Aziz Daneshrad (; 1920–1991) also known as Gabay () and Kiyai () was an Iranian Jewish political activist who represented Jews in the

Assembly for the Final Review of the Constitution The Assembly for the Final Review of the Constitution (AFRC; ), also known as the Assembly of Experts for Constitution (), was a constituent assembly in Iran that was convened in 1979 to condense and ratify the draft prepared beforehand for the C ...

. His was a proponent of

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

while also advocating ethnoreligious identity.

Early life and education

Aziz Daneshrad-Kiyai was born in 1920 in

Golpayegan Golpayegan () is a city in the Central District of Golpayegan County, Isfahan, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The city is northwest of Isfahan and southeast of Arak, at an altitude of 1,830 m. Its temperat ...

, Isfahan Province. His father was a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

and a merchant in ''

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

''. He obtained a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

and then became a civil servant.

Political career

During the rule of

Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty () is an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian royal dynasty that was the Pahlavi Iran, last to rule Iran before the country's monarchy was abolished by the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It was founded in 1925 by Reza Shah, Reza S ...

, Daneshrad was a dissident associated with the

Tudeh Party of Iran The Tudeh Party of Iran is an Iranian communist party. Formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mirza Eskandari as its head, it had considerable influence in its early years and played an important role during Mohammad Mosaddegh's campaign to nationalize ...

and he was imprisoned in the 1960s and the 1970s. He co-founded the Association of Jewish Iranian Intellectuals (''Jame‘eh-ye rowshanfekran-e kalimi-ye Iran''; abbreviated AJII) in 1978, a

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

organization that tried to challenge the old guard leadership of the Jewish community which had

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

and

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

orientations. After the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, he took charge as the interim chairman of the Tehran Jewish Association because the previous officeholder

Habib Elghanian Habib (Habibollah) Elghanian (; 5 April 1912 – 9 May 1979) was a prominent Iranian Jewish businessman and philanthropist who served as the president of the Tehran Jewish Society and acted as the symbolic head of the Iranian Jewish community i ...

was executed. Daneshrad was elected to the

shortly after. There he was one of the four members who represented religious minorities and he is likely to have sided with opposition to inclusion of the

Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (, also ''Velayat-e Faghih''; ) is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law which holds that until the reappearance of the "infallible Imam" (sometime before Judgement Day), the religious and social affairs ...

in the constitution.

Personal life

Daneshrad married Aghdas Kiaee in 1944. The couple had three sons and two daughters.

Accolades

National

Medal of Homayoun Ribbon Bar - Imperial Iran

Prime Medal of His Royal Highness * Order of Crown Ribbon Bar - Imperial Iran

Order of the Crown (Second Class)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daneshrad, Aziz 1920 births 1991 deaths People from Golpayegan Iranian Jews Tudeh Party of Iran members Jewish socialists Jewish engineers Jewish Iranian politicians Iranian electrical engineers University of Tehran alumni Members of the Assembly of Experts for Constitution 20th-century Iranian Jews 20th-century Iranian people