یهودیان ایرانی יְהוּדֵי אִירָאן | |
|---|---|
 Gathering of the Zionist Federation in Iran, 1920 | |
| Total population | |
| 300,000–350,000 (est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Israel | 200,000[1]–250,000[2] |
 United States | 60,000–80,000[1] |
 Iran | 9,826[3] |
 Canada | 1,000 |
 Australia | ~740[note 1] |
| Languages | |
| Iranian languages (Persian, Judeo-Persian, Judeo-Tajik, Kurdish), Hebrew, English | |
| Religion | |
 Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mountain Jews, Bukharian Jews, Assyrian Jews, Afghan Jews, Georgian Jews, Kurdish Jews, Mizrahi Jews | |
| Part of a series on |
| Jews and Judaism |
|---|
Iranian Jews[4] (Persian: یهودیان ایرانی, romanized: Yahudiyān-e Irāni; Hebrew: יהודי איראן, romanized: Yehudei Iran) 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 during the time of the Achaemenid Empire. 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. Today, the vast majority of Iranian Jews reside in Israel and the United States. The Israeli community of Iranian Jews is mostly concentrated in the cities of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Netanya, Kfar Saba, and Holon. In the United States, there are sizable Iranian Jewish communities in Los Angeles (Tehrangeles), Beverly Hills, and in Great Neck. Smaller Iranian Jewish communities also exist in Baltimore and in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. According to the 2016 Iranian census, the remaining Jewish population of Iran stood at 9,826 people,[5] though independent third-party estimates have placed the figure at around 8,500.[3]
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
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autogenerated2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "Jewish Population by Country 2023". worldpopulationreview.com.
- ^ "Jews of Iran: A Modern History". myjewishlearning.com.
- ^ "Iranian Census Report 2016" (PDF). Iranian Statistics Agency.
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