Jews Around the World IRAN Sofia Peimani Jews

Jews Around the World IRAN Sofia Peimani

Jews Around the World Outline of this Curriculum: • School: Mainstream Jewish education system: Students have a basic background to Judaism. It is assumed that they have never studied about other Jewish culture in depth before. It is also assumed that they have basic Hebrew reading, translating, and basic mastery of necessary elements of language and grammar. • Grade: 3 rd- 5 th (upper elementary) [All girls ] • Subject: Judaic- Jewish history • Overall Goal: Expose students to different Jews around the word • - historical background: how they got there • - timeline • - Jewish life now • Travel through different continents…

Example lesson: Objective: expose students to Jews in Iran Objectives: Students will learn to: – – Locate Iran on a map List at least 3 important events that occurred to Iranian Jews Distinguish Persian Jewish music (Sephardic) Compare and contract Jews in Iran with Jews in U. S Introduction: – Dress up in “chador” (black garment)

Travel through Time on a Timeline • Use of technology: Popplet - Example: http: //popplet. com/app/index. php#/959327 (timeline, family tree)

Travel through Time on a Timeline • • • • Background 1. First Temple Period— 727 BCE to 597 BCE 2. Second Temple Period— 330 BCE to 70 CE 3. Parthian and Sassanid Periods— 3 rd Century BCE to 650 CE -Persian Jewish Queen Esther. 4. Early Islamic Period— 634 to 1255 -Jews were forced to wear special clothing as religious identification, a practice that ended in the late 19 th century. 5. Mongol Period— 1256 to 1318 A 6. Safavid and Qajar Dynasties— 1502 to 1925 -Subsequent laws created extreme hardships—economic, professional, and religious—for the Jewish community. In some cases, entire communities were forced to convert to Islam. The first Jewish school in Persia (for boys only), migration to Eretz Yisrael (then Ottoman-controlled Palestine). 7. Pahlavi Dynasty— 1925 to 1979 -On May 14, 1948 Iran was the second Muslim nation to recognize Israel as an independent state (Turkey was the first) and Israelis viewed Iran as a non-Arab ally on the rim of an unfriendly Arab world. Relations between Iran and the Jewish state of Israel were good, extending to trade and even joint military operations. 8. The Islamic Revolution of 1979 On January 16, 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini, took power and declared the nation to be the Islamic Republic of Iran. Approximately 85% of Iranian Jews emigrated from Iran to the West, primarily to Israel and the United States, in fear of repression and intolerance from the newly empowered Islamic led government. Iran and Israel’s relations: then and now

Iran: Geographical Location

Climate and Demographics • Population: 70’ 000 (2008) • Median age: 28 years • Major government income: Oil and Gas • Labor force : agriculture: 30% industry: 25% services: 45%

Islam and other religions Religions in Iran – Muslim 98% • Shi'a 89% • Sunni 9% – other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, …) 2%

The wrong picture…

Some pictures: Where I was born, Tehran

Some pictures: Historical sites • video: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=v 2 f. Dih. A 2 x. Ss • Burial place of Esther & Mordechai - Minute (2: 06 - 4: 45)

Iran & Jews • Around 30’ 000 Jews live in Iran (Second in middle east after Israel) • They can have their school and temples • Life for Jews in Iran today. . • - school • - food • - dress code

Women: Dress Code • compliance with Islamic Dress Code is enforced by law!

Living a double life 2007 Jerusalem Post interview • Rachel Betsalely responds (primary source) “…for us in Iran, it wasn’t our country. We weren’t allowed to be part of it. We had to live two lives to survive. So I don’t feel the same sense of attachment to Iran as others from more open countries might. For me, Israel is my only home. ”

Writing poetry • The various forms of Persian poetry • - • Older students can investigate the traditional form, the ghazal, which consists of an unlimited number of rhyming couplets (minimum of five couplets) with a specific rhyme scheme AA BA CA DA EA FA…. The last couplet usually includes the poet’s name. The form was used by the Persian poet Rumi and musically by more recent Jewish musicians such as Ravi Shankar. Younger students can express themselves in simple “diamante” form, a form with some set requirements, and many variations. Always the poem consists of seven lines: • Line 1: one-word topic (a noun) Line 2: two adjectives Line 3: three verbs Line 4: a four-word phrase Line 5: three verbs Line 6: two adjectives Line 7: one-word (noun) *To begin a bilingual poem combining Persian and English words,

Social studies Iran’s Political System

Music • Persian http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=a. SONt. D Jl 97 c • Morocco http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=l. TF 5_Da Zsw 8

Story Time • • • Some books… Some stories: - The expulsion of Jews from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition (1492) - The “Trail of Tears” relocation of members of the Cherokee and other Native American nations during the presidency of Andrew Jackson (1831– 1838) - The expulsion of Armenians from their homes in Turkey (1914) - Jewish refugees from Arab lands (1930 s– 1950 s) - Jewish refugees who survived World War II (1945) - Albanian refugees from war in Kosovo: (1998– 1999) - Refugees from the Partition of India and Pakistan (1939– 1947) - Arab and Jewish refugees (1948) - The struggles of the Hmong following the Viet Nam war - The Lost Boys of Sudan (1983– 2005) - Tutsis refugees from Rwanda (1994) - Syrian refugees fleeing into neighboring Turkey (present day) • • For Example: Esther’s children by: Houman Sarshar http: //www. homasarshar. com/cijoh/publication/About_Esthers. Children. htm

Art • Create a Chalk Rug • Rugs and carpets from Iran have been exported to most parts of the world. - Patterns are often symmetrical and a large medallion is featured in the center. - Carpets made by and for Jews frequently feature inherently Jewish motifs, including stars of David, menorahs, Torah crowns, and Hebrew writing • • • Material: sheets of large square graph paper Color pencils Chalk

Assessments • Many other types of differential learning projects that can allow all of the students to participate. • Writing ( Hebrew) • Jews around the world journal and write in it and journal their thoughts, h. w. , news paper articles • Exit cards: locate the country on a map, name 3 important figures that lives there. . • Example homework assignment: In your journals please write: (at least 1 page in Hebrew) - What are were some things that you found interesting about Iranian Jews? - What similarities or differences do you share with Jews in Iran? • Reading: current event presentations • Pen pal system with other Jews in the world • Curriculum assessment: • Unit project: At the end of the year there will be carnival!! (bring families) - students will need to present their own family culture and backgrounds. - research on where they have come from and how they got to America. - make presentations, family trees, bring in cultural music and food (Kosher supervision) • students can present everything that we have learned in the unit.

Recommended Videos about Iran • • • Rageh Inside Iran, (90 min, BBC 4 documentary) The Jews of Iran (8 min, Australian SBS) Daily Life (4 min, video clip) Skiing in Iran (13 min, documentary about skiing by a foreigner tourist) Beautiful Iran (4 min, Video clip) Nature (9 min, Iran nature) • Iran, historical Treasure (10 min, Iran history) • Maz Jobrani (5 min, Comedy standup about Iran!)