According to press reports, there were about 35,000 Jews in Iran in 1996, of whom about 25,000 were in Tehran. There were about 50 active synagogues in the country, of which 23 were located in Tehran; there were about 4,000 pupils in Jewish schools, where classes were held in Persian, as "officially teaching Hebrew remains ... a problem with the authorities" (DPA 8 Dec. 1996; IRNA 24 July 1996). However, an earlier AFP report stated that Jewish schools taught in Persian and Hebrew (12 Mar. 1996).

DPA refers to the head of the "Iranian Jewish Society" as Parviz Yashayaei, a film producer by profession (8 Dec. 1996). However, IRNA refers, in a 24 July 1996 dispatch, to Haroun Kalimi Yeshayaei, who is described as the head of the "Association of Iranian Jews."

The Jewish community is represented in Iran's parliament, the Majlis, by Manuchehr Ilyasi (Elyasi, Eliasi) (DPA 8 Dec. 1996; AFP 12 Mar. 1996, IRNA 4 July 1996), a medical doctor who was elected in March 1996, replacing Kuros Keyvani, "who was not running for a second term," as the Jewish deputy (AFP 12 Mar. 1996). One of Ilyasi's competitors was identified as Massud Portani, and the article stated that the field of Jewish candidates included "three engineers running from Tehran and the central cities of Shiraz and Esfahan" (ibid.).

A 9 March 1994 article in The Jerusalem Post reported that 77-year-old Feysullah Mechubad, described as "one of the leaders of the Iranian Jewish community" and "beadle (gabbai) in a Tehran synagogue," was executed on 25 February 1994. He had been arrested and accused of spying for Israel on 29 May 1992. Some time after his arrest the Iranian government informed the Jewish community that Mechubad would be released on receipt of a sum equivalent to almost two million dollars. The report states that the Jewish community raised money, but did not specify whether the community raised the entire sum demanded or gave it to the authorities. Mechubad was executed on the day that a Jewish settler killed several Muslim worshippers in a mosque in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. His body bore marks of severe torture. The report did not state whether there was any official statement connecting the execution to the Hebron massacre.

The Iranian company, Apadana, has posted a list of 18 Tehran synagogues on its Internet Website http://www.apadana.com Please see the attached text of the list for the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the synagogues.

Information on the arrest of persons charged with providing fraudulent documents to members of the Iranian Jewish community could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Agence France Presse (AFP). 12 March 1996. Abdallah Kassem. "Jews Turn Out in Force to Vote in Iranian Election." (NEXIS)

Apadana, Iran [Internet]. "Churches, Synagogues, Adrians." http://www.apadana.com:80/iran/minority.htm [Accessed on 9 Mar. 1998]

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). 8 December 1996. BC Cycle. Farshid Motahari. "Iranian Jews Voice Devotion to Iranian Homeland." (NEXIS)

Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) [Tehran, in English]. 1 October 1996. "Iranian Jews Condemn 'Killing of Muslim Worshippers' at Al-Aqsa Mosque." (BBC Summary 4 July [sic] 1996/NEXIS)

_____. 24 July 1996. "Iran: Iranian Jewish Leader Denies Poor Treatment [of] Jews." (FBIS-NES-96-144 24 Jul. 1996/WNC)

The Jerusalem Post. 9 March 1994. Batsheva Tsur. "Iranian Jew Tortured Before Execution." (NEXIS)

Apadana, Iran [Internet]. "Churches, Synagogues, Adrians." http://www.apadana.com:80/iran/minority.htm [Accessed on 9 Mar. 1998] Three pages.