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Iranian Jews

A banner shows a portrait of the slain Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a memorial for him and others who were killed in the US and Israel strikes, at Yousefabad Synagogue, in Tehran, Iran, on April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
April 17, 2026, 10:20 am
Reeling from war after synagogue wrecked, Iran’s Jews staying loyal to regime
Tehran synagogue said holding event Friday in honor of slain Iranians, as homes of some in small community suffer damage during weeks of US-Israeli strikes; Torah scrolls unharmed
By ToI Staff
Firemen and first responders work at the site of a strike that, according to a security official at the scene, destroyed half of a synagogue and nearby residential buildings in Tehran, Iran, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
April 7, 2026, 4:39 pm
IDF admits Tehran synagogue was ‘collateral damage’ in strike on Iran commander
Army says it regrets damage to Rafi Niya synagogue; video from site shows rescuers handling what looks like book of Hebrew scripture found in the rubble
By Emanuel Fabian and Zev Stub
Festival goers dance at the Nowruz spring equinox festival at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. (Jackie Hajdenberg via JTA)
March 31, 2026, 5:42 am
War with Iran casts a shadow as Persian Jews mark Nowruz in New York City
Iranians in the diaspora now have some tentative hope there could be change for the better in their homeland, while thousands of Jews still there are thought to be in new peril
By Jackie Hajdenberg
Pilgrims gather at the shrine of Imam Reza in the city of Mashhad, northeastern Iran, on October 1, 2023. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
March 27, 2026, 4:44 pm
187 years after deadly Iran pogrom, Mashhad crypto-Jews are focus of Jerusalem exhibit
Now at Israel’s National Library, display shows how the Jewish community of Iranian city outwardly acted as Muslims for over a century after a massacre on March 26, 1839
By Zev Stub
Sami Rahamim and his dog Bamba arrive at Ben Gurion airport, March 25, 2026 (Yonit Schiller)
March 25, 2026, 1:15 pm
Immigrating to Israel during war ‘closes a circle,’ Iranian-American Jew says
Sami Rahamim, whose parents left Shiraz in 1949, is one of 30 new citizens arriving Wednesday, despite travel restrictions
By Zev Stub
Iranian American influencer Zoya Biglary poses for photos in Los Angeles, on March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
March 17, 2026, 7:00 pm
Amid silence of Iran’s internet blackout, diaspora creators raise their voices
With reliable reporting scarce and misinformation prevalent, Iranian Americans try to inform their audiences, while sharing perspectives that often diverge from each other
By SAFIYAH RIDDLE
Iranian Jews hold an anti-Israel gathering at a Tehran Synagogue in support of Palestinians in Gaza on October 30, 2023, shortly after war between Israel and Hamas was sparked by the Hamas-led atrocities of October 7, 2023. (Atta Kenare / AFP)
March 15, 2026, 10:43 am
With Iran under US and Israeli attack, country’s Jews seek safety in silence
As US and Israel strike Islamic Republic, sources tell ToI that country’s Jews are ‘physically well’ but keeping a low profile to avoid regime’s eye; leaders warn against contact with Israel
By Nava Freiberg
Born and raised in Tehran, Roni Aynsaz, owner of the SCOOP shoe chain, worked in a court under the Revolutionary Guards before fleeing the country and moving to Israel. (Courtesy)
March 11, 2026, 8:48 am
In Tehran he fooled the regime, in Israel he built an empire. Now he prays for a new Iran
Roni Aynsaz posed as a Muslim to work inside a Revolutionary Guards court, secretly helping Jews, before fleeing to Israel where he founded the SCOOP shoe chain
By Rossella Tercatin
People chat slogans during a demonstration in support of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran on March 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP/Jill Connelly)
March 3, 2026, 8:33 pm
Iranian Jews in the US view war with hope, trepidation and dreams of a future visit
Director of Persian synagogue in Los Angeles says congregants praying for ‘freedom not only for the Iranian people but also the possibility of peace in the Middle East’
By Asaf Elia-Shalev
Iranian Jews, Bijan Barchorderi, a restaurant owner (left); and Isaac Simanian, a merchant, sell Persian specialties at the Levinsky Market in south Tel Aviv, January 22, 2026. (Sharon Wrobel/ The Times of Israel)
February 4, 2026, 8:40 am
Skirting bans, Iranian products from spices to salves find way to Israeli stores
Using 3rd-country loophole, merchants and restaurateurs at Tel Aviv spice market sell authentic goods from Islamic Republic, though closure of Turkey conduit sending prices skyward
By Sharon Wrobel
Iranian rabbis and Jewish community members attend an anti-Israel gathering in the wake of the October 7 Hamas-led massacre, in Tehran, Iran, October 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
January 27, 2026, 8:11 pm
Several of Iran’s Jews detained over protests, community says it’s a mistake — report
Community leaders are working to get detainees freed, sources tell Hebrew media, as Jews signal total loyalty to the regime, say they’ve stayed away from protests
By ToI Staff
Illustrative: The visitors' room at Evin Prison in Tehran, damaged on June 23, 2025, by Israeli airstrikes, seen on July 1, 2025. (AFP)
November 8, 2025, 3:06 am
Iran jails Jewish Iranian-American for visiting Israel for son’s bar mitzvah 13 years ago
Kamran Hekmati, 70, was detained earlier this year during brief trip; is held in notorious Evin prison; US calls for his immediate release and that of three other jailed Americans
By Grace Gilson
Illustrative: An anti-Israel cartoon mocking Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is displayed at Palestine Square in central Tehran on July, 13, 2025. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)
August 2, 2025, 10:34 pm
70-year-old Jewish man from New York said to be among four US citizens held by Iran
Iranian officials confirm to NYT that the unnamed detainee is one of two Americans taken into custody after Israel began strikes in June
By ToI Staff
An Iranian Jewish man prays at the Molla Agha Baba Synagogue in the city of Yazd, 420 miles south of capital Tehran, Iran, November 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
July 28, 2025, 11:45 am
2 US citizens among Jewish community members arrested in Iran – reports
The two men were visiting family when war with Israel broke out last month; efforts underway to secure their release, along with three local Jews also held
By ToI Staff and JTA
Two shoppers select items at a grocery store in the "Tehrangeles" neighborhood of Los Angeles, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
July 5, 2025, 8:31 pm
End of Israel-Iran war tests the harmony of LA’s huge, mixed-faith Iranian community
Fallout of the 12-day war has come to ‘Tehrangeles,’ the largest Iranian diaspora community in the world; ‘It’s been an emotional roller coaster,’ says one local
By DEEPA BHARATH
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