Iranian Jews
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (~300,000–350,000 (est.)) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Israel
|
200,000–250,000 |
 United States
|
60,000–80,000 |
 Iran
|
8,756–25,000 |
 Canada
|
1,000 |
 Australia
|
~740 |
| Languages | |
| Historically: Persian languages, Judeo-Persian languages, Judeo-Aramaic Modern: Hebrew, Persian, Azeri, English |
|
| Religion | |
| Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mountain Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Persians, Jews, Bukharan Jews, Kurdish Jews. | |
Persian Jews or Iranian Jews (Persian: یهودیان ایرانی, Hebrew: יהודים פרסים) are Jews historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor state is Iran.
Judaism is the second-oldest religion still practiced in Iran (after Zoroastrianism). 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 3,000 years, during which time they were part of a multiconfessional society which included adherents of several other religions.
Today, the vast majority of Persian Jews live in Israel and the United States, especially in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and on the North Shore of Long Island. According to the latest Iranian census, the remaining Jewish population of Iran was 8,756 in 2012, while the number of crypto-Jews is unknown.
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.
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