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The Revolution’s Forgotten Sons: The Islamic Revolution and the Jewish Community
Abstract
The 1979 revolution in Iran was one of the most popular revolutions of the twentieth century. It was supported by all the classes of the Iranian society, and crossed social strata, positions, and religious affiliations. A lot is known about the participation of different parts, such as students, urban professional, religious leaders, bazaris, leftists, Armenians (as a group), yet little is known about the participation of Jews in the revolutionary movements. This article sheds light on a little-known story in the life of the Jewish Iranian community. This paper seeks to tell the story of different segments of the Jewish community during the tremulous years of the “Islamic Revolution”. While not much has been written about other minorities’ activities during the Islamic Revolution, much less so has been written about the activities of the Jewish community. This paper is not attempting to overturn the meta-narrative regarding the Iranian Jewry; rather it seeks to reveal an angle that was overlooked until now. This paper examines two main arenas in which the Jews facilitated the revolution: the Society of Jewish Iranian Intellectuals, and Sapir Charity Hospital in Tehran, by using different kinds of sources, varied from oral history, to official documents, and personal archives of partakers. This paper seeks to bring back the minorities contribution to the most important national revolution in Iran. The research is based on Interviews conducted with key figures, official documents and personal archives, and different press sources.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
Iran
Sub Area
19th-21st Centuries