Celebrating Purim in Tehran: Jewish Belonging and Mobility in 20th Century Iran | Dr. Daniella Farah

Jews have lived in Iran for over 2,500 years, with a population of 100,000 at the community’s height in 1945. During the twentieth century, Iranian Jews experienced rapid upward mobility, migrated within the country and abroad, participated in significant political and social movements, and integrated into several layers of Iranian society. This talk will explore the landscape of Jewish life in twentieth-century Iran, with a special focus on Jewish-Muslim interactions, political engagement, upward mobility, and the intersection of education and integration. As we examine how Iranian Jews navigated between their Iranian and Jewish identities in an era of new nationalisms, we gain insight into what Jewish emancipation and assimilation looked like in a Muslim-majority country.