maybe this is me being a hater/having chronic eye strain but these fucking lights may be the worst trend in modern design. theyre always blasting pure blue light at maximum brightness making your kitchen look like a damn hospital. PLUS if they go out you need to replace the entire fixture which is insane to me
I haven’t seen much (if any) discussion about this, but please save some thoughts and concern for the Jewish community of Iran. there are only about 8500-9000 people left, in a total population of roughly 92 million people. they are, in many ways, second class citizens (whether officially or unofficially), perpetually discriminated against and pressured with fear by the regime. they are particularly vulnerable to violence and reprisals during times of conflict.
Persian Jewish history is rich, ancient, and beautiful, and the decimation of that culture is one of the many tragedies that have befallen Jews of the Middle East. may we see it flourish again in our lifetime, and may a time of freedom, prosperity, and peace be ushered in for all the people of Iran who yearn to be liberated.
Encyclopedia of Jewish and Israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from anti-S
The largest number of Jews in the Middle East, outside of Israel, live in Turkey.
Iran’s Jewish question - opinion | The Jerusalem Post
Despite rising antisemitism and diminishing tolerance, Iran’s Jewish community maintains a strong sense of cultural pride and national identity, according to David Nissan, an Iran expert and former Israeli intelligence officer who was born and raised in Tehran.
“Jews in Iran face increased suspicion, yet they remain deeply proud of their heritage. It’s crucial to understand that Iranian Jews’ national identity is tied to Iran, not to any other country, including Israel,” Nissan explained, reflecting on the developments in his homeland’s Jewish community over the past 16 months.
When asked to shed light on Iran’s Jewish community, once the flagship of Middle Eastern Jewish communities, Nissan noted that despite significant emigration from the 1979 Islamic Revolution to the present day, the community still maintains a complete Jewish way of life.
“There are 30 active synagogues, Jewish schools, kosher butcheries and restaurants, and even a matzah factory. Jews don’t suffer from persecution or harm and are permitted to maintain their Jewish lifestyle without interference. Their rights as an official religious minority in Iran are protected by law and constitution, and they even have a representative in parliament,” he said.
What are the challenges facing Iran’s Jewish community in 2025?
“As is known, Iranian law follows Islamic (Sharia) law, which inherently discriminates against non-Muslims. The main challenge for the Jewish community today is separating Zionism from Judaism,” said Nissan.
“They must prominently demonstrate this separation and prove their loyalty to Iran, which views Zionism as illegitimate and reprehensible. The difficult economic situation in Iran also affects the Jewish community, most of which already belongs to a lower socioeconomic status,” he explained.
The Iranian Jewish community has experienced challenging periods in the past, first after the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, and again during the 16th century when Shi’ites became the dominant force in Iran. During both periods, Jews suffered from pogroms and discrimination.
However, after Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s last shah, rose to power, Jews experienced a golden age, including integration into key positions in Iranian society and economy.
Following the revolution, the Jewish community, which at its peak included almost 100,000 Jews, shrunk to just 9,000 Jews currently residing in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan.
According to Nissan, many community members have no intention of leaving: “Those who want to leave Iran can, but despite past attempts to incentivize Jews to immigrate to Israel, few accepted the offer. Most Jews living in Iran don’t see Israel as a better alternative worth leaving everything behind for, mainly due to cultural and economic reasons, but also security concerns,” he said.
Starting on Monday at the ANU – Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, a series of meetings titled “Perspectives on Iranian Jews” will be held focusing on this community.
According to Rivka Aderet, head of content at ANU, “In recent years, the whole world has been watching Iran due to its isolation, problematic regime to say the least, nuclear threat and lifestyle completely different from the West.
“The remaining Jewish community in this intriguing place isn’t very small, and I found it interesting to learn about the community’s character, how it’s organized, who its leaders are and how it integrates into Muslim society.”
What makes Iran’s Jewish community so special?
“It’s one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities. The most prominent example is the Book of Esther, which shows how the Jewish community in Iran influenced our history as a people,” noted Aderet.
“It was also interesting to learn about the hardships, restrictions and difficulties of Iranian Jews, and of course the big question: why they still remain there and don’t immigrate to Israel, Los Angeles, or London, despite all the difficulties. All these add a deep layer of mystery and curiosity regarding this community.”
Oded Ravivi, CEO of ANU, added: “The story of Iran’s Jewish community is more relevant than ever and sheds light on fascinating and deep aspects—not just about this community, but about the story of the entire Jewish people.
“Through the story of Iran’s Jewish community, we are exposed to the power of historical and cultural roots, national versus religious identity, which influence the shaping of all our historical and contemporary narratives.
“It’s important to remember that strengthening the sense of belonging among Diaspora Jews and our commitment as a state to serve as a safe anchor for all Jews who wish to immigrate to Israel is a national mission, which is undoubtedly more important today than ever.”
I’m tired so this isn’t comprehensive but here’s some resources on the history of Jews in Iran btw
https://diarna.org/featured-post/inside-queen-esthers-tomb/
this one isn’t really on the history of the Jews themselves, but I think it’s fun so it’s going in
not a link but J.J Benjamin also did a 19th century tour of Iran and wrote extensively about the living conditions of Iranian Jews if you wanna check that out
I’d disagree on the idea that Iranian Jews are fully free to be Jews and not discriminated against, seeing as the integration of sharia law into all legislation means that Jews do not get treated the same as Muslims in the eyes of the law. For example, if a Jew kills a Muslim, ultimately the punishment is handed over to the bereaved family, and they can choose to execute them. This is not the same as when a Muslim kills a non-Muslim.
Watchdog reports Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani hanged at Kermanshah Central Prison; stabbing victim's family reportedly refused to accept finan
I think the most famous pogrom/anti Jewish riot was the Shiraz blood libel case, but these sorts of attacks on Jews were fairly common for worse centuries in Iran, and there’s other cases such as the Allahadad and the Tabriz pogrom (which wiped out Jewish life in Tabriz for at least 100 years)
an interesting glimpse into what life was like for Jews even a century after the allahdad
After leaving Mashhad for a safe harbor in NY, Esther Amini's parents still lived in fear of a pogrom -- and expected their daughter to marr
I’d also like to say that while the shah definitely introduced reforms in the way that Jews were treated, idk if I’d particularly call the decades leading up to the revolution a ‘golden age’ for Jews, seeing as the population of Jews in Iran decreased by 20%, 100000 to 80000. I think there’s a lot of people with rose tinted glasses on when it comes to what life was like for Jews in the 50’s and 60’s in Iran, one of the reasons being that the families that left post revolution and not during that era were usually rich and urban enough to actually gain something from the reforms, while if you lived in a village or rural area like my family, you still had to deal with things like hiding when every Islamic holiday rolled around or else you’d be attacked. Obviously life under the shah was much better because actual funding and support was put into Jewish communities and having your leader be someone who doesn’t hate your guys is great, but the fact still remains that in twenty years 20000 Iranian Jews left Iran. For the vast majority of them the experience was sort of in between being expelled and leaving autonomously, half being driven out and half leaving of their own volition (either for their own safety or for a desire to live in Israel). I don’t have any sources for this, just my personal family history and what I know about Jews who didn’t live in Tehran, Isfahan, or Shiraz and how they fared in the mid 20th century
(fun fact btw— Iranian Jews were an early and strong Zionist group, especially from mizrachim! Travelling all the way to the world Zionist congress to attend, making Aaliyah as early as the 1910s and late 1890s but very strongly in the 1930s. We even had our own official Zionist organisation in Iran, but that didn’t turn out amazingly because the shah in the 30’s got scared and decided that the leader was plotting against him so had him executed)
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