Question

Are there Jews in Iran?


Answers (1)

by Toni 13 years ago

Yes there are. Actually, Persian Jews are among the oldest inhabitants of present day Iran. Their presence in the country goes as far back as to the year 727 BC under the rule of king Tiglath-pilesser III, when Jews were deported from what is now Israel into present day Iran.

At present, the population of Persian Jews is around 25.000, the largest in any Muslim country. They have religious freedom and live their religion and culture with relatively freedom as they are perceived to belong to the Iranian nation. They have one representative in parliament and according to Massoume Prie they are not forbidden from employment in the government sector.

Interestingly, it was Khomeini who issued a fatwa that granted their protection in Iran after many Persian Jews (many of them among the business elite) left the country precisely because of the anti-Israeli sentiment brought by the revolution in 1978.


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