Iranian Jews

Iranian Jews
یهودیان ایرانی
יהודי איראן
Gathering of the Zionist Federation in Iran, 1920
Total population
300,000350,000 (est.)
Regions with significant populations
Israel200,000[1]–250,000[2]
United States60,000–80,000[1]
Iran9,100[3]
Canada1,000
Australia~740
Languages
Judeo-Iranian languages, Persian, Hebrew
English (in diasporas), Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (mainly Judeo-Aramaic languages)
Religion
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Bukharian Jews, Iraqi Jews, Kurdish Jews, Afghan Jews, Mountain Jews, Georgian Jews, Syrian Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Armenian Jews

Iranian Jews,[4][a] also Persian Jews,[b] Parsim or Kalīmī, constitute one of the oldest communities of the Jewish diaspora. Dating back to the biblical era, they originate from the Jews who relocated to Iran (historically known as Persia) during the time of the Achaemenid Empire.[citation needed] Books of the Hebrew Bible (i.e., Esther, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah) bring together an extensive narrative shedding light on contemporary Jewish life experiences in ancient Iran; there has been a continuous Jewish presence in Iran since at least the time of Cyrus the Great, who led Achaemenid army's conquest of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and subsequently freed the Judahites from the Babylonian captivity.

After 1979, Jewish emigration from Iran increased dramatically in light of the country's Islamic Revolution and fall of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Today, the vast majority of Iranian Jews reside in Israel and the United States.[5][3]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference foxnews.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference autogenerated2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Jewish Population by Country 2023". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Jews of Iran: A Modern History". myjewishlearning.com.
  5. ^ "Iranian Census Report 2016" (PDF). Iranian Statistics Agency.


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