英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

Amid a global exchange of greetings and good wishes to mark Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, there was one from a particularly surprising quarter.

在全球對猶太新年表示問候與祝福之際，從一個尤其令人意想不到的地方也傳來了一句祝福。

Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, tweeted： "As the sun is about to set here in #Tehran I wish all Jews, especially Iranian Jews, a blessed Rosh Hashanah." A picture of an Iranian Jew praying at a synagogue in Tehran accompanied the tweet.

伊朗總統羅哈尼在推特上寫道，「當太陽正要在＃德黑蘭這裡落下之際，我祝福所有猶太人，特別是伊朗的猶太人，都度過一個快樂的猶太新年。」推文旁還附上一張伊朗猶太人在德黑蘭猶太教堂祈禱的照片。

According to a 2012 census, there are fewer than 9,000 Jews among Iran’s population of about 75 million.

根據一項2012年所進行的人口普查顯示，在伊朗全國約7500萬人口當中，猶太人只有不到9000人。

The message from Rouhani was unexpected in Israel, which has identified Iran as a huge threat to its security. It says the regime is developing a nuclear weapons programme that could be used to annihilate the Jewish state.

羅哈尼的祝福讓以色列大感意外，因為以色列一直把伊朗視為國家安全最大威脅。以色列宣稱伊朗政權正發展可能用來摧毀以色列的核武計畫。

Rouhani, who was elected in June, has pledged to tone down the "hate rhetoric" used by his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

今年6月當選總統的羅哈尼曾矢言要減緩前總統阿瑪迪尼賈所使用的「仇恨言論」。

新聞辭典

Rosh Hashanah：名詞，指猶太教新年，通常落在9月或10月。

quarter：名詞，指地方、地區，或指某地區的居民，如My brother and I have not spoken in years so I expect no help from that quarter.（我跟哥哥已經多年沒有往來，所以我並不期待他那邊會給我任何協助。）

tone down：動詞片語，指緩和、減輕，如People will be more likely to listen to you if you tone down your language a little.（假如你措詞稍微和緩一點，大家會比較樂意聽你說話。）