In 1979 during and after the fall of the Shah of Iran, and the start of the Islamic Revolution, terrified Jewish Iranian parents were eager to get their children out. Chabad orchestrated airlifts of some 1800 children to New York. This great undertaking was led by Rabbi JJ Hecht and the team at NCFJE (National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education – based in Crown Heights). You can read more about this effort in this Chabad.org article by researcher and author Dovid Margolin.
For now, and as we approach Passover of 2026 with Iran in the news everyday, want to share the anecdote about the rice.
Chabad, as the Ashkenasic tradition, doesn’t eat rice on Pesach. It’s not Chametz, but the Ashkenaz Rabbis of 1000 years ago forbade rice and beans and grain-like foods like corn as Kitniyot. Most Sephardic Jews did not accept this prohibition, and so many (but not all) Sephardic communities do eat rice.
Rice is a big staple for Iranian/Persian Jewry, and their tradition allows it on Passover. The Rebbe instructed Rabbi Hecht that although it was prohibited for Chabad, to be sure to serve rice to the Iranian children for the Seder, as they were accustomed to it and would expect to have it on Passover.
After prayers that first Passover night, the Rebbe stopped in to visit the locations of the Seders for the Iranian children. And the Rebbe went into the kitchen and peered into the pots to be sure rice was being cooked for them!
—