JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, the major faiths of the
Middle East predate the borders and conflicts
of today.
Perhaps nowhere does the resonance of antiquity
and the mandates of faith collide with politics
than in Iran.
That is particularly true within its Jewish
community, which has existed there for nearly
three millennia.
For many of the Jews of Iran, it is fair to
say, life is complicated.
Special correspondent Reza Sayah reports.
REZA SAYAH: At Abrishami Synagogue, worshipers
recite early morning prayers.
They remove the Torah from its ark to read
passages from Judaism's most sacred book.
Jews practice this ritual the world over every
day.
But this ceremony is taking place in the Islamic
Republic of Iran, a country that's a sworn
enemy of the state of Israel, but home to
what some estimates say is the second largest
Jewish population in the Middle East outside
of Israel.
Life for you as a Jew is good in Iran?
SIAMAK MORSADEGH, Iranian Jewish Lawmaker:
Yes.
REZA SAYAH: You're happy here?
SIAMAK MORSADEGH: If I wasn't happy, I can
immigrate.
REZA SAYAH: Siamak Morsadegh is a Jewish resident
of the capital, Tehran.
Inside his office, Moses is on one wall, Iran's
supreme leader on the other.
But you don't want to leave?
SIAMAK MORSADEGH: Everyone who wants to leave
can leave.
REZA SAYAH: But you don't want to leave?
SIAMAK MORSADEGH: I don't want.
I am living here.
And I want to live here.
REZA SAYAH: Twenty years ago, Morsadegh's
wife wanted the couple to move to America.
She left.
He stayed, choosing Iran's more conservative
culture.
So you gave up your wife to stay in Iran?
SIAMAK MORSADEGH: Yes.
Yes, it's very important for me.
I think that I cannot live without Iranian
culture.
I can't tolerate my wife to dress in bikini
in seaside, because I grew up in Iranian culture.
REZA SAYAH: Today, Morsadegh is an elected
member of Iran's Parliament, proof, he says,
that Jews here are a respected minority with
religious rights.
You say everything is fine for the Jewish
community is fine.
SIAMAK MORSADEGH: No, no.
No one can say that everything is fine.
REZA SAYAH: Well, you say most things are
fine.
SIAMAK MORSADEGH: Are improving.
REZA SAYAH: Improving.
Many people outside of Iran are going to remark
that you're not being completely truthful,
you're not being completely open.
How can you convince people?
SIAMAK MORSADEGH: I cannot convince a man
who don't want to understand our condition,
of course.
REZA SAYAH: Conditions for Jews in Iran have
seen many ups and downs.
Jews began settling in Iran in the 6th century
B.C., when Iran was the Persian Empire and
its king, Cyrus, freed Jews from Babylonian
captivity.
HOMAYOON SAMEYEH, President, Tehran Jewish
Committee (through translator): We have been
in Iran for 2,700 years.
REZA SAYAH: Homayoon Sameyeh is the president
of the Tehran Jewish Committee, a 700 year-old
organization that works on behalf of Iran's
Jews.
His office walls are lined with past generations
of Iran's Jewish leaders.
HOMAYOON SAMEYEH (through translator): Iranians
have given us a lot of good.
We are Iranians ourselves.
Sure, there are times when things happen.
But our community always stands strong and
demands our rights.
REZA SAYAH: Iran's Jews faced perhaps their
toughest challenge soon after the 1979 Islamic
Revolution.
Islamist revolutionaries linked many Jews
to the regime of the ousted shah of Iran.
They declared Israel an enemy of Islam.
Several Jews were arrested.
Habib Elghanian, a well-known Jewish businessman,
was executed.
HOMAYOON SAMEYEH (through translator): They
said Mr. Elghanian was a Zionist, but I still
don't believe that was the case.
He had big factory; 99 percent of his employees
were Muslims.
He invested 100 percent of his money back
into Iran, but he was still executed.
REZA SAYAH: Fearing for their safety, many
Jews left the country.
Sameyeh insists, today, Iran's Jews are safe
and respected again.
HOMAYOON SAMEYEH (through translator): In
the beginning of the revolution, there was
a lot of pressure on minorities, especially
for Jews.
There was immigration because people felt
insecure.
With time, things have improved.
Fortunately, right now in Iran, we have complete
freedom to carry out our religious duties.
REZA SAYAH: Today, an estimated 15,000 Jews
still live here.
Most are in the capital, Tehran.
There are five Jewish private schools here,
several kosher restaurants.
And Tehran's oldest charity hospital was founded
and is still run by Jews.
Tehran is a city with 13 synagogues.
Some were confiscated by the government after
the revolution.
Jewish leaders say when they sued to get them
back, Iran's Revolutionary Court ruled in
their favor.
Today, all 13 are open, with little or no
security measures in place.
Here's one of the most remarkable things about
this synagogue.
In a region where almost all synagogues are
protected with tight security, metal detectors,
even armed guards, the doors to this synagogue
are open.
Worshipers, or anyone else, for that matter,
can walk right in.
Manouchehr Behravan used to live in New York
City.
One thing he values in Iran, he says, is the
absence of anti-Semitism.
Have you ever experienced any violent acts
of anti-Semitism here in Iran?
MANOUCHEHR BEHRAVAN, Alpha Synagogue: No,
I feel safe.
I feel safer here than probably the United
States, because, in the United States, a lot
of people have access to guns.
REZA SAYAH: Three years ago, the government
of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recognized
Saturday as the Jewish Sabbath and a religious
holiday.
Parents have permission to stay home from
work, and children stay home from school.
For Yafa Mahgerefteh, it was a sign.
YAFA MAHGEREFTEH, Iranian Jew (through translator):
It showed that they acknowledge us and our
faith, because this is part of our religion.
Thank God they accepted it.
REZA SAYAH: Iran's Jews say they're also free
to travel to Israel, a trip the government
bans for all other citizens.
Not everything is perfect for Iran's Jews.
They're still kept away from senior government
and military positions.
Some are believed to be closely monitored
by Iran's intelligence agencies, and many
people question if they're openly expressing
their true feelings.
And they find themselves in a seemingly difficult
position.
They live in a country whose leaders are sworn
enemies of Israel, the homeland of their faith.
Iran doesn't recognize Israel as a legitimate
state.
Hard-liners still scream "Death to Israel"
at every Friday prayers.
And in international sporting events, Iran
bans its athletes from competing with Israelis,
who often end up winning by forfeit.
But Jews here say Iranian policy is strictly
against the Israeli government and its leader,
Benjamin Netanyahu, not Jews or Israeli people.
It's a policy many Jews here publicly support.
SIAMAK MORSADEGH: My decision about Israel
is the -- based on the Iranian national interest.
Everyone who is enemy of my country is enemy
of me.
REZA SAYAH: And you suggest that Israel is
an enemy of Iran?
SIAMAK MORSADEGH: If Israel behaves in such
manner that it's behaving until today, of
course is enemy of peace in our part of the
world.
REZA SAYAH: Jewish Committee leader Homayoon
Sameyeh denounces Israeli policies too.
HOMAYOON SAMEYEH (through translator): Unfortunately,
Mr. Netanyahu doesn't have the desire to improve
relations with the world or Iran.
REZA SAYAH: But he also rejects fellow Iranians
who chant "Death to Israel."
HOMAYOON SAMEYEH (through translator): It's
better to talk about life and peace in the
world, instead of wishing someone's death.
I hope God guides us in the right path.
REZA SAYAH: Many Jews here hope Tehran and
Tel Aviv will one day resolve their differences.
But, even if they do, home, they say, will
always be Iran.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Reza Sayah in
Tehran.
