Persian Jews

Persian Jews or Iranian Jews (Persian: یهودیان ایرانی‎‎) (Hebrew: יהודים פרסים‎) are Jews historically associated with Iran, traditionally known as Persia in Western sources.

Judaism is among the oldest religions practiced in Iran and the Biblical Book of Esther contains references to the experiences of the Jews in Persia. Jews have had a continuous presence in Iran since the time of Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire. Cyrus invaded Babylon and freed the Jews from Babylonian captivity. The history of immigrant Jews in Iran goes back more than 3000 years, during which time they were part of a society which included adherents of many other religions, such as Zoroastrians, Christians, etc.

Today, the vast majority of Persian Jews live in Israel and the United States, with a smaller community found in Canada. According to the most recent Iranian census, the remaining Jewish population of Iran is 8,756, while the number of crypto-Jews is unknown.

Terminology

Today the term Iranian Jews is mostly used to refer to Jews from the country of Iran. In various scholarly and historical texts, the term is used to refer to Jews who speak various Iranian languages. Iranian immigrants in Israel (nearly all of whom are Jewish) are referred to as Parsim (Hebrew: פרסים‎ meaning "Persians"). In Iran, Jews and Jewish people in general are referred to by four common terms: Kalīmī (Persian: کلیمی‎‎), which is considered the most proper term; Yahūdī (یهودی), which is less formal but correct; Israel (اسرائل) the term by which the Jews refer to themselves; and Johūd (جهود), a term having negative connotations and considered by many Jews as offensive.