Judaism in the World
Iran
|
|
-->
|
|
|
-->
|
|
|
|
• Discussion Forum |
Do you have an opinion about this page? Make it known on the
Discussion Forum!
|
|
|
In 1986 there were an estimated 50,000 Jews in Iran, a decline from about 85,000 in
1978. The Iranian Jewish community is one of the oldest in the world, being descended
from Jews who remained in the region following the Babylonian captivity, when the
Achaemenid rulers of the first Iranian empire permitted Jews to return to Jerusalem.
Over the centuries the Jews of Iran became physically, culturally, and linguistically
indistinguishable from the non-Jewish population. The overwhelming majority of Jews
speak Persian as their mother language, and a tiny minority, Kurdish. The Jews are
predominantly urban and by the 1970s were concentrated in Tehran, with smaller
communities in other cities, such as Shiraz, Esfahan, Hamadan, and Kashan.
Until the twentieth century the Jews were confined to their own quarters in the towns.
In general the Jews were an impoverished minority, occupationally restricted to
small-scale trading, moneylending, and working with precious metals. Since the 1920s,
Jews have had greater opportunities for economic and social mobility. They have
received assistance from a number of international Jewish organizations, including the
American Joint Distribution Committee, which introduced electricity, piped water, and
modern sanitation into Jewish neighborhoods. The Jews have gradually gained increased
importance in the bazaars of Tehran and other cities, and after World War II some
educated Jews entered the professions, particularly pharmacy, medicine, and dentistry.
The Constitution of 1979 recognized Jews as an official religious minority and
accorded them the right to elect a representative to the Majlis. Like the Christians,
the Jews have not been persecuted. Unlike the Christians, the Jews have been viewed
with suspicion by the government, probably because of the government's intense
hostility toward Israel.
Iranian Jews generally have many relatives in Israel - some 45,000 Iranian Jews
emigrated from Iran to Israel between 1948 and 1977 - with whom they are in regular
contact. Since 1979 the government has cited mail and telephone communications as
evidence of "spying" in the arrest, detention, and even execution of a few
prominent Jews. Although these individual cases have not affected the status of the
community as a whole, they have contributed to a pervasive feeling of insecurity among
Jews regarding their future in Iran and have helped to precipitate large- scale
emigration. Most Jews who have left since the Revolution have settled in the United
States.
Source: Library of Congress Country Studies
-->
