Iranian Jews in Israel refers to the community of

Iranian Jews Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor s ...

who immigrated to

Ottoman Palestine Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south ...

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

, and later the State of Israel. Iranian Jews in Israel number over 135,000 and most of them are Israeli born.

History

The first

Persian Jews Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor ...

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 Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, establishing the nucleus of the Iranian Jewish community in these cities. After the establishment of the State of Israel, immigration increased significantly. In 1952 under the Israeli mission, Operation Cyrus, approximately 30,000 Iranian Jews immigrated to Israel. In addition, many Iranian Jews

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Israel after the

Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

in 1979.Torn loyalties of Israel's Iranian Jews
/ref> Following the 1979 Iranian 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 new Ayatollahs regime but also from lack of familiarity with Israel (Israel, in Iran, was seen as a country of infidels and atheists, a terrible thing to be in the Middle East; while most of the Iranian Jews are religious or traditionalists). Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, over 134,000 Iranians have settled in Israel. Some fled after a prominent Iranian Jew was murdered after being accused of "Zionism." 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. Israel continues to encourage the remaining Jews in Iran (less than 9,000) to immigrate since Israel sees the Jews of Iran as hostages of the Iranian regime, against Israel. In 2007 Israel offered monetary incentives to Jews in Iran to encourage Iranian Jewish immigration to Israel. Jews of Iranian descent in Israel are considered part of the Mizrahim.

Kol Israel ''Kol Yisrael'' or ''Kol Israel'' ( lit. "Voice of Israel", also "Israel Radio") is Israel's public domestic and international radio service. It operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Service from 1951 to 1965, the Israel Broadcasti ...

transmits daily radio broadcasts to Iran in the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

language and Menashe Amir, an Iranian Jew, hosts a talk show that draws callers from Iran.

Notable Israelis of Iranian descent

* Joel Simkhai - founder of

Grindr Grindr () is a location-based social networking and online dating application targeted towards members of the gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. It was one of the first geosocial apps for gay men when it launched in March 2009 an ...

* David Rokni - Israeli colonel * Eliezer Avtabi - Israeli politician * Yossi Avni-Levy - Israeli ambassador, diplomat *

Galit Distel-Atbaryan Galit Distel-Atbaryan ( he, גַּלִּית דִּיסְטֶל־אַטְבַּרְיָאן, born 10 January 1971) is an Israeli writer and politician. She is currently a member of the Knesset for Likud. Biography Distel-Atbaryan was born in Je ...

- Israeli politician, writer * Nitsana Darshan-Leitner - Israeli attorney * Sharon Roffe Ofir - Israeli journalist, politician * Eli Avivi - founder of the micronation

Akhzivland Akhzivland is a micronation between Nahariya and the Lebanese border on the Israeli west coast, founded by Eli Avivi in 1971. The micronation is promoted by the Israel Ministry of Tourism. History The micronation is located near the ruins of ...

* Menashe Amir – Broadcaster in the Persian-language Kol Israel radio * Yigal Sebty - Iranian books Writer/Translator & Broadcaster in the Persian-language Kol Israel radio - retired in 2014 * Orly (Fernos) Rem - Broadcaster and Director of the Persian-language Kol Israel radio * Sima Bachar – Mrs. Israel 2005 *

Michael Ben-Ari Michael Ben-Ari ( he, מיכאל בן ארי, born 12 October 1963) is an Israeli politician, and former member of the Knesset. During the 18th Knesset, Ben Ari was a member of the National Union party, until it broke up as elections for the 1 ...

– Israeli politician and current member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

Dan Halutz Dan Halutz ( he, דן חלוץ, ; born August 7, 1948) is an Israeli Air Force lieutenant general and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and commander of the Israeli Air Force. Halutz served as chief of staff in 2005–2007. Biog ...

– Former chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces *

Mor Karbasi Mor Karbasi (born April 23, 1986) is a singer-songwriter born in Jerusalem, and now based in Seville after five years in London. One of her main projects is Ladino music, also known as Judezmo, Spanyolit, or Sephardic—the ancient language an ...

– Singer *

Moshe Katsav Moshe Katsav ( he, מֹשֶׁה קַצָּב; born 5 December 1945) is an Israeli former politician who was the eighth President of Israel from 2000 to 2007. He was also a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset and a minister in its cabine ...

– Former President of Israel * Rita Kleinstein – Israeli pop singer *

Shaul Mofaz Shaul Mofaz ( he, שאול מופז; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Le ...

– Former IDF Chief of Staff and Israeli Minister of Transport. Had been elected the chairman of the Kadima. *

Mordechai Zar Mordechai Zar ( he, מרדכי זר; fa, مُردِخای زر, born 14 January 1914, died 15 November 1982) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapai and its successors between 1959 and 1974. Biography Born in M ...

– Israeli politician and former member of the

* Ramtin Sebty– Head of the IDF's nonconventional weapons defensive alignment * Zion Evrony– Israel's ambassador to the Vatican and former ambassador to Ireland *

Yosef Shiloach Yosef Shiloach ( he, יוסף שילוח; July 9, 1941 – January 3, 2011) was an Israeli actor. Biography Yosef Shiloach was born in Kurdistan. He immigrated to Israel at the age of nine.Lior Eliyahu Lior Eliyahu ( he, לִיאוֹר אֱלִיָּהוּ; born 9 September 1985) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He is 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) in height and he weighs 105 kg (225 pounds). He plays at the power forward pos ...

- Israeli professional basketball player * Ofir Davidzada - Israeli football player * Liraz Charhi– Israeli actress, singer * Moussa B. H. Youdim-Professor Emeritus, Winner of Israel Prize for Life Science.

References

External links

Iran's JewsDocumentary about Iranian Israelis
{{Israeli Jews by ethnic or national origin in Israel Israeli Jews by national origin Iran–Israel relations Expulsions of Jews

History

Notable Israelis of Iranian descent

See also

References

External links