The Media Line: Dr. Sharona Nazarian Becomes First Iranian American Woman Mayor of Beverly Hills 

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Dr. Sharona Nazarian Becomes First Iranian American Woman Mayor of Beverly Hills 

By The Media Line Staff 

Dr. Sharona Nazarian was sworn in as mayor of Beverly Hills, California on April 1, becoming the first Iranian American woman to hold the position. 

“My journey to this moment has been a long one,” Nazarian, a practicing psychologist, said in her speech. “I am an immigrant. English is my third language. I came to this great nation due to religious persecution. No one was there to be my voice, and things didn’t always come easily.” 

Beverly Hills is known for its large population of Iranian Jews, of which Nazarian is a member. Around one-quarter of the Los Angeles suburb’s 33,000 residents are thought to be Jews of Iranian descent. 

Nazarian has held leadership positions at several Jewish and pro-Israel organizations, including Friends of Israeli Disabled Veterans, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, and University of Southern California Hillel. 

At her swearing in, Nazarian outlined her priorities, including public safety, community engagement, and fiscal responsibility. She also talked about her commitment to fighting antisemitism. 

John Mirisch, one of Nazarian’s two vice mayors, used his speech to criticize the nation of Qatar, which owns a major hotel in Beverly Hills and has a consulate there. 

“We’re dealing with a rogue country whose defense minister and deputy foreign minister said, ‘we are all Hamas,’” Mirisch said of Qatar. “Jew hating racists and genocidal sponsors of terrorism are not welcome in our city or in our community.” 

The first Iranian American mayor of Beverly Hills, Jimmy Delshad, was sworn in in 2007.