Iranian Jews in Israel


Iranian Jews in Israel refers to the community of Iranian Jews who immigrated to Ottoman Palestine, Mandate Palestine, and later the State of Israel. Iranian Jews in Israel number over
135,000 and most of them are Israeli born.

History

The first Persian Jews to settle in Palestine were from Shiraz. They left in 1815 in a caravan, making their way to the port of Bushehr and from there boarded a ship to Basra in southern Iraq.
From there, they traveled by land to Baghdad and Damascus. Those who survived the difficult journey settled in Tzfat and Jerusalem, establishing the nucleus of the Iranian Jewish community in these cities.
After the establishment of the State of Israel, immigration increased significantly. In 1952 under the Israeli mission, Operation Cyrus, approximately 30,000 Iranian Jews immigrated to Israel. In addition, many Iranian Jews immigrated to Israel after the Iranian revolution in 1979. Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution an additional 10,000 to 15,000 Iranian Jews immigrated directly to Israel, many others migrated first to the United States or Europe and then to Israel, mainly out of fear of the new Ayatollahs regime but also from lack of familiarity with Israel. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, over 134,000 Iranian have settled in Israel. Some fled after Iran murdered a prominent Jew accused of "Zionism."
In the 1950s the Israeli treatment of Iranian Jews was similar to the Israeli treatment of other Jews from the Middle Eastern and North African region.
Israel continues to encourage the remaining Jews in Iran to immigrate since Israel sees the Jews of Iran as hostages of the Iranian regime, against Israel. In 2007 Israel offered monetary incentives to Jews in Iran to encourage Iranian Jewish immigration to Israel. Jews of Iranian descent in Israel are considered part of the Mizrahim.
Kol Israel transmits daily radio broadcasts to Iran in the Persian language and Menashe Amir, an Iranian Jew, hosts a talk show that draws callers from Iran.

Notable Israelis of Iranian descent