Who are the Jews of Iran? | Unpacked

In a country often seen as hostile to Jews, Iran’s Jewish community remains one of the oldest in the Middle East. Nearly 10,000 Jews continue to practice their faith, operating synagogues, kosher restaurants, and schools, even under the watchful eye of the regime.

Rooted in ancient Persia and shaped by Queen Esther’s legacy, their story is one of resilience, maintaining traditions that have withstood exile, persecution, and revolution.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:48 How Jews came to Iran
01:08 The Purim story of Queen Esther
02:47 Cyrus the Great and Jewish prosperity
03:37 Jewish life under Muslim rule in Persia
06:00 The Golden Age of Jewish life in Iran
10:29 The rise of Ruhollah Khomeini
13:28 The 1979 Islamic Revolution and Jewish flight
15:24 The Jewish community that remained in Iran
17:35 Iranian exiles in Israel
18:07 Iranian exiles in the USA
19:41 Resilience of the Persian Jewish community

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Executive Producer:
— Barry Skolnick
Co-Executive Producer:
— Shmuel Katz
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Translation credits:
Portuguese: Saymon Pires, www.livrariasafra.com.br, @safralivraria

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