The continuing hostility between Iran and Israel gives rise to frequent expressions of anti-Zionism, but expressions of antisemitism in political discourse have appeared to decline since 1996. Despite certain basic restrictions imposed on the Jewish community, the current regime in Iran regards the treatment of Jews as an indication of the fairness of its policy towards religious minorities. Indeed, President Khatami is expected by many observers to introduce more democratic reforms. On the other hand, the Iranian leadership and media continue to express strong support for French Holocaust-denier Roger Garaudy.
In general systematic violations of human rights continue, together with a significant number of summary executions, and government-backed agents continue to target political opponents abroad. Iran's relations with Europe deteriorated in 1997 due to the ruling of the Berlin high court in April that the Iranian government had ordered the murder of four Iranian Kurdish dissidents in Berlin in 1992. And while relations with Britain improved in September 1998 with a government statement that there was no intention of harming the British author Salman Rushdie, the more radical Islamic forces in the country countered in October 1998 by increasing the bounty on Rushdie's head and stating that the original fatwa could not be rescinded.
Iran continues to provide financial and political support for groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as for the militant Islamist movement Hizbullah, and remains on the US list of states sponsoring terrorism.
Demographic data
Population: 62 million
Jewish population: 20,000 (mainly in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan)
Other minorities: Zoroastrianism and Christianity (primarily Armenian and Assyrian) are recognized by the consitution
Political data
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been ruled by an authoritarian regime of Shi'ite Muslim clergy since the 1979 revolution, which ended the dynasty founded by Shah Reza Pahlavi in 1925. In May 1997 President Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who had held office for eight years, was defeated by opposition candidate, Hojjat-ol Eslam Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, whose victory sharpened the struggle between militant Islamists, led by Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, and more progressive forces, especially among the younger generation. Ayatollah Khamenei is the supreme religious leader, the head of state and chief of the armed forces.
Economic data
Inflation: 20 per cent (estimate)
Unemployment: 25 per cent (estimate)
Throughout their long history in the region, Iranian Jews have experienced several periods of persecution and discrimination. Persecution was intensified under the Safavid dynasty (1501-1736), once Shi'ite Islam became the official religion. Between 1613 and 1662 many Jews were forced to convert, property was looted and those who resisted were murdered.
Hundreds were also murdered at the end of the eighteenth century in Tabriz after a Jewish merchant was accused of killing a Muslim boy to use his blood at Passover.
In 1839 thirty Jews were killed in Mashhad following allegations of blasphemy. The Jewish quarter of Tehran was besieged in 1897 and Jews were forced to wear red patches on their clothes. In order to save the remainder of the community, the Jews agreed to convert to Islam but continued to practise their faith secretly.
The 1907 constitution granted civil and judicial rights to religious minorities, including the creation of one Jewish representative in the majlis (parliament). Following the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925, freedom of religion was granted. Institutionalized forms of religious discrimination were eased. Antisemitism persisted at grassroots level, especially during the years of Iran's close relations with Nazi Germany. As co-operation between Iran and the state of Israel grew after 1956, during the brutal rule of Muhammad Reza Shah, the Jewish community became increasingly identified with a regime that was widely hated by the Iranian population. The 1979 overthrow of the Shah and the antisemitism of the subsequent Shi'ite leaders forced more than 50,000 Jews to flee from Iran.
The Islamic regime has been implacable in its enmity to the state of Israel and Zionism. In recent years at least ten Jewish citizens and communal leaders, including Habib Elghanian (the head of the community council), have been executed for allegedly having connections with Israel or Zionist organizations, for associating with the Shah or for 'corrupt business practices'. The regime has also confiscated Jewish property, including factories, hotels, cinemas, houses and other assets, and has made it increasingly difficult for Jews to obtain business licenses. Leaders of the Jewish community in Iran are forced publicly to condemn Israel and Zionism and to participate in official anti-Israel rallies.
Textbooks in Iran often include antisemitic remarks relating to Middle Eastern history or religion. Only one Jewish school remains open and its Muslim director is appointed by the ministry of education. The school is forced to operate on the Jewish sabbath and the teaching of Judaic texts is permitted only with Farsi translations of the Bible.
On 22 July 1997 Jomhuri-e Eslami, the daily newspaper that represents the views of more radical Islamists, accused the Jews of falsifying biblical texts: 'Not only did some Jewish and Christian clergy falsify verses in their holy books because of their stubborn territorial claims. Most of the verses have lost their real meaning through repeated copying and the increasing distance between translation and the original languages, namely Hebrew and Aramaic.' The daily newspaper Resalat also claimed that the Bible has been falsified by Jews.
The French Holocaust-denier Roger Garaudy has received much public acclaim throughout Iran and his views are frequently defended by public figures and the media (see France). His publications, including the latest work, 'Founding Myths of Israeli Politics' have been translated into Farsi and other languages, and widely distributed in Iran. Throughout 1998 Iranian officials issued many statements supporting Garaudy during his trial in France. The government-backed Iranian Organization of Human Rights, for example, asserted that Garuady's trial violated his freedom of speech. Iranian authorities reportedly paid part of Garaudy's fine of FF120,0000.
The Iranian media does not distinguish between Jews, Israelis and Zionists, and often blurs the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
On 31 May 1997 Keyhan, the largest Iranian newspaper, protested against the positive representation of Jews in films about the Second World War, suggesting that this legitimized 'Zionist rule in Palestine'. According to the article, 'Jews are shown as victims of harsh atrocities of the Nazis, and the image of Jews is kind, ready to sacrifice, helpless, brave and clever.'
Negative images of Jews figured in a popular television series entitled 'Satan at Home' but when members of the local Jewish community protested to the newly-elected President Khatami in July 1997, the series was dropped.
Since the Islamic revolution, Iran has become a centre for the publication of antisemitic literature including Holocaust-denial texts. In 1997 translations of classic antisemitica, such as Hitler's Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, were reprinted. Most were financed by religious institutions such as the Centre for Islamic Propaganda in Tehran and the Islamic foundation, Astan-e Ghods-e Razavi, in Mashhad.
It is illegal for Jews in Iran to have any contact with non-Iranian Jewish organizations abroad. (They are permitted, however, to receive financial aid from an Iranian Jewish welfare organization in Britain.) Iranian Jews are banned from travelling to Israel and there have been many cases of imprisonment or fines for those suspected of visiting Israel secretly.
In January 1997 a Jewish businessman who had converted to Islam, Hedayatollah Zendehdel, was hanged after being found guilty of espionage and economic fraud. The Iranian media provided widespread coverage of the trial and execution, often emphasizing Zendehdel's Jewish origins.
Following the elections in May 1997 the newly-elected President Khatami spoke publicly
about the need for tolerance between different elements of society and for improving
foreign relations. In an interview in Salaam on 28 December 1997 he said: 'In the
Islamic Republic, Christians, Jews and other non-Muslims and non-Shi'ites must feel that
their rights are defended by us.' On 8 January 1998, in a much-publicized interview on CNN
television, he spoke about the understanding between different religions but also
expressed concern that the influence of Zionists on American foreign policy would prove
harmful to Jews.
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Institute for Jewish Policy Research and American Jewish Committee
© JPR 1999
