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The Pahlavi Era as a Golden Age for Jewish Political Activism in Iran
Abstract
Historiography maintains that the Pahlavi period, and especially the era of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in power was a golden age for religious minorities. No doubt that to great extent this is true. Minorities were granted freedoms and rights that had not been shared with them before. However, the period of MR Pahlavi was characterized more by the frequent violations of human rights rather than promoting minorities’ rights. The Iranian regime halted any attempt to oppose the monarchy, promote democracy or protest the poor condition of human and political rights in the country. Under these circumstances, we see two generation of Jewish political activism that were not supportive of the Shah and his grandiose projects for the country and his people. In 1941 because of a political vacuum created by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran and the subsequent overthrow of Reza Shah (r. 1925-1941), the Communist Party was allowed to re-organized and immediately drew scores of minority activists; partly as an antidote to anti-Semitism and xenophobic discourse promoted by Nazi propaganda. In a short time, Jewish activists and intellectuals had become leading figures in that nascent political force. In the 1950s with the emergence of the National Front, prominent Jewish leaders, and thinkers aligned themselves with that camp and actively encouraged the Jewish communities to take part in supporting the National Front. Lastly, leading toward the 1979 Revolution, a group of Jewish ex-communist activists employed Jewish teachings and radical politics to mobilize the Jewish communities of Iran in support of the Iranian revolution. In all the events mentioned above, Jews were over-represented. This paper argues that leveling the conditions and rights of the Jews allowed them to see the majority’s plea for democracy and rights as their own, thus giving up on fighting for sectarian rights and privileges.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
Iran
Sub Area
19th-21st Centuries