Jewish communities in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America subject of Rice Jewish Studies Lecture Series
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From a contemporary perspective, the topic of Iranian Jewry has become flattened because of the adversarial relationships between Iran and Israel and the United States. Although Jews have lived in Iran for more than 2,500 years and comprise the largest Diaspora community in the Middle East, it is a community that remains very understudied.
Beginning with the Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911), Iran entered the modern era, noted Daniella Farah. She’s the new Samuel W. and Goldye Marian Spain postdoctoral fellow at Rice University’s Jewish Studies program. Farah will be one of the three presenters at the 13th-annual Rice University Jewish Studies Lecture Series. The series title is “Insiders and Outsiders: Examining the Jewish Experience on Four Continents.”
On Oct. 6 , Dr. Tamar Sella opens the series with “Film, Music and the Unfinished Story of Two Moroccan Artists.”
Dr. Farah will present “Creating Jewish Identity in 20th-Century Iran” on Oct. 13.
On Oct. 20, Dr. Daniel Cohen will close the series with “The End of Philosemitism? Reflections on Contemporary America and
Europe.”
All classes will be given in person at 7 p.m., at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood Blvd. Masking is required, and social distancing will be practiced.
“The history I want to show illuminates the ways Jews were members of Iranian society and how that sheds light on issues of community, of integration, identify formation and national belonging,” Farah told the JHV.
Jews have lived in Iran continuously since the time of Cyrus the Great, who freed Jews from Babylonian captivity. Today, an estimated 10,000-15,000 Jews live in Iran.
During the 20th century, especially during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, a number of Iranian Jews and Baha’is experienced rapid upward mobility and prosperity as a result of their cultural emphasis on education.
Farah’s parents grew up in Tehran. They were part of the migration to Tehran in the latter half of the 20th century. Between 1950 and today, the population of Tehran climbed from about 1 million to 8 million.
“About half of my family moved to Israel in early 1950s,” said Farah. The decision to emigrate was related to class. About 20,000 of the Jewish community moved to Israel. Most were poor. They had experienced antisemitism in the countryside. Although Jews became upwardly mobile, they were still, in many ways, second-class citizens. Legally, they had become equal to Muslims. But in practice, Jews experienced discrimination. It was a multilayered experience.”
In 1979, with the Iranian Revolution and the exodus of a large part of the community to the U.S., the dynamics and nature of the Jewish community changed.
In modern times, until the revolution, Jews thought of themselves as an equal part of Iranian society.
“One interesting thing about Iranian Jews: There was no distinction between Jewish and Persian identities. The Jews were a deeply rooted community. They spoke Farsi. They celebrated Persian holidays like New Year’s. They ate the same food. This identity was interconnected,” said Farah.
The 1979 Revolution was a watershed event. Many thousands of Iranian Jews participated in the Islamic Revolution as a protest against rampant inflation and extreme socioeconomic inequality under the shah’s rule.
“After the shah was deposed, their dreams didn’t come true,” said Farah. “The educated and anyone who had been associated with the shah became targeted, accused of being Zionist collaborators. They got scared. The place became hostile towards anyone who was educated, Western-oriented and upwardly mobile. A large number of Jews and Baha’is emigrated. So did hundreds of thousands who didn’t want to raise their children under a fundamentalist regime.”
Those Jews who stayed in Iran had their reasons.
Some remained for pragmatic reasons. They felt they were deeply rooted in Iranian society. They spoke Farsi. They ran businesses. They led comfortable lives. They feared having to start over from scratch.
“In Iran today, you are openly able to practice your religion, as long as you are anti-Israel,” said Farah. “You can be Jewish because you are a recognized religious minority and tolerated by the regime. There’s an official government rhetoric of brotherhood but, because I’ve not been to Iran, it’s difficult to know for certain how that plays out.”
The annual lecture series, a collaboration between Rice University and the ERJCC, is presented by Rice University faculty associated with the Jewish Studies program. To register, go to erjcchouston.org/rice.
Beginning with the Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911), Iran entered the modern era, noted Daniella Farah. She’s the new Samuel W. and Goldye Marian Spain postdoctoral fellow at Rice University’s Jewish Studies program. Farah will be one of the three presenters at the 13th-annual Rice University Jewish Studies Lecture Series. The series title is “Insiders and Outsiders: Examining the Jewish Experience on Four Continents.”
On Oct. 6 , Dr. Tamar Sella opens the series with “Film, Music and the Unfinished Story of Two Moroccan Artists.”
Dr. Farah will present “Creating Jewish Identity in 20th-Century Iran” on Oct. 13.
On Oct. 20, Dr. Daniel Cohen will close the series with “The End of Philosemitism? Reflections on Contemporary America and
Europe.”
All classes will be given in person at 7 p.m., at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood Blvd. Masking is required, and social distancing will be practiced.
“The history I want to show illuminates the ways Jews were members of Iranian society and how that sheds light on issues of community, of integration, identify formation and national belonging,” Farah told the JHV.
Jews have lived in Iran continuously since the time of Cyrus the Great, who freed Jews from Babylonian captivity. Today, an estimated 10,000-15,000 Jews live in Iran.
During the 20th century, especially during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, a number of Iranian Jews and Baha’is experienced rapid upward mobility and prosperity as a result of their cultural emphasis on education.
Farah’s parents grew up in Tehran. They were part of the migration to Tehran in the latter half of the 20th century. Between 1950 and today, the population of Tehran climbed from about 1 million to 8 million.
“About half of my family moved to Israel in early 1950s,” said Farah. The decision to emigrate was related to class. About 20,000 of the Jewish community moved to Israel. Most were poor. They had experienced antisemitism in the countryside. Although Jews became upwardly mobile, they were still, in many ways, second-class citizens. Legally, they had become equal to Muslims. But in practice, Jews experienced discrimination. It was a multilayered experience.”
In 1979, with the Iranian Revolution and the exodus of a large part of the community to the U.S., the dynamics and nature of the Jewish community changed.
In modern times, until the revolution, Jews thought of themselves as an equal part of Iranian society.
“One interesting thing about Iranian Jews: There was no distinction between Jewish and Persian identities. The Jews were a deeply rooted community. They spoke Farsi. They celebrated Persian holidays like New Year’s. They ate the same food. This identity was interconnected,” said Farah.
The 1979 Revolution was a watershed event. Many thousands of Iranian Jews participated in the Islamic Revolution as a protest against rampant inflation and extreme socioeconomic inequality under the shah’s rule.
“After the shah was deposed, their dreams didn’t come true,” said Farah. “The educated and anyone who had been associated with the shah became targeted, accused of being Zionist collaborators. They got scared. The place became hostile towards anyone who was educated, Western-oriented and upwardly mobile. A large number of Jews and Baha’is emigrated. So did hundreds of thousands who didn’t want to raise their children under a fundamentalist regime.”
Those Jews who stayed in Iran had their reasons.
Some remained for pragmatic reasons. They felt they were deeply rooted in Iranian society. They spoke Farsi. They ran businesses. They led comfortable lives. They feared having to start over from scratch.
“In Iran today, you are openly able to practice your religion, as long as you are anti-Israel,” said Farah. “You can be Jewish because you are a recognized religious minority and tolerated by the regime. There’s an official government rhetoric of brotherhood but, because I’ve not been to Iran, it’s difficult to know for certain how that plays out.”
The annual lecture series, a collaboration between Rice University and the ERJCC, is presented by Rice University faculty associated with the Jewish Studies program. To register, go to erjcchouston.org/rice.