Persian Jews

Persian Jews or Iranian Jews (Persian: یهودیان ایرانی Yahudiyān-e Irāni; Hebrew: יהודים פרסים Yəhūdīm Parsīm) 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 Persian 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 Persia; there has been a continuous Jewish presence in Iran since at least the time of Cyrus the Great, who led the Persian 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 Persian Jews reside in Israel and the United States. The Israeli community of Persian Jews is mostly concentrated in the cities of Kfar Saba, Netanya, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv. In the United States, there are sizable Persian Jewish communities in Los Angeles (Tehrangeles), Beverly Hills, and on the North Shore of Long Island. Smaller Persian 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, though independent third-party estimates have placed the figure at around 8,500.