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ABSTRACT
In March 1915, Shalom, the first-ever Jewish newspaper in Iran, called upon its Jewish readership to turn their backs on “moral corruption” and “superstitions” and take the path of enlightenment and progress. Shalom marks a critical juncture in the modern history of Iranian Jews – a harbinger of the community’s awakening and internal politicization, a process that culminated in the mid-1920s when institutions and individuals fought fiercely over the community's vision and leadership. The path to that tumultuous decade began in the second half of the nineteenth century, when growing contact with European-Jewish philanthropic and communal organizations transformed the way that Jews in Iran perceived their situation as a religious minority, as well as the solutions they sought for relieving the hardships they endured. It continued with the gradual formation of a new generation of educated Jews, graduates of the modern schools opened under the auspices of missionary bodies and the Alliance Israélite Universelle. These youngsters sought a way to strengthen the community's religious and cultural cohesion and to reform its institutions.
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Notes
1 Netzer, “Shalom,” 299–310; Netzer, “Shalom,” 305–314.
2 Tsadik, Between Foreigners and Shi’is; Yeroushalmi, The Jews of Iran; and Sternfeld, Between Iran and Zion.
3 Fischel, “The Jews of Persia,”; Netzer, “Zionist Activity,”; Netzer, “Periods and Stages,”; Pirnazar, “Zionism in Iran,”; and Sasson, “The Central Committee, ".
4 Marashi, Nationalizing Iran, 135–137; Atabaki, “The First World War,” 1–7.
5 The main British organizations receiving these appeals were the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Anglo-Jewish Association. For a history of these organizations, see Langham, 250 Years. The main French organization was the Alliance israélite universelle (est. 1860). See Graetz, The Jews.
6 For the growth and dissemination of 19th-century Jewish press, see Bartal, “The Jewish Press,”; Marten-Finnis, Vilna,.
7 Netzer, “Montefiore,”; Ben-Zvi, “Blood Libels,”.
8 For information regarding De Sola see: The Canadian Encyclopedia (accessed February 28, 2022). https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/abraham-de-sola
9 For all parts of the report see: The Rev. Abraham de Sola. 1850. “Notes on the Jews of Persia under Mohammed Shah.” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, January, February, March, April, June.
10 The Rev. Abraham de Sola. 1850. “Notes on the Jews of Persia,” June, 145.
11 “The Jews in Persia,” Ha-Karmel, June 13, 1865. [Hebrew]
12 “Jews in the Land of Persia,” Ha-Magid, November 4, 1868. [Hebrew]
13 Ibid.
14 Cole, “Marking Boundaries, Marking Time,” 37.
15 Fischel, “The Jews of Persia,” 129–134.
16 Ibid.
17 In the early 1870s, when famine struck large areas in Iran, Jews in various communities faced imminent death. Their pleas for help were published in the Jewish press, attracting international Jewish organizations’ attention to the need to rally to their assistance. see also: Seyf, “Iran and the Great Famine”.
18 “England,” Ha-Magid, April 23, 1873. [Hebrew]
19 The Alliance Israélite Universelle, mishloah manot.
20 Cohen, “The Failure”.
21 Gurney & Nabavi, “Dar Al-Fonun.”
22 “The Jews of Persia,” The Reform Advocate, December 15, 1906.
23 “Condition of the Jews in Persia,” The Jewish Voice, August 24, 1888.
24 Amanat, Pivot of the Universe, 337.
25 Founded in 1840 by the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews (LSPCJ). See Gidney, The History.
26 Ibid, 474.
27 Ibid.
28 Ibid, 557.
29 See for example things written about the school by Jahanguir Banayan, one of the leaders of the Jewish community and the list of famous community figures who graduated from it, in Banayan, “Tales from the Past”.
30 Gidney, The History, 613.
31 “Isfahan.” Jewish Missionary Intelligence, April 1896.
32 Waterfield, Christians in Persia, 122.
33 O’Flynn, The Western Christian Presence, 873.
34 Fischel, “The Bible,” 45 (note 121).
35 Yeroushalmi, The Jews of Iran, xix.
36 Levy, Tārikh-i yahūd-i irān, 811.
37 “The Jews of Persia,” The Reform Advocate, December 15, 1906.
38 Levy mentions that two students were sent from Tehran, three from Hamadan and few years later anther three from Isfahan. Levy, Tārikh-i yahūd-i irān, 811.
39 Levy, khāṭirāt-i man, 20–21.
40 Levy, Tārikh-i yahūd-i irān, 834.
41 For the most recent scholarship regarding AIU educational work in Iran and its contribution to the Jewish community in Iran, see: Headrick, “A Family in Iran”; Farah, “ 'The School',”.
42 Ibid, 778.
43 Bulletin l'Alliance Israélite Universelle, 1898 (23), 68–69.
44 For a comprehensive summary about the Revolution see: Amanat et al. “Constitutional Revolution.”
45 “Happening in the Jewish World,” The Hebrew Standard, February 19, 1909; Regarding Shapshal and his relation with Muhammad Ali Shah, see: Volkov, “The Evil Genius”.
46 Afary, “The Constitutional Revolution,” 44.
47 Ibid, 50.
48 Levy, Tārikh-i yahūd-i irān, 841–843.
49 “Jews in Persia,” Hed Ha-Zman, May 21, 1909. [Hebrew]
50 Levy, Tārikh-i yahūd-i irān, 820 (footnote 1).
51 Bulletin l'Alliance Israélite Universelle, 1906 (31), 67; Browne, The Persian Revolution, 132.
52 “The Jews of Persia,” The Hebrew Standard, September 27, 1907.
53 For the content of the letter, see: Afary, “The Constitutional Revolution,” 45–46.
54 Ibid, 46–47.
55 Levy, Tārikh-i yahūd-i irān, 829–830.
56 Kermani, History of the Iranian, 583.
57 Bulletin l'Alliance Israélite Universelle, 1909 (34), 70–73.
58 Waterfield, Christians in Persia, 121.
59 Tutkar & Bitarafan, “Formation and Function”.
60 Mahrokh, Ebrahim-pur. 1396 (2017). “The failed dream of a city.”[ru’yā-yi nākām-i yek shahr.] Shahrvand. 8 khurdād (29 May). ; Bulletin l'Alliance Israélite Universelle, 1909 (34), 70–73.
61 Amanat et al. “Constitutional Revolution.”
62 See for example the following reports in contemporary Jewish periodicals: “Persia,” Ha-Herut, September 24, 1909; “Letters from Persia,” Ha-Tsvi, December 20, 1909; “Pogrom against Jews in Hamadan (Persia),” Hed Ha-Zman/Zman, May 20, 1910; “Pogroms in Persia,” Ha-Herut, December 7, 1910. [Hebrew]
63 Levy, Tārikh-i yahūd-i irān, 870.
64 Afary, “The Constitutional Revolution,” 45–46.
65 Netzer, “Shalom”, 310.
66 Khakham Yehuda 'Ish Yerushalayim (Yehuda Kopilevich), “in 'Shushi' the Capital,” Davar, March 26, 1929. [Hebrew]
67 Netzer, “Shalom,” 307.
68 See for example the diary of Sinyor Demirel, a Jew from Salmas (accessed February 28, 2022). https://nashdidan.co.il/sinyor-demirel/
69 “Jews in Persia,” Ha-Tsfira, March 27, 1916. [Hebrew]
70 Levy, Tārikh-i yahūd-i irān, 899–900.
71 Ibid, 901.
72 Cohen, sefer khizukay sefat 'ver.
73 Levy, Tārikh-i yahūd-i irān, 901.
74 Ibid, 903.
75 Ibid, 910–911.
76 Ibid, 911, 920.
77 Ibid, 920–921.
78 “Golay Paras,” ha-Tsfira, January 16, 1920; “yom yom”, Doar Ha-Yom, May 12, 1920; [Hebrew] and Levy, Tārikh-i yahūd-i irān, 920–921.
79 Moosa Salim, 1927. “Jewish Life in Persia,” The Sentinel, April 29; the information regarding Haim's biography is based on an interview with Elihao Pirnazar. For the content of the interview see: https://www.kermanshah.org.il/. accessed February 28, 2022
80 Levy, Tārikh-i yahūd-i irān, 953.
81 Ibid.
82 Salim, “Jewish Life in Persia”.
83 Nina Springer-Aharoni, “Shmuel Yehezkel Chaim”.
84 For a detailed examination of the issue, see Cronin, “Opposition to Reza Khan”.
85 To this day the issue of Haim’s arrest and execution is a topic of controversy in the community and there are those who believe that his opponents within the community were behind his indictment and they are the ones who caused his arrest, See: Adhami, “The controversial character,” 55; Sarshar, Esther’s Children, 263; Hamadani, khāṭrāt-i nim qarn, 94.
86 Article 8 of the Supplementary Constitutional Law ratified officially on October 7, 1907.
87 Salim, “Jewish Life in Persia,” 11, 39.
88 Devos & Werner, Cultural and Cultural Politics; Cronin, The Making of Modern; and Banani, The Modernization of Iran.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Miriam Nissimov
Miriam Nissimov is lecturer in Persian and Modern Middle Eastern History in the department for Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University and a researcher at the Alliance Center for Iranian Studies. Her research interests include the history of the Jewish communities in modern Iran and the social and cultural aspects of Iranian literature in the twentieth century. [email protected]