₦airaland Forum

NB. Before you delve deep into this, I want you to understand that this thread and the subsequent threads, aim to enlighten you on the Jewish community in Iran.

Yes! You might not know, but Iran has the largest Jewish population in the Middle East (West Asia), second only to Israel itself.

The Jewish community of Persia, modern-day Iran, is one of the oldest in the Diaspora, and its historical roots reach back to the 6th century B.C.E., the time of the First Temple. Their history in the pre-Islamic period is intertwined with that of the Jews of neighbouring Babylon. Cyrus, the first of the Archemid dynasty, conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.E. and permitted the Jewish exiles to return to the Land of Israel, bringing the First Exile to an end.

The Jewish colonies were scattered from centres in Babylon to Persian provinces and cities such as Hamadan and Susa. The books of Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel, in the Bible, give a favourable description of the relationship of the Jews to the court of the Achaemids at Susa.

Under the Sassanid dynasty (226-642 C.E.), the Jewish population in Persia grew considerably and spread throughout the region; nevertheless, Jews suffered intermittent oppression and persecution. The invasion by Arab Muslims in 642 C.E. terminated the independence of Persia, installed Islam as the state religion, and made a deep impact on the Jews by changing their sociopolitical status.
Modern emancipation began in 1906 with Iran's constitution granting equal rights.

Fast forward to today, Israel and the United States have been carrying out military strikes against Iran, escalating a conflict that puts at risk a nation long home to one of the Middle East’s oldest Jewish communities.

Estimates place between 17,000 and 25,000 Iranian Jews predominantly in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Hamedan and Tabriz, making Iran the second‑largest Jewish population in the region after Israel.

The community, represented by a reserved seat in Iran’s parliament (the Majlis), maintains over 50 synagogues in Tehran alone and operates a hospital open to all faiths. One of Isfahan’s most prominent synagogues stands adjacent to the historic Al Aqsa mosque, highlighting centuries of coexistence.

Jewish ties to Persia date back some 2,700 years. Tradition holds that Queen Esther and her uncle Mordechai—central figures in the Hebrew Bible—are buried in Hamedan.

In later eras, Iran provided refuge to Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition and Holocaust, though the community also endured forced conversions under Safavid and Qajar dynasties and saw many emigrate after the 1979 revolution.

The Iranian Jews have access to synagogues, kosher butchers and food, mikvahs and several centers of learning. Iran has around 100 Jewish synagogues nationwide, and feel relatively secure amid Iran-Israel tensions.

Following the overthrow of the Shah and the declaration of an Islamic state in 1979, Iran severed relations with Israel. After the Iranian revolution in early 1979, members of the Jewish community feared for their lives, afraid that they would be murdered or expelled by the new Iranian regime. After the execution of prominent Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian on May 9, 1979, was publicized in local news outlets, the leaders of the Jewish community in Iran knew that they had to act fast in order to guarantee the safety of all Iranian Jews. The community leaders quickly assembled a group of two rabbis and four prominent young intellectuals and set off to meet with Ayatollah Khomeini in the Iranian city of Qom.

After the group congratulated the Ayatollah on his victory over the Shah in the recent revolution, the Ayatollah gave a long monologue concluding by comparing Christianity, Islam, and Judaism and saying that they are the only religions that are truly descended from heaven. The Ayatollah stated that in the Qur’an Moses’s name is mentioned more times than the name of any other prophet. The discussion concluded with Ayatollah Khomeini claiming that “we recognize our Jews as separate from those godless, bloodsucking Zionists.”

This was the answer that the Jewish community leaders had been looking for, and the Iranian government has kept its word and kept the Jews physically safe (for the most part) ever since this moment.




Photo 1: Infographic on Jewish population in West Asia (Middle East).
Photo 2: Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad, at a meeting with Jewish leaders
Photo 3: Jews at a synagogue.
Photo 4: Iranian Jewish community protesting Israeli strikes on Iran in 2025.




For further read/source:

https://www.samaa.tv/2087335133-iran-vs-israel-25-000-iranian-jewish-community-caught-in-the-crossfire

https://jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-iran

Cc: lalasticlala seun

This article must make front page!

Thanks Op for taking time to educate those IDF’s in our great country Nigeria.

Now they will be confused how Jews are not persecuted in Iran after their slave masters told them Islam is the only thriving religion in Iran.

Please add that, Jews have representation in the government.

God bless your Mother!

So what happened to all these Jews that their numbers dwindled so much to the miserable few that are now there? Did they vanish into the thin air?

Vikkie14:
NB. Before you delve deep into this, I want you to understand that this thread and the subsequent threads aim to enlighten you on the Jewish community in Iran.
Yes! You might not know, but Iran has the largest Jewish population in the Middle East (West Asia), second only to Israel itself.
The Jewish community of Persia, modern-day Iran, is one of the oldest in the Diaspora, and its historical roots reach back to the 6th century B.C.E., the time of the First Temple. Their history in the pre-Islamic period is intertwined with that of the Jews of neighbouring Babylon. Cyrus, the first of the Archemid dynasty, conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.E. and permitted the Jewish exiles to return to the Land of Israel, bringing the First Exile to an end.

That is Cyrus, the prince of Persia, whom Daniel had made mention of in his dream/vision. He is better known to those in religious circles as a demon, or was it satan abi na Lucifer dem dey call am? Yeah, the same Cyrus who is known to have drafted the agreement that allowed the Jewish diaspora freedom to reinhabit their land, is regarded in religious circles as the Satan against their gods. 🥱🥱

safarifarms:
So what happened to all these Jews that their numbers dwindled so much to the miserable few that are now there? Did they vanish into the thin air?

90% of them moved permanently to Israel. The largest chunk of Israeli Arab Jews today are Jews from Iran. The reduction in the numbers of Jews in the Middle East (West Asia) is simply due to religious persecution. With the exception of Iran, there's no Jewish synagogues or population in Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, and Qatar.

Also, it will interest you to know that, the United States of America is home to the largest Jewish population in the world, second only to Israel. That's why America will always fight on behalf of Israel.

Vikkie14:
90% of them moved permanently to Israel. The largest chunk of Israeli Jews today are Arab Jews. The reduction in the numbers of Jews in the Middle East (West Asia) is simply due to religious persecution. With the exception of Iran, there's no Jewish synagogues or population in Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, and Qatar.

Also, it will interest you to know that, the United States of America is home to the largest Jewish population in the world, second only to Israel. That's why America will always fight on behalf of Israel.

That makes sense. But I now wonder why Nigerian Muslims claim the Israelis are all Europeans from the western world without offering explanation as to how the original Jewish population could have just vanished into the thin air like that.

safarifarms:
That makes sense. But I now wonder why Nigerian Muslims claim the Israelis are all Europeans from the western world without offering explanation as to how the original Jewish population could have just vanished into the thin air like that.

Jews were exiled from their land, israel, on many occasions. King Nebuchadnezzer exiled them. The Romans did recently in AD70 in response to the Jewish revolt against the Roman rule. That was when the Romans changes the name of the land of Israel to Palestine to erase any claim of the Jews to their land. The name Palestine was coined by the Romans after the Philistines who were fron Crete in Greece, who live at Gaza then. They are either extinct or moved back to Crete or relocated.

The Samaritans are not Jews.

Ask muslims where Jews came from? Ask them their home country. Ask them the land their allah promised the Jews.

Vikkie14:
NB. Before you delve deep into this, I want you to understand that this thread and the subsequent threads, aim to enlighten you on the Jewish community in Iran.

Yes! You might not know, but Iran has the largest Jewish population in the Middle East (West Asia), second only to Israel itself.

The Jewish community of Persia, modern-day Iran, is one of the oldest in the Diaspora, and its historical roots reach back to the 6th century B.C.E., the time of the First Temple. Their history in the pre-Islamic period is intertwined with that of the Jews of neighbouring Babylon. Cyrus, the first of the Archemid dynasty, conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.E. and permitted the Jewish exiles to return to the Land of Israel, bringing the First Exile to an end.

The Jewish colonies were scattered from centres in Babylon to Persian provinces and cities such as Hamadan and Susa. The books of Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel, in the Bible, give a favourable description of the relationship of the Jews to the court of the Achaemids at Susa.

Under the Sassanid dynasty (226-642 C.E.), the Jewish population in Persia grew considerably and spread throughout the region; nevertheless, Jews suffered intermittent oppression and persecution. The invasion by Arab Muslims in 642 C.E. terminated the independence of Persia, installed Islam as the state religion, and made a deep impact on the Jews by changing their sociopolitical status.
Modern emancipation began in 1906 with Iran's constitution granting equal rights.

Fast forward to today, Israel and the United States have been carrying out military strikes against Iran, escalating a conflict that puts at risk a nation long home to one of the Middle East’s oldest Jewish communities.

Estimates place between 17,000 and 25,000 Iranian Jews predominantly in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Hamedan and Tabriz, making Iran the second‑largest Jewish population in the region after Israel.

The community, represented by a reserved seat in Iran’s parliament (the Majlis), maintains over 50 synagogues in Tehran alone and operates a hospital open to all faiths. One of Isfahan’s most prominent synagogues stands adjacent to the historic Al Aqsa mosque, highlighting centuries of coexistence.

Jewish ties to Persia date back some 2,700 years. Tradition holds that Queen Esther and her uncle Mordechai—central figures in the Hebrew Bible—are buried in Hamedan.

In later eras, Iran provided refuge to Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition and Holocaust, though the community also endured forced conversions under Safavid and Qajar dynasties and saw many emigrate after the 1979 revolution.

The Iranian Jews have access to synagogues, kosher butchers and food, mikvahs and several centers of learning. Iran has around 100 Jewish synagogues nationwide, and feel relatively secure amid Iran-Israel tensions.

Following the overthrow of the Shah and the declaration of an Islamic state in 1979, Iran severed relations with Israel. After the Iranian revolution in early 1979, members of the Jewish community feared for their lives, afraid that they would be murdered or expelled by the new Iranian regime. After the execution of prominent Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian on May 9, 1979, was publicized in local news outlets, the leaders of the Jewish community in Iran knew that they had to act fast in order to guarantee the safety of all Iranian Jews. The community leaders quickly assembled a group of two rabbis and four prominent young intellectuals and set off to meet with Ayatollah Khomeini in the Iranian city of Qom.

After the group congratulated the Ayatollah on his victory over the Shah in the recent revolution, the Ayatollah gave a long monologue concluding by comparing Christianity, Islam, and Judaism and saying that they are the only religions that are truly descended from heaven. The Ayatollah stated that in the Qur’an Moses’s name is mentioned more times than the name of any other prophet. The discussion concluded with Ayatollah Khomeini claiming that “we recognize our Jews as separate from those godless, bloodsucking Zionists.”

This was the answer that the Jewish community leaders had been looking for, and the Iranian government has kept its word and kept the Jews physically safe (for the most part) ever since this moment.




Photo 1: Infographic on Jewish population in West Asia (Middle East).
Photo 2: Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad, at a meeting with Jewish leaders
Photo 3: Jews at a synagogue.
Photo 4: Iranian Jewish community protesting Israeli strikes on Iran in 2025.




For further read/source:

https://www.samaa.tv/2087335133-iran-vs-israel-25-000-iranian-jewish-community-caught-in-the-crossfire

https://jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-iran

Cc: nlfpmod

This is an interesting read
A powerful history