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About The History of
Contemporary Iranian Jews, Volume IV Following is a short overview of articles presented in this volume. Persian Section: 1)Articles
1- "Hakhalutz and its Activities in Iran : An Overview" by Shimon Hanassab This article traces Hakhalutz's activities in Iran. Hakhalutz's primary objective was to establish a sense of community among Iranian Jews, and its ultimate goal was to recruit the young for immigration to the newly founded state of Israel. From 1942 to 1945, Hakhalutz established and directed a variety of Hebrew classes. By the end of the war, representatives were sent to Iran from Israel in order to increase Hakhalutz's activities by creating more branches, and further to redirect the organization's various activities with an eye on more ideological and Zionist values. In his discussions, Hanassab examines the many challenges faced by Hakhalutz's leaders and mentors, specifically with respect to the leaders of the Tudeh party. Hanassab further elaborates on some of the difficulties the Hakhalutz leaders faced in their efforts to open different branches in various cities around Iran. The paper ends with a discussion of the three Hakhalutz conferences held in Tehran in 1948, 1949, and 1950, respectively. 2- "Iranian Jews, National Identity, and Journalism: 1915 - 1979" by Jaleh Pirnazar Jaleh Pirnazar's paper delineates three distinct historical periods in Iranian Jewish Journalism:
This period begins with the publication of Shālom - the first Iranian Jewish newspaper to be printed in Fārsihud (Persian language written in Hebrew script). Shālom is the first documented newspaper to write about the lives of Jews in Iran and openly to criticize anti-Semitism. The first Zionist newspaper called Hagueolā [Salvation] was published in this same period. A third paper called Hahaim also appeared in this period under the editorship of Mr. Haim - the controversial Jewish member of parliament in 1922. This period begins with Reza Shah's abdication and the Allied occupation of Iran during the second World War. During this period, all Iranian Jewish newspapers are published in Persian using the Persian alphabet. These publications include names such as Binyān, Ālam-e Yahud, Rāhnemāy-e Yahud, Bani Ādam, Nissān, Kāviān, Shahbāz, Dāniāl, Sinā, and Isrāel. In general, these newspapers have a predominantly political orientation, and they tend to follow the dominant trend in Iran. Most oppose Nazism, Fascism, and Imperialism, while trying to promote democratic social values along with a sense of Iranian Nationalism. During this third period, only two newspapers continue their publication. The first is published by Sandogh-e Melli [Iranian Jewish National Fund]; and the second by Youssef Kohan, the member of parliament. During these years, Iranian Jewish journalists find themselves working in the Iranian media at large. For instance, Ettelā‘āt and Keyhān - the two biggest media publishing groups in Iran - had hired many Iranian Jewish writers and journalist such as: Shaoul Bakhash, Guity Beroukhim, Moussa Beroukhim, Simon Farzami, Moshfegh Hamedani, Vida Moshfegh, Manouchehr Omidvar, Manouchehr Sachmehchi, and Homa Sarshar. As Pirnazar remarks, this third generation of journalists had successfully been integrated into Iran's mass media, and the figures of this generation were mostly inclined to identify themselves as Iranian Journalists rather than Iranian Jewish Journalists. 3- "A Portrait of Iranian Jewish Intellectuals in the Twentieth Century: A Review of the Weekly Isrāel” by Jaleh Pirnazar Jaleh Pirnazar provides a detailed review of the weekly newspaper Isrāel, which was printed in Iran from April 25, 1946 to May 6, 1948. In her review, she examines the paper's treatment of a variety of different topics, including:
4- "The Founding of Kānun-e-Kheyrkhāh and The American Joint Distribution Committee's Financial and Educational Cooperation in Iran" by Nissim Toubia Following WWII and the Allied occupation of Iran, the country is struck by famine and an epidemic of contagious diseases. The severity of these social problems is expectedly worst in Tehran's mahalleh, the Jewish quarter. Seeing the degree of devastation, a young physician by the name of Dr. Sapir turns a small synagogue into a medical clinic and begins treating typhus patients. Unfortunately, however, Sapir himself eventually contracts typhus and dies at a very young age. After his death, a group of benevolent individuals take over his mission, name the clinic after Dr. Sapir, and subsequently form the Kānun-e Kheyrkhāh [The Charity Club] to run the clinic. At the same time, the American Joint Distribution committee becomes aware of the Iranian Jewish community's plight and decides to send a representative to Iran for some relief efforts. An office is thus opened in Tehran, and a nurse and a doctor are sent to help run the Sapir clinic. Subsequently, the American Joint Distribution committee becomes increasingly active in Tehran and other cities around Iran. In this paper, Toubia provides a detailed discussion of the Joint's various activities in Iran, discussing some of the challenges that organization faced in trying to implement its various projects. 5 - "Iranian Jews and The Tudeh Party" by Iraj Farhoumand In this paper, Farhoumand - one of the high-ranking members of the Tudeh party, and himself a Jew - talks about the party's history and describes the gradual interest and increasing fascination of a generation of young Iranian Jews with the Tudeh agenda and ideology. During the course of the second World War, the Soviet Republic acquired a passing yet significant degree of political and military influence in Iran. As a result, various socialist and communist parties were formed in Iran, among them the Tudeh party (officially founded in 1942). At its inception, the party did not include the famous "Workers of the world unite!" slogan in its bylaws, and focused primarily on an ideological opposition to Nazism and Fascism; a stance that consequently attracted many Jewish intellectuals to the party. The Jewish intellectuals' sympathies for the Tudeh party were further fueled by the growing wave of anti-Semitism and sympathy toward Hitler in Iran at that time. In 1948/49, the Tudeh party began losing the support of many Iranian Jews, however, as it aligned itself with the Arab countries against the founding of the state of Israel. The final break between Iran's Jewish intellectuals and the Tudeh party came with the news about how intellectuals, and mostly Jewish intellectuals, were treated by the Communist party in the Soviet Union. Farhoumand's paper ends with a detailed account of the Tudeh party's downfall and the end of Iranian Jews' involvement with the party.
2)Tales from the Past: Memory Telling 1 - Mr. Abraham Yahid, who was recruited by British army intelligence to act as in informant in the event of a Nazi army invasion of Iran, recounts his memories and talks about some of his activities in this capacity. He also talks about some of his other missions for the British army. In the second half of memory telling, Mr. Yahid discusses some of his Zionist activities in Iran. He ends with discussions of his involvement in the Ghazvin Valley Development Project [tarh-e omrān-e dasht-e Ghazvin], which aimed at changing to area's irrigation and agricultural landscape. 2 - Ms. Talalt Hakim recounts a fundraiser concert to help build Sapir Hospital. 3- Mr. Jahanguir Banayan recounts anecdotes about the Kourosh soccer team, the events leading to its formation by a group of kids from Sar-e Chāl, and the team's first match with the Jam soccer team. He also shares his memories of Mirza Nurollah Hakim's missionary school called Madresseh-ye Nur-o Sedāghat, built in 1894 in Tehran. He recounts his memories of both Mirza Nurollah Hakim and Mirza Jalinus: two cousins from the well-known Hakim Eliahou family. Mr. Banayan then goes on to talk about how the Christian missionary school provided education, food, and clothing for poor children, while also actively promoting conversion to Christianity among these same kids and their respective families. 4 - Haj Haqnazar Khoshbakhsh, a pilgrim to Palestine circa 1900, kept a daily travel log of his journey from Isfahan to Jerusalem with a group of other Jewish Iranians. Experts of his journal are republished here post-mortem for the first time. 5 - Beman (Touba) Salimpour recounts her memories of wedding celebrations, discussing the rites and rituals involved in each of the various events leading up to the actual wedding itself. 6 - Haqnazar Mottahedeh provides a detailed genealogy of his ancester Yusef Yazdi and his extended family. 7 - Rabbi Shim‘on Khakshuri provides a detailed account of daily life in the Jewish community of Urumiyeh (Reza'iyeh). 8 - Houri Taleh (Aboudi) recounts a gathering ritual by women from Hamedan. English section: |