrin Nazarian, the first Iranian-American member of the California
State Assembly, made history on March 24 in the state capitol by
honoring the Persian New Year of "No Ruz" for the first time ever. I
had the rare opportunity to witness this historic event and was
surprised by the outpouring of support from the more than two dozen
Sacramento area Iranian-Americans in attendance for the event. Those
in attendance was surprised and filled with joy that public state
officials were honoring their community for the first time in nearly
four decades. No Ruz is a secular holiday that marks the beginning
of Spring and encourages a sense of brotherhood among all mankind.
Contrary to what the media and news media have portrayed about
Iranian-Americans, the community is perhaps one of the most educated,
one of the most successful and innovative groups that have immigrated
to the U.S. With many leaders estimating that nearly one million
Iranians living in California, the largest population outside of Iran,
California has no doubt benefited the most from the contributions of
the Iranian community.
Often times Nazarian, who is Armenian and not Jewish, gets confused by
countless individuals of being a member of the famous Iranian Jewish
Nazarian clan based in Southern California. Yet I found Assembly
member Nazarian to have made a special name for himself in the Iranian
American community since he has connected well with many of them on a
personal level. "I can sense he (Nazarian) really cares about Iranians
and the larger community issues because he speaks from the heart--
it is really surprising," one middle aged Iranian woman told me after
the No Ruz celebrations in the state legislature recently. So I decided
to chat with Assembly member Nazarian to find out his motivation for
outreaching to local Iranian Americans and the following is a portion
of my interview...
http://www.jewishjournal.com/iranianamericanjews/item/video_webcast_assembly_member_nazarian_honors_no_r uz_for_first_time_in_cali