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Iran has one of the oldest Jewish communities outside Israel. Jews first appeared in Iran at the time of the destruction of the First Temple (6th century BC). The Jews had been conquered by the Babalonians and many were brought back to Babylon as slaves. Cyrus the Great who founded the Archemid dynasty, conquered Babylon (539 BC). Cyrus allowed the enslaved Jews to return to Israel. Not all the Jews returned. Scattered Jewish colonies were established in Babylon and various Persian provinces as well as Hamadan and Susa. The experiences of the Jews in Persia under the Achaemids are desctibed in the Bible (books of Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel). Jews in Persia tended to lived in their own communities. Persia was a huge multi-national empire. Thus Persian Jewish communities existed not only in modern Iran, but also what is now Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, northwestern India, Kirgizstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Jews during Sassanid dynasty prospered and spread throughout Persia, albeit they experienced some persecution (226-642 AD). Arab Muslims conquered Persia (642 AD). Persia became part of the Caliphate. Persia was an extremly backward state (19th century). Persian Jews were persecuted and suffered descrimination. Some Jewish communities were forced to convert to Islam. Some Jews as Zionism developed, emigrated to Palesine which at the time was an Ottoman province.
Assyria began expanding south (9th century BC). Israel joined with the kingdoms of Hamath and Damascus (modern Syria) to resist the Assyrians (mid-9th century). The Assyrian had far greater resources and steadily moved south. One of the most important Assyrian kings was Tiglathpileser III ( -728 BC). He appears to have been the Biblical Pul (2 Kings 15.19). Tiglathpileser conquered northern areas of Israel and exiled the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. Shalmanaser V (727-22) took Luli in Tyre. He then conquered Samaria, the capital of Israel, in the same year he died (722 BC). [2 Kings 17.] This was the territory of tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, Shalmanaser exileds the tribes. Sargan II (721-05 BC), one of the greatest Assyria kings conquered the rest of Isreal, completing the conquest. Sargon is Biblical Sharru-kin. [Isaiah 20:1.] The exiled Jews were replaced with other peoples. It is unknown what became of the Jews forced into exile. These are the Lost Tribes of Israel. It is reasonable to assume that some may have reached Persia. They do not, however, appear to have survived as a people.
The period from the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) to the reconstruction in PaleTstine of a new Jewish state (after 538 BC) is known as the Babylonian Captivity. A new empire arose in western Asia with the decline of the Assurian Empire, The Babylonian Empire gradually expanded and defeated the Assyrians. The ews under their king Josiah were allied with the Asyrians. The Egyptians dispateched troops to assist the Babylonians, but Josiah and the Jews at the battle of Megiddo blocked the Egyptian column. The Babylonians even without Egyptian assistance defeated the Assyrians. Babylonian became the dominant power in western Asia and conquered both Israel and Judah. The Babylonians saw the Jews as hostile, in part because they had been hard fighting Assyrian allies. The Babylonians destroyed Solomon's Temple (the First Temple), They took many many Jews hostage, chosing the Jewish elite, both men and women, and their children. Deportations like this were common imperial practices by both the Asyrians and Baylonians. The Babylonians brought the Jewish hostages to Babylon itself where they could be better controlled. Jewish historians debate the number of Jews brought to Babylon and the nmber that remained at home. This period is often called the Babylonian Captivity. King Nebuchadnezzar oversaw these exiles. The Bible describes three waves of deportment.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel in the Bible (the book of Prophets) penned sad descriptions describing the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple. The Jews in Babylon managed to remain in contact with their kinsmen in Palestine [Ezekiel] The fact that it was the HJewish elite that was forced into captivity in Babylon is signifcant. The Jews were exposed to and influenced by Babylonian culture. There are important similarities betweem Babylonian and Jewish mythology, such as the Great Flood. The Basbylonian Captivity thus left a great mark on Judiaism. The Babylonians in turn were conquered by Persia.
Persia is not one of the early cradles of civilization and Persian civilization did not develop in river valley. Persian civilization developed east of the Fertile Crescent on the Iranian plateau of central Asia. The Iranian plateau was not settled until about 1500 BC by Aryan tribes, especially the Medes. The name Persian comes from the Parsua, another Aryan tribe. The first great war chief was Hakhamanish or Achaemenes who founded the Achaemenid dynasty about 700 BC. The Achaemenids built a great capital city at Persepolis. They conquered a vast empire from Egypt to India. Conquered were allowed to keep their own religion, customs, and laws and were governed by natove princes. The Persians encouraged cultural diversity. They saw the world as a cosmic struggle between good and evil, concepts that profoundly influenced Jewish and Christian theology. Darius the Great after crushing a Ionian Greek revolt in Anatolia was defeated by the Greeks in the epic battle of Marathon in 490 BC, one of the decisive battles of history. Cyrus the Great was one of the great Persian kings. Alexander defeated Darius III in battles 334-331 BC, destroying the Persian Empire. Alexander hoped to unite the Greeks and Persians into one great empire. His early death undid these ambitious plans. Following a civilm war among his generals, Seleucus, gained control over the Persian part of his empire. At the same time Potolomy gained control of Egypt. Unlike Alexander's plans, Seleucus ruled Persia as a conquered land through Greek troops and satraps. The Parthians overthrew the Greeks, who were unable to generate Persian support, about 250 B.C. The Parthians came from the deserts of central Asia. Unlike the Greeks, they were impressed with Persian civilization and ruled Persian through native kings. The Parthian empire lasted more than four centuries and during that period there was no important Persian revolt. The Parthians were one of the few people who successfully resisted the Roman Empire, desimating a Roman army led by Anthony. This played a major role in the defeat of Anthony and Cldeopatra by Octavian. Gradually Christianity spread to Persia and the power of the Parthians wained. Artaxerxes, a descendant of Sassan, in 226 A.D., declared Persia independent of Parthia and began a military campaign aginst neignoring countries and the Parthians. The revived Persian Empire like the Parthians were able to challenge Rome at the height of its power.
The Iran has one of the oldest Jewish communities outside Israel. Jews first appeared in Iran at the time of the destruction of the First Temple (6th century BC). The Jews had been conquered by the Babalonians and many were brought back to Babylon as slaves. Cyrus the Great who founded the Archemid dynasty, conquered Babylon (539 BC). He permitted the Jews to worship once more in Jerusalem (538 BC). Many Jews returned to Palestine. More than 40,000 are believed to have returned. The Assyrians had taken the northern tribes into captivity and are lost to history. The Babylonian exile were what remained of the Children of Israel. Cyrus allowed the enslaved Jews in Babylon to return to Israel and rebuild Jerusulem (537 BC). Biblical scholars believe that about 40,000 of the exiles returned. Cyrus allowed the Jews, both the returnees and those that remained in Babylon and others who settle elsewhere in the Empire. Not all the Jews returned. Scattered Jewish colonies were established in Babylon and various Persian provinces as well as Hamadan and Susa. Cyrus ordered that the Second Temple be renuilt on the foundation of the First Temple. Darius ensured that the temple project be completed. This period is described by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. The completed temple was finally consecrated more than 20 years after the Jews return from Babylon (515 BC). The prophesied 70 years of captivity were fulfilled with the completion of the new Temple. The experiences of the Jews in Persia under the Achaemids are described in the Bible (books of Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel). A plot by a Persian nobel to kill the empire's Jews is described in Esther and is the basis for Purim. The histordicity of this and other stories, however, is difficult go assess. Jews in Persia tended to lived in their own communities. Persia was a huge multi-national empire. Thus Persian Jewish communities existed not only in modern Iran, but also what is now Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, northwestern India, Kirgizstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The Persians allowed local notables to govern their own people. Other exiled Jews remained in Babylon. The relatively open policies of the Persians allowed Jews to spread throughout their Empire. This was the origin of the Jewish population in Iran as well as many other western Asian countries that were part of the Persian Empire. The Jews asked themselves while God had allowed this terrible tragedy occur. Ezra and Nehemiah preached that the Jews themselves were at fault. They had not properly observed the Law. In other words, the Jews had not adhered to their side of the Covenant. Ezra and Nehemiah successfully convinced many exiled Jews to observing the Law more rigorously.
The Persians created oe if the largest empires in history, including the Greek cities of western Anatolia. Successibe Persian emperors in some of the most famous battles of history failed to subdue the Greeks across the Bosporous. Alexander defeated Darius III and huge Persian armies in a series of epic battles (334-331 BC) Alexander destoyed the Persian Empire and conquered a swath of territory from Macedonia east to what is now Pakistan. He hoped to unite the Greeks and Persians into one great empire. He incorporated Persian soldietrs into his army. He demanded that his important officers, all Macedonians, take Persian wives. His early death undid these ambitious plans (323 BC). At the time, there were no Jewish communities in Europe. Thus the Greek conquest of Persia resulted in the first Western contact with the Jews. We have no infornation on the Jewish community in Persia during the Hellinistic period. An Armenian prince, Sanatroces, descending from the royal house of Arsacides, is noted in the "Small Chronicle" as neing a successor (diadochoi) of Alexander.
Parthia was an ancient country southeast of the Caspian Sea more or less in the area of what is now Khurasan. The Parhians are believed to be of Scythian origins. We do not yet know much about them. The Parthians served as mounted archers in the armies of first the Assyrians and then the Persians. The Parthians were a largely fedual society based on horsemen. Avoided a head on confrontation. The Parthians were famed archers, able to fire their arows over their backs. This was known as the Parthian shot which is the origin of the term "parting shot". Led by Arsaces, they freed themselves from Seleucid rule and established their own empire (250 BC). The Parthians gradually extended their empire east to India. Rome for its part had wared with all the important powers they confronted, Carthage, Macedonia, and Gaul. The Parthians were after Ceasar's victory in Gaul the next logical outlet to expand Rome's Empire. The peak of the Parthian empire was reached with the defeat of Crassus at Carrhae (53 BC). We know little about the Jews in Persia during this period. Surviving Jewish sources contain no hint of Parthian influence. The name "Parthia" does not occur in the Bible. The Parthians played an important role in the continuation of Jewish life. The Parthians held saway in both Persia and Babylon, two areas with substantial Jewish populations. The Parthians like the Persians tolerated considerable diversity within theie empire. Conquuered people were often allowed to conduct their own internal affairs. Jews since he Babylonian captivity in which the Jewish elite was transported had looked east for guidance and support. With the Roman conquest og Judea, Jews in Babalon wanted to join the struggle with Rome. When Trajan invaded Parthis, the Babloanian Jews played a military role in preventing the Roman conquest of Babalon. Philo mentions Jews resident in Parthia. And the Parthian Jewish population was undountedly augmented by refugees from Judea after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple. Babylonia after the fall of Jerusalem necame the leading center of Jewish life. The failure of the Bar Kochba revolt further increased the flow of Jewish refugees to Parthian-cobtrolled Babylon. During the wars between the Romans and Parthians, the Jews strongly supported their Parthian masters. Jews served as tax collectors for the Parthians and were eventually elevated to the status of princes--Resh Galuta. They were the central authority of the Jewish community. The Parthians were utimately defeated by the Romans, but not destroyed (39-38 BC). After this their power gradually declined. Ardashir I overthrew the Parthians and founded the Sassanian Empire (226 BC
The Persian Ardashir I rose up against Artabanus IV, the last Parthian king. Ardashir this destoyed the weakened Parthian Empire abd ended the Arsacid dynasty. Ardashir founded the Sassanid dynasty.
While the Parthians had replaced the Hellenistic kingdom created in the wake of Alexander, they were influenced by both the old Persian Empire and Hellenism. The Sassanid dynasty were more makedly Persian than had been the Parthians. The Sassanids promoted the Pahlavi language and restored the monotheistic Zoroastrian religion which was made the state religion. The Sassanid were less inclined toward tolerating the culture and religion of subject peoples. King Bahram II (276–93 AD) is reported to have Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, anbd other religions. Jews during Sassanid dynasty also experienced times of relative tolerance. Shapur I (Shvor Malka) was in contrast tolerant toward Jews. He became friedely with Shmuel which benefitted Persia's Jewish community. Shapur II's mother was Jewish. Thus the Jewish community during his rule had considerable autonomy and religious fredom. Shapur formed a friebndship with a Babylonian rabbi Raba (Talmud). Shapur eased the oppressive laws enacted to promote Zoraianastrianism ny supressing other religions.
The Arabs ejnerging from the dessers of Arabia conquered the agricultral klands to the north. The Arabs conquered Persia (642 AD). Thus Persia came to be part of the Islamic Caliphate. The Arabs initially did not set our to convert conquered people. Rather Christians and Zoroastrians, were given the status of dhimmis--inferior non-Muslim subjects of the Islamic empire.
Early Arab rulers received payments from the dhimmi. They paid jizya, a poll tax, and kharaj, a land tax. This meant that the dhimmis were an important revenue source. Dhimmis were allowed to practice their religion in relative freedom, but descretely. Over time the the toleration declined, but was still generally for prominant than in the Christian West. Dhimmis suffered social and legal disabilities. They were not permitted to bear martial arms or ride horses. They could not testify in judicial inquests involving Muslims, but they could have their own communal courts. As the population became inveasingly Muslim, non-Muslims commonly had to wear destinctive clothing.
The Mongols drove deep into Europe and the Middle East. Hulagu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, invaded Persia (1255). He then took Bagdad eding the Abbasid caliphate. The Mongols established the Ilkhanate in Persia. The Mongols did not have a sophisticated religion. And with conquered people all religions were considered equal. They abolished tge desriminatory dhimmis. There were differences among Mongol rulers. Arghun Khan often chose Jews and Christians over Muslims for important administrative positions. He even appointed the Jew Sa'd al-Daula, as his vizier. The majority Muslim population organized by the Muslim clergy resented the privlidges granted to the Jews and Christians. When Arghun died (1291), al-Daula was attacked and killed. Muslims attacked Jews througout Persia. The violence often privoked by the Muslim clergy had all the features of a pogrom. The Christian historian Bar Hebraeus wrote at the time that the Muslim violence against the Jews "neither tongue can utter, nor the pen write down". The most noted ruler was Ghazan Khan (1295-1304). Ghazan converted to Islam (1295). This meant the reintroduction of the dhimmis system. Öljeitü razed synagogues in Pwrsia required Christians and Jews had to wear a distinctive mark on their heads. Jews and Christians were presured to convert. One notable convert was Rashid al-Din, a physician, historian and statesman He converted to advance his career at Öljeitü's court. Rivals made false charges that he was poisoning Öljeitü abd he was executed (1318). In much of the Islamic world, converts were accepted without stigma. This appears to have been less true in Persia. The last of the dynasty was Nushirwan (1344-49).
The Safavids proclaimed Shi'a Islam the official state religion. Shi'ia Islam differs in some important ways with Sunni Islam--the dominant denomination in the Muslim world. One difference is a great greater emphasis on ritual purity--tahara. All non-Muslims, including Jews, are viewed as ritually unclean--najis. The Koran instructs Muslims to avoid contact with non-Muslims. A sample Koranic verse reads, "O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people." [Surah 5:51] The Shi'ia take this to a greater extreme than Sunni. Physical contact with Jews and other non-Muslims requires Shi'as to conduct ritual purification before participating in prayer services. Thus Persian Shi'ia avoided contacts with Jews and other non-Muslims. Jews were excluded from public baths. Authorities sought to make sure Jews stay indoors when it rained least their impurity would be washed on to Muslims.
Further deterioration in the treatment of Persian Jews occurred during the reign of Shah Abbas I (1588–1629). He began with relatively benighn policies toward Jews. The Jewish comunity enjoyed an era of relative prosperity. They were allowed to move to Isfahan, the new capital. The Shah became harsher in old age. The Shi'ia clergy and a converted Jewish adviser pressed the Shah to take actions against the Jews. Jewish ghettos were reestanlished and more rigorously enforced. Jews had to wear both a yellow badge and a destinctive headwear. Their oaths were not accepted in legal courts. This essentially stripped them of legal protections. Jews were not the only group targetted. Both Christians and Zoroastrians were also harshly persecuted. Sunni Muslims in many ways fared the worse. Jews and Christians as ]people of the book' at least has some Koranic protections. Sunnis were seen as heritics without any Koranic protection. Persian Jews were wear a badge and headwear identifying them. The Shah then expelled the Jews from Isfahan to preserve the purity of his capital (1656). The Shah ordered all Persian Jews to convert. Massacres and forced conversions ensued. The Persian Jewish population fell sharply to less than 0.1 million. There were advantages to conversion. A Jewish convert would be legally recognized as the sole inheritor of a family estate. Jewish relatives mo matter how close to the deceased were denied claims. The Safavids established a rigid Islamic religious hierarchy with virtually unlimited power and influence in every sphere of life far beyond religious life. This was when the modern authority of the Iranian mulahs was born. Surviving Jewish chronicles from this period are full of accounts of massacre, forced conversion into Islam and a wide range of mistreatment. Persian Jews were forced to sever all relations with Jews and others in foreign countries. Safavid officials eventually had second thoughts. It was a costly step as the converted Jews no longer had to pay jizya. It was widely believed that they continued to practice Judaism in secret. Authotities thus allowed them to revert, but they still had to wear the required identifying patch. Sunni Muslim Nadir Shah (1736–47) ended Shi'ia Islam position as the state religion. The situation of Persian Jews improved. They were even allowed to live in the Shi'ite holy city of Mashhad.
The Qajar dynasty seized control of Iran and reestablish Shi'ia Islam as the state religion (1794). The old discrinatory laws were reintroduced. Persia was an extremly backward state in the 19th century. Not that Persian cultutr dclined, it just did not change. The technological advnces that remade Europe and America did not touch Iran. And as a result, the population existed in poverty. The Qajars dynasty continued the repressive, intolerant policies of the Safavids. Persia's Jewish community coninued to live in a time warp of repression. Qajar king, Muhammad Shah, ordered the entire Jewish community in the city of Mashad to convert (1839). Europeans powers intervened for the first time and Muhammad reversed his conversion decree. European pressure on the Persians led to the opening of the first modern Jewish school (1891) as a result of a royal decree from Nasser-Eddin Shah. Teachers and students had, however, to be escorted by the police to prevent Shiite zealots from attacking, including small children.
Persian Jews into the 19th century were persecuted and suffered descrimination that was no longer common in more modern states. Here the Shi'ia clergy played a major role. An employee of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, a Jewish humanitarian and educational organization, writing from Tehran explained the clergy's role, "every time that a priest wishes to emerge from obscurity and win a reputation for piety, he preaches war against the Jews" (1894). [Littman, p. 10] Some Jewish communities were forced to convert to Islam. A 19th century observer, J.J. Benjamin, reports, that the Jews "are obliged to live in a separate part of town…; for they are considered as unclean creatures… Under the pretext of their being unclean, they are treated with the greatest severity and should they enter a street, inhabited by Mussulmans, they are pelted by the boys and mobs with stones and dirt… For the same reason, they are prohibited to go out when it rains; for it is said the rain would wash dirt off them, which would sully the feet of the Mussulmans… If a Jew is recognized as such in the streets, he is subjected to the greatest insults. The passers-by spit in his face, and sometimes beat him… unmercifully… If a Jew enters a shop for anything, he is forbidden to inspect the goods… Should his hand incautiously touch the goods, he must take them at any price the seller chooses to ask for them... Sometimes the Persians intrude into the dwellings of the Jews and take possession of whatever please them. Should the owner make the least opposition in defense of his property, he incurs the danger of atoning for it with his life... If... a Jew shows himself in the street during the three days of the Katel (Muharram)…, he is sure to be murdered."[Benjamin in Lewis , pp. 181-183.] British statesman Lord Curzon who served as Viceroy of India provides another sescrition of the status of Persian Jews, noting significan regional differences. "In Isfahan, where they are said to be 3,700 and where they occupy a relatively better status than elsewhere in Persia, they are not permitted to wear kolah or Persian headdress, to have shops in the bazaar, to build the walls of their houses as high as a Moslem neighbour's, or to ride in the street. In Teheran and Kashan they are also to be found in large numbers and enjoying a fair position. In Shiraz they are very badly off. In Bushire they are prosperous and free from persecution." [Curzon in Lewis, p. 167.] Another European provides another look at Jewish life in Persia. "At every public festival — even at the royal salaam [salute], before the King’s face — the Jews are collected, and a number of them are flung into the hauz or tank, that King and mob may be amused by seeing them crawl out half-drowned and covered with mud. The same kindly ceremony is witnessed whenever a provincial governor holds high festival: there are fireworks and Jews." [Willis, p. 230.]
Accounts from Persia continued to described many instances of forced conversions and even massacres, coomonly fomented by the Shi'ia clergy. Muslims massacered the Jews of Tabriz (1830). In that same year there were also forced conversions at Shiraz. Muslims masscered Jews at Mashhad and those that were not killed were forced to convert (1839). European travellers reported that many of the converts at both Tabriz and Shiraz secretly practiced Judaism. A forced conversion was reported at Barforush (1866). The French and British ambassadors protested and civil authorities allowed them to revert. A furious mob in reponse killed 18 Jews in Barforush. Two the Jews killed were burned alive. As in the Medieval Europe, rumors of Jewish attacks on children inspored fearful attacks. Muslims accued Shiraz Jews of ritual murder, killing a Muslim girl. Muslim mobs attacked the Jewish quarter. Soldiers sent to defend the Jews actually joined the mob and 12 Jews wre killed. The whole quarter was plundered. Continued persecultions drove many Persian Jews to emigrate. By the late-19th century Persian Jews learned of the Zionist effort in Palestine. Most of the emigrants went to Palestine which at the time was an Ottoman province.
Persia finally began to chnge with the advent of the Constitutionl Revolution (late-19th century). Minority groups, including Jewiush actibists, participated in the movement. They were prt of the first multi-ethnic Secret Society (1905), This launched the national discussion on political change. Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians and reformist Muslims wee strong voices among the constitutionalists to found a National Consultative Assembly . The Shi'ia clergy insisted on an Islamic Majlis.
The minority groups, including Jews, suceeded in efforts to pass that granted equality to all male citizens, Muslim and non- The Pahlavi dynasty implemented modernizing reforms. There were fundamental changes affecting the Jewish community. [Recknagel]
The influence of the Shi'ia clergy with strong bnti-Semrtic views based on the Koran was weakened. The Government anolished restrictions on Jews and other religious minorities. Reza Shah prohibited forced mass conversion of Jews. He eliminated the Shi'ite concept of uncleanness of non-Muslims. Modern Hebrew was allowed to be taught as part of the curriculum in Jewish schools. Jewish newspapers were allowed to be published. Jews were also allowed to serve in government jobs. Jewish schools were closed (1920s). Reza Shah's development of close relations with NAZI Germahny caused anxuety among Iranian Jew of possible NAZI-style persecutions. And there was probably more anti-Semetic public sentiment in Iran than in Germany when Hitler seized power as a result of Koranic passages and teaching by the Islamic clergy. .
After World War II with the aid of ooil income, this greatly improved the lives of the population, including Jews.
Iranian officials claim that their country was not involved in the Holcaust and now are involved in an effort to prove that the Holocaust necer occurred. Like much that comes out of Teheran, there is often some accurate statements mixed in with outlandish lies and convuluted reasoning. It is true that Iran was not involved in the Holocaust, but left unsaid is that this is because the Allies deposed the pro-NAZI Government at the beginning of the War. Persia which the country was called when Hitler seized power in Germany, developed links with the new NAZI regime. The basic factor here was the anti-British attitude of the Persian Government. Reza Shah Pahlavi proved to be an earlier admirer of Adolf Hitler anbd the NAZIs. The NAZIs were seen as a powerful rival to British colonialism. As in the Arab world, the Shah Prsian leaders do not seem to have considered what would have happened to their county in a NAZI-dominated world. The Shah was also attracted to the NAZI concept of a master race to which he included Persians. The Shah even renamed his country Iran, which in Farsi means Aryan. This was a pointed linage to the Proto-Indo-European lineage that NAZI racial theorists and Persian ethnologists concocted. Persia admitted Gestapo agents and other German operatives who p[erated openly in Tehran. The NAZIs saw Persia as a potentially useful base to cause trouble for the British as well as to persue their campaign against Jews. The most notable NAZI agent was Fritz Grobba, Germany's primary spokesman in the Middle East. He is sometimes referred to the "the German Lawrence" because he proposed a new Caliphate state stretching from Casablanca to Tehran.
Persians began to turn to the Germans to ofset British influence. This was in part geo-politics and after the rise of Hitler in Germany included a racial component. Reza Shah began asking foreign legations use the term Iran which he said was the the historical name of the country. It also was axloaded racial term, comparable to the Aryans that the NAZIs were promoting. The Grand Mufti after fleeing from Palestine and Iraq found a receptive audience for his anti-Semetic rants. As in Iraq, he was supported by elements of the Islamic clergy. The Shah increasibgly turned to the NAZIs, but was deposed by British and Soviet intervention (1941). The Isreali-Arab conflict was after World War II heavily publicized in the Iranian press and as in other Muslim countries was heavily slanted toward the Arabs (1946-48). Israel declared its indepence (1948). Neigboring Arab states invaded, launching the First Arab-Isreali War (1948-49). At the time there were about 150,000 Jews in Iran. The result was rising ant-Semnetic feeling theoughout Iran. This continued until the 1953 Coup. The authority of the cebntral government weakened and the Shi'ir clergy became increasingly vocal as the new young Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Primeminister Mohammad Mossadegh struggled for control. With the establishment of Israel, an estimated one-third of Iranian Jews, largely consisting of pooer Jews emigrated to Israel (1948-53) [Sanasarian, p. 47.] Emigration continued at modest levels after the 1953 coup. The Shah regime provided an era of moderatuon as well as facilitating emigration. One sources estimates that at the time of the 1979 Islamic revolution, some 70,000 Iranian Jews had emigrated to Israel. [Littman, p. 5.]
About half of Iran's Jewish population had emigrated at the time that the Islamic Revolution deposed the Shah (1979). Many of those remaining Jews fled the country within months of the Revolution. Revolutionary authorities arrested Habib Elghanian, the honorary leader of the country's Jewish community (March 16, 1979). Officials charged him with "corruption", "contacts with Israel and Zionism", "friendship with the enemies of God", "warring with God and his emissaries", and "economic imperialism". He was tried in an Islamic revolutionary tribunal and sentenced to death. He was executed (May 8). There were still some 80,000 Jews in Iran, mostly in Tehran when the Ayatollah Khomeini seized power (1979). This begsn an era pf religious persecurion for non-Shiites, especially Jews who were seen by many fundamentalists as a alien people as well as a security risk. The increased focus on the Koran mean the revival of the many anti-Semrtic passages. This only increased emigration as a result of risingv religious procecution. The once vivrant minority collapsed, declining to about , plunging to about one fourth of its size and the emigration continues. Most of Iranian Jews emigrated to the Unoted States. Smaller numbers emigrated to Europe and Israel. A factor here was that Iranian authorities did not permit direct emigration to Israel.
Various estimates of Iran's Jewish population exists. The conensus seems to be about 35,000-40,000 people, most living in Teheran. While only a fraction of the former population, it is the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside Israel.
The Iranian Foreign Ministryhosted am international conference on the Holocaust, "Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision". (December 11). Rather than respected historians with varying opinions, the Foreign Miistry invited a bevy of carefully chosen anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers chosen to agree with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and thge Fotrogn Ministry. Representative invitees included David Duke (a former U,S. KKK leader), Georges Theil (a Frenchman who charges that the Holocaust is an "enormous lie), and Frederick Toeben (a German-born Australian who calims to ne an expert on the gas chamber issue). Several different subjects were discussed. "How did the Zionists collaborate with Hitler?" Holocaust deninal is the personal passion of President Ahmadinejad. The invitees signal that Ahmadinejad has no interest in the topic itself, or respected historians woyld have been invited. Rather his interest is to promote his point of view. The question becomes why do people like him deny the Holocaust. It is an opportunity to irritate the Isrealis. It also undermines the ligitimacy of Israel because the UN resolution partioning Palestine was in part approved because of the symathy generated by the Holocaust. And the Holcaust is a major event in modern Israel's natiinal ethos. Another factor may be that this is an issue that Shia Iran can reach common ground with Suni Arab states. From all indicators, Ahmadinejad is actually serious about this. Notably he wrote to German Chanvellor Angela Merkel luding the achievements of German culture and expressed concern that "the propaganda machinery after World War II has been so collosdal that has caused some people to believe that they are the guilty part." Ahmadinejad is not the first Iranian leader to express sympathy with the NAZIs. Shah Reza Khan was an admirer of Adolf Hitler and NAZI race theory. He believed Persians to be part of the master race.
Applebaum, Anne. "Tehran's Holocaust Lesson," Washington Post (Decenber 12, 2006), p. A27.
Lewis, Bernard, The Jews of Islam (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984).
Littman, David. "Jews Under Muslim Rule: The Case Of Persia". The Wiener Library Bulletin XXXII (New series 49/50, 1979).
Recknagel, Charles.
Willis, Charles James Persia as It Is: Being Sketches of Modern Persian Life and Character (Cambridge: Adamant Media Corporation, 2002).
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Created: January 22, 2004
Last updated: 8:17 AM 9/19/2015
