Jewish Iran - by Daniel Amir Hardcover

About the Book

"Iran is home to one of the largest Middle Eastern Jewish communities outside of Israel, numbering around 10,000 people today. This book explores the twentieth-century history of Iranian Jews as they grappled with global political movements and Iranian national identity. Over the course of the century, Iranian Jews were courted and attracted by Zionism, socialism, monarchism, constitutionalism, and revolution. Engaging these movements, Iranian Jews created syncretic identities, stretching their ideological strictures while maintaining rich intellectual and cultural traditions. Drawing on material from the Jewish press, poetry, and archives, as well as oral history, Daniel Amir narrates how the Jewish community responded to new ideas and political flux in Iran. He highlights how minority groups can create a political language that pushes against the exclusivist impulses of nationalism. While histories of the Iranian Jewish community have typically sought to minimize certain elements of the community's political life - whether Zionism, radicalism, or Iranianness - Amir looks to reconcile them. As he shows, Zionism and Iranian nationalism, Jewishness and Khomeinism, all could be made to coexist, at some times out of will, at others out of necessity. Ultimately, viewing Iranian Jews alongside other marginalized or minority groups, this book opens up new insights into the Iranian and Zionist mainstream"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Iran is home to one of the largest Middle Eastern Jewish communities outside of Israel, numbering around 10,000 people today. This book explores the twentieth-century history of Iranian Jews as they grappled with global political movements and Iranian national identity. Over the course of the century, Iranian Jews were courted and attracted by Zionism, socialism, monarchism, constitutionalism, and revolution. Engaging these movements, Iranian Jews created syncretic identities, stretching their ideological strictures while maintaining rich intellectual and cultural traditions.

Drawing on material from the Jewish press, poetry, and archives, as well as oral history, Daniel Amir narrates how the Jewish community responded to new ideas and political flux in Iran. He highlights how minority groups can create a political language that pushes against the exclusivist impulses of nationalism. While histories of the Iranian Jewish community have typically sought to minimize certain elements of the community's political life--whether Zionism, radicalism, or Iranianness--Amir looks to reconcile them. As he shows, Zionism and Iranian nationalism, Jewishness and Khomeinism, all could be made to coexist, at some times out of will, at others out of necessity. Ultimately, viewing Iranian Jews alongside other marginalized or minority groups, this book opens up new insights into the Iranian and Zionist mainstream.

Review Quotes

"Daniel Amir has produced a masterful work that reveals the intellectual and public developments of twentieth-century Jewish society in Iran with remarkable sensitivity and insight. Rich with fascinating anecdotes and superb analysis of Zionism and Iranian constitutionalism, this book opens up a whole new way of reading Iranian Jewish history. Beautifully written and impeccably researched, this is an essential contribution to the field." --Lior B. Sternfeld, Pennsylvania State University

"Richly sourced and passionately produced, this book sheds new light on the Iranian Jewish community as it traversed several important decades--the Jewish community's response and contributions to Iranian modernity, its involvement in major events such as oil nationalization and the Revolution of 1979. Highly recommended for those interested in both Iranian Judaism and the country's broader political history."--Siavush Randjbar-Daemi, University of St. Andrews

About the Author

Daniel Amir is Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and History at Amherst College.