Lee Diamond – Let’s Eat %#^*+=€£¥
It was great in Persia
We never had it so good
We lived well
No one bothered us
Our brothers and sisters
Had left for old Israel
To rebuild the destroyed Temple
You know, the Temple destroyed
By the babylonians in 586 bce
They were the goodies
The “friers”
We decided that life was too good
Here in the Persian diaspora
So we stayed
We just had to live by their rules
Not make a fuss about
Being Jews
Speak Persian
Eat Persian
Dress Persian
Keep our Jewishness
Under our Persian hats.
And Persian pants!
“Be a Jew at home and a Persian
On the streets of Susa”
But occasionally there was
A flare up of xenophobia
“Persia first” pogroms
You know, “the Jews are our misfortune”
“They control everything
The media
The palace
Even the monarchy”
“Why don’t these Jews go to their own country?”
But We Rich Persian Jews loved
Our carpets
So we hid our Judaism
Became “invisible”
Hidden Jews
Took Persian names
Marduk
Ishtar
Great to hide behind a name
Even if it’s a bit “goyish’
Even if it’s a bit like calling
Your kid Chris or Mary
We made it to the top,
The court!
Safe but Treif!
But they caught us
One day
With our pants down
Or was it with our busts up?
We were outed!
So We used our influence
And saved our Jewish “tuchuses”
And managed to defeat
The Jew hater
May his name and memory be blotted out
Grrrrrrr *^%#{}€£¥
So let’s eat
To celebrate
Assimilation
In order to prove that
Persia and all
Diasporas
Are safe
If we hide!
Let’s be happy
Let’s get drunk
Reverse all logic
And hide
In costume
And masks
So we can
Hide from ourselves
Hide from them
Hide from God
And criticize our dumb brothers
And sisters
Zionists
And laugh;
Have masquerade
Parties
Send gifts
To Our poor “Poorim”
Brothers and sisters
Who returned home
To Israel
To God
And to Jewish names
And no more Jewish shame
