Personal Stories

Before the Iranian revolution of 1979 it is estimated that there were 150,000 Jews living in the country. Today it is believed that less than 25,000 remain however far fewer Jews practice openly as the Iranian government recently released a survey stating that less than 10,000 Jews remain in the country.

Iranian Jewish identity is complex, for centuries Iranian Jews lived in Iran and contributed to the rich cultural fabric of people that make up the society. Iranian Jews contributed to the art, literature and films of the country. They owned shops and worshiped at Jewish holy sites in Iran. However with the Islamic revolution of 1979 and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini Iranian Jews quickly found themselves as outcasts in their own home countries.

Many Iranian Jews who immigrated to the United States founded businesses and developed influential communities. Each Jew who left Iran carried a story that could be told here

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