Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran

by Lior B. Sternfeld

Iran is home to the largest Jewish population in the Middle East, outside of Israel. At its peak in the twentieth century, the population numbered around 100,000; today about 25,000 Jews live in Iran. Between Iran and Zion offers the first history of this vibrant community over the course of the last century, from the 1905 Constitutional Revolution through the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Over this period, Iranian Jews grew from a peripheral community into a prominent one that has made clear impacts on daily life in Iran. Drawing on interviews, newspapers, family stories, autobiographies, and previously untapped archives, Lior B. Sternfeld analyzes how Iranian Jews contributed to Iranian nation-building projects, first under the Pahlavi monarchs and then in the post-revolutionary Islamic Republic. He considers the shifting reactions to Zionism over time, in particular to religious Zionism in the early 1900s and political Zionism after the creation of the state of Israel. And he investigates the various groups that constituted the Iranian Jewish community, notably the Jewish communists who became prominent activists in the left-wing circles in the 1950s and the revolutionary Jewish organization that participated in the 1979 Revolution. The result is a rich account of the vital role of Jews in the social and political fabric of twentieth-century Iran.

Genres: History, Religion, Judaism, Iran, Jewish, Middle East, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

Published November 6, 2018

Reviews

[leyli... · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting and approached the topic of the Iranian Jewish community in a differentiated and complex way. I learned a lot. However I thought that it was a bit too uncritical about the current regime and didn’t shed light on the consequences of life under the Islamic republic. It was in this regard too one dimensional for me and I would have been interested in the voices of the Jewish Iranian diaspora which for some reason or another needed to flee their homeland. Also I would have been interested in the history of the Jewish minority opposing the regime in Iran - but I guess it is really hard to get that information. All in all a very interesting book which should get more attention. I am still a bit sceptical on the stances of Lior Sternfeld in regards to the Islamic Republic of Iran which is currently killing its own people in masses

[Emily Mirengoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously, this is a pretty niche topic, and without a decent background in 20th century Iranian history, I suspect readers might be a bit bored or confused. That being said, for people who are interested in this topic, this was a wonderful resource. I really appreciated the nuanced take on the dual identities that the Jews of Iran carried, and detailed examples of how and why their circumstances changed.

[Dan Trubman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be warned the book doesn't really go beyond the success of the revolution in 1979, so if you're looking for a book about Jews in Iran under the Islamic Republic you'll be disappointed.

[Young Eagle 于高鹰 · Rating 4 out of 5]

犹太人定居波斯的历史据说能上溯至圣经时代，但伊朗犹太人在一点上与他们的欧洲教胞还是很像的，那就是扎堆参与共产主义运动。需要注意，在摩萨台时代，伊朗犹太人对伊朗民族主义（石油国有化）的支持、共产主义倾向与锡安主义同情可以并行不悖，从谴责以色列是美帝国主义的马前卒到强调早期以色列的社会主义甚至“反殖民主义”性质的声音都存在（没超出同时代苏联话语的范围就是），六日战争后对以色列的同情逐渐式微。巴列维统治期间，犹太人大量跃升至中产阶级，同化于伊朗主流社会，却也加深了犹太人参与国家命运的渴望，出现“越同化越革命”的局面。锡安主义史学会系统性低估1979年革命中犹太人的参与度。对他们来说，伊朗是家，而锡安是祈祷的方位。