Jews of Iran

Jews have a very deep and storied history in Iran. While communities emerged in various cities throughout Iran and the Persian Empire, the bulk of Persian Jewry existed in the city of Tehran. Jews first arrived in Iran shortly after the Babylonian Expulsion, when Babylonia was subsumed by the rising Persian Empire. Although Cyrus the Great allowed Jews to return to Judea, many chose to stay in Persia. Many groups of Persian-speaking Mizrahi Jews outside of Iran trace their origin to Persia as well, such as the Bukharian and Kavkazi Jews. While there is no unified Persian-Jewish language, many Iranian Jews speak various dialects of a language referred to as Judeo-Persian. Prominent Biblical figures are also buried in Iran, such as Esther and Mordechai, who are at the center of the story of Purim. 

Read more about the Jews of Iran.

Jews have a very deep and storied history in Iran. While communities emerged in various cities throughout Iran and the Persian Empire, the bulk of Persian Jewry existed in the city of Tehran. Jews first arrived in Iran shortly after the Babylonian Expulsion, when Babylonia was subsumed by the rising Persian Empire. Although Cyrus the Great allowed Jews to return to Judea, many chose to stay in Persia. Many groups of Persian-speaking Mizrahi Jews outside of Iran trace their origin to Persia as well, such as the Bukharian and Kavkazi Jews. While there is no unified Persian-Jewish language, many Iranian Jews speak various dialects of a language referred to as Judeo-Persian. Prominent Biblical figures are also buried in Iran, such as Esther and Mordechai, who are at the center of the story of Purim. Read More

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Journalist forced to flee after capturing rare images of Iranian Jews publishes book

JTA — Jewish prayer in a mosque. Hookah smoke in a kosher kitchen. Hebrew school study under portraits of ayatollahs. When former Associated Press photographer Hassan Sarbakhshian spent almost two years between 2006 and 2008 among the Jewish communities in Iran, those are some of the images […]

Videos

"One of my relatives, by the name of Ebrahim Berookhim, was a 30-year-old Jewish businessman [who] owned a five-star hotel in the heart of Tehran, and he was abruptly arrested by the regime on false charges of spying for Israel and America. They had no evidence, they had no witnesses - these were just blanket charges, and they arrested him. And abruptly, on July 31st, 1980...he was put in front of a firing squad and he was executed. He became the third Jew that the Iranian regime officially executed 40 years ago. After that episode, within a number of weeks, we fled Iran." Please take a few minutes to watch this video and learn about the experiences of Karmel and his family. Follow CAMERA on Campus for more #MizrahiStories

"One of my relatives, by the name of Ebrahim Berookhim, was a 30-year-old Jewish businessman [who] owned a five-star hotel in the heart of Tehran, and he was abruptly arrested by the regime on false charges of spying for Israel and America. They had no evidence, they had no witnesses - these were just blanket charges, and they arrested him.
And abruptly, on July 31st, 1980...he was put in front of a firing squad and he was executed. He became the third Jew that the Iranian regime officially executed 40 years ago. After that episode, within a number of weeks, we fled Iran."
Please take a few minutes to watch this video and learn about the experiences of Karmel and his family. Follow CAMERA on Campus for more #MizrahiStories

YouTube Video UEwxVWxFa3lDdExsOWY1YzA0UVQzZ1g3czRtdlZEakw2bC41NkI0NEY2RDEwNTU3Q0M2

The story of Karmel Melamed

Interview with Efrat Sopher about her late grandfather Meir Ezri, an unsung hero. Born in Isfahan, Ezri was appointed by Prime Minister David Ben Gurion as Israeli ambassador to Iran and served for 15 years from 1958 to 1973. His achievements included assisting fleeing Iraqi Jews and marshalling aid for the Qazvin and Shiraz earthquake survivors. The Shah awarded him the highest decoration, the “Taj” (the King’s Crown). He developed cooperation in science, industry, agriculture, the military, intelligence, as well as cultural ties, some in secret. Dr Efrat Sopher wrote her PhD thesis on Israeli foreign policy towards Iran 1948-1979 . Dr Sopher is a lawyer and Board member of the Ezri Centre for Iran and Gulf States Research founded by her grandfather. She is also a diplomat with the World Jewish Congress.

Interview with Efrat Sopher about her late grandfather Meir Ezri, an unsung hero. Born in Isfahan, Ezri was appointed by Prime Minister David Ben Gurion as Israeli ambassador to Iran and served for 15 years from 1958 to 1973. His achievements included assisting fleeing Iraqi Jews and marshalling aid for the Qazvin and Shiraz earthquake survivors. The Shah awarded him the highest decoration, the “Taj” (the King’s Crown). He developed cooperation in science, industry, agriculture, the military, intelligence, as well as cultural ties, some in secret.

Dr Efrat Sopher wrote her PhD thesis on Israeli foreign policy towards Iran 1948-1979 . Dr Sopher is a lawyer and Board member of the Ezri Centre for Iran and Gulf States Research founded by her grandfather. She is also a diplomat with the World Jewish Congress.

YouTube Video UEwxVWxFa3lDdExsOWY1YzA0UVQzZ1g3czRtdlZEakw2bC4wMTcyMDhGQUE4NTIzM0Y5

Israel's envoy in Iran (Harif,/ JIMENA 19 May 2021)