Iranian Jews in Israel

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Iranian Jews in Israel
Total population
200,000 - 250,000 [1]
Regions with significant populations
Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Netanya, Kfar Saba
Languages
Hebrew, Iranian languages (Persian, Kurdish)
Religion
Star of David.svg Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Israeli Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Sephardi Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, other Jewish groups, Other Persians

Iranian Jews in Israel refers to the community of Iranian Jews who immigrated to Ottoman Palestine, Mandatory Palestine, and later the State of Israel. Iranian Jews in Israel number more than 200,000 and most of them are Israeli born. [2]

Contents

History

The first Iranian Jews to settle in Ottoman Palestine were from Shiraz. They left in 1815 in a caravan, making their way to the port of Bushehr and from there boarded a ship to Basra in southern Iraq. From there, they traveled by land to Baghdad and Damascus. Those who survived the difficult journey settled in Tzfat and Jerusalem, establishing the nucleus of the Iranian Jewish community in these cities. [3]

After the establishment of the State of Israel, immigration increased significantly. In 1952, approximately 30,000 Iranian Jews immigrated to Israel under the Israeli mission Operation Cyrus. [4] In the 1950s, the Israeli treatment of Iranian Jews was similar to the Israeli treatment of other Jews from the Middle Eastern and North African region. [5] Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, over 200,000 Iranians have settled in Israel. [6]

Many Iranian Jews immigrated to Israel after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. [7] Following the revolution, an additional 10,000 to 15,000 Iranian Jews immigrated directly to Israel. Many others migrated first to the United States or Europe and then to Israel, mainly out of fear of the Ayatollah's regime but also from lack of familiarity with Israel. [8] Some fled after Habib Elghanian was murdered after being accused of "Zionism." [9]

Israel continues to encourage the remaining Jews in Iran (less than 9,000) to immigrate, since Israel sees them as hostages of the Iranian regime. In 2007, Israel offered monetary incentives to Jews in Iran to encourage Iranian Jewish immigration to Israel. [10] Jews of Iranian descent in Israel are considered Mizrahim. [11] A Mizrahi Jew, broadly construed, is a Jewish person from North Africa and Asia.

Kol Israel transmits daily radio broadcasts to Iran in the Persian language and Menashe Amir, an Iranian Jew, hosts a talk show that draws callers from Iran. [7]

Notable Israelis of Iranian descent

Rita Kleinstein, an Israeli pop-star, of Persian descent Rita Yahan Farouz 1.jpg
Rita Kleinstein, an Israeli pop-star, of Persian descent

See also

Related Research Articles

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Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century and aimed for the establishment of a Jewish state through the colonization of a land outside Europe. With the rejection of alternative proposals for a Jewish state, it focused on the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine, a region corresponding to the Land of Israel in Judaism, and of central importance in Jewish history. Zionists wanted to create a Jewish state in Palestine with as much land, as many Jews, and as few Palestinian Arabs as possible. Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Zionism became Israel's national or state ideology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Agency for Israel</span> Zionist non-profit organization established in 1929

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<i>Aliyah</i> Immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the Land of Israel

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mizrahi Jews</span> Jews of the Middle East and North Africa

Mizrahi Jews, also known as Mizrahim (מִזְרָחִים) or Mizrachi (מִזְרָחִי) and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or Edot HaMizrach, are terms used in Israeli discourse to refer to a grouping of Jewish communities that lived in the Muslim world. Mizrahi is a political sociological term that was coined with the creation of the State of Israel. It translates as "Easterner" in Hebrew.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Israel</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menashe Amir</span> Israeli journalist and radio personality

Menashe Amir is a long time Persian language broadcaster on Israel Radio International, a channel of Kol Yisrael. He is a former head of the Israel Broadcasting Authority's Persian language division. He is a former chief editor of the Foreign Ministry's Persian website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmela Menashe</span> Israeli journalist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi Jews in Israel</span> Ethnic group

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurds in Israel</span> Ethnic group

Kurds in Israel refers to people of Kurdish origin residing in Israel. The Kurdish population in Israel is small and is mainly composed of individuals and families, who fled Iraq and Turkey during the Iraqi–Kurdish and the Kurdish–Turkish conflicts during the 20th century, as well as temporal residents arriving in Israel for medical care.

References

  1. Iranian Jews in Israel. fpri.org 2022-12-06.
  2. Jews, by country of origin and age
  3. Jadīd Al-Islām: The Jewish "new Muslims" of Meshhed, Raphael Patai
  4. Ram, Haggai (2008). "Caught Between Orientalism and Aryanism, Exile and Homeland: The Jews of Iran in Zionist/Israeli Imagination". Studies in Culture, Polity, and Identities. 8 (1): 86.
  5. Goldstein, Judith (1998). Iranian Ethnicity in Israel: The Performance of Identity. New Jersey: Rutgers University. p. 388.
  6. "Jews, by country of origin and age". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2009. Archived from the original on 2018-12-24. Retrieved 2015-01-20.
  7. 1 2 Bell, Bethany (2007-01-12). "Torn loyalties of Israel's Iranian Jews". BBC News . Jerusalem. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  8. Ram, Haggai (2008). "Caught Between Orientalism and Aryanism, Exile and Homeland: The Jews of Iran in Zionist/Israeli Imagination". Studies in Culture, Polity, and Identities. 8 (1): 95.
  9. "A Reminder of How Iran Treats Its Jewish Citizens".
  10. Tait, Robert (7 Dec 2007). "Iran's Jews Reject Cash Offer to Move to Israel". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 Apr 2013.
  11. "Table 2.24 – Jews, by country of origin and age" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics . Retrieved 22 March 2010.