10 Facts About Persian Jews – You can’t trust Jewish facts about Jews or anything

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[This is written by the Jews themselves, so one needs to check every damned fact. You can't trust anything they write. You literally have to check the truth of every sentence. Anyhow, I did not know there were Persian Jews … so this may be worth digging into. All these rats coming out of their holes everywhere on the planet. Just be aware that all these "Jewish Biblical figures" are myths – lies – people who never actually existed – so you won't actually ever find them. This is just part of the Jewish junk. Persia is now Iran, and the Iranians hate Israel and yet have Jews among them. But we have to admit that at least the Iranians give the filthy state of Israel the hardest time of all. Anyway, so just to remind you, that you can't actually trust this nonsense below. You will have to double-check everything that comes from the mouths of the rats.  Jan]

1. Jews Have Been Living in Persia Since Biblical Times

Jewish people have been living in Persia (roughly modern-day Iran) since the second part of the First Temple era. In fact, the events of Purim (as recorded in the Book of Esther) took place in the Persian capital city of Shushan (also known as Susa), now the site of the modern city of Hamedan.

1. Several Biblical Figures Are Buried in Iran

Iranian Jews (and Muslims) proudly and reverently point to tombs of Mordechai and Esther in Hamedan, Habakkuk the Prophet in Toyserkan (around an hour away from Hamedan), Daniel the Prophet in Shush (southern Iran), and even Serach, Daughter of Asher, in Isfahan, reflecting the region’s long and rich Jewish history.

1. Their Rabbis Are “Mullahs”

Along with the terms rav and hakham, popular among many Sephardim, Persian Jews often referred to their rabbis as mulla, Arabic (and Persian) for “master.”

1. Persian Jews Are Not Technically Sephardim

European Jews sometimes lump all Middle-Eastern Jews together under the general rubric of Sephardic. However, Persian Jews have their own ancient traditions that far predate the rise of Sepharad in the 10th century. It is more accurate to refer to Persians, Sephardim and others from the region, as Eidot Hamizrach, “Communities of the East.”

1. Most Jews Have Left Iran

Today, the Persian Jewish population is believed to be more than 10,000, the largest of any Middle-Eastern country other than Israel. However, it’s a mere skeleton of the approximately 300,000 Jews who lived there a century ago. What began as a trickle of migration became a stream following the establishment of the State of Israel, and then an urgent torrent following the 1979 revolution.

1. Jews Come From All Over Persia

Many Persian Jews will tell you that their family are Teherani (from Tehran), Shirazi (from Shiraz), or Isafahani (from Isfahan), reflected in cultural nuances, food traditions, and customs that vary from region to region. Even second- and third-generation Americans maintain the identity and practices of their family’s city of origin and often (but not always) marry men and women whose families are from the same region.

1. Their Family Names Are Distinct

Many Persian family names contain the given name of a male ancestor (such as Rahamim or Abraham) followed by “zadeh,” “yan,” “pour,” or “far” — producing names like Davidzadeh, Yomtovian, Chayempour, and Nikfar. Others reflect professions or cities of origin (Teherani, Shirazi, Kashani, etc.).

1. Most Persian Jews Live in Israel

Today the Iranian Jewish community is scattered. The largest concentration (estimated at 200,000 souls) lives in Israel, followed by the United States, which has significant concentrations in Great Neck, a village on New York’s Long Island, and Beverly Hills, California.

1. Mashhadis Are Different

Among Persian Jews, those who stem from Mashhad are a class of their own. In 1839, facing persecution and death, the community “converted” to Islam, all the while maintaining their Judaism in secret. Due to their uniquely perilous situation, many of them relocated several times, including to what would soon become the USSR (oops!). Even today, Mashhadi Jews maintain their distinct names and customs and typically only marry fellow Mashhadis. Currently, they mostly live in Milan, Italy, and Great Neck, NY.

1. There Is Still Jewish Life in Persia

Jews in Iran today maintain kosher food production, synagogues, mikvahs, and even yeshivahs and kollels of their own. The Jewish community has a representative in the Iranian parliament (majles) and is generally tolerated within the Muslim society.

Source: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5410553/jewish/10-Facts-About-Persian-Jews.htm#utm_medium=email&utm_source=1_chabad.org_magazine_en&utm