Iran Loomed Large: Being Iranian and Jewish Above Ground in New York

In the city of Mashhad, Jews lived “underground” from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. During the early years of the Pahlavi Dynasty, many Mashhadi Jews moved to Tehran. After World War II, most Mashhadi Jews left Iran with many making New York their new home.

In New York, Mashhadi Jews practiced Judaism openly in a way their ancestors had been unable to for generations. The community was misunderstood, sometimes held in suspicion by other Jewish communities in New York. However, the community began constructing support networks and institutions in New York, preserving their communal ties and memories of their experience as modern crypto-Jews. Despite their ambivalent relationship with Iran, many retained cultural and culinary connections to Iran, demonstrating the extent to which their identities were forged through cross-pollination, even while striving to preserve their Jewishness.

This lesson by Project Mosaics provides students with an opportunity to examine the experiences of Mashhadi Jews, after immigrating to New York and navigating the challenges and opportunities of adapting to and integrating within American society. During the lesson, students will reflect on their own experiences of being misunderstood or excluded. They will view the "Jewish Above Ground” film, featuring American-born Mashhadi Jewish memoirist Esther Amini. They will read excerpts from Esther’s memoir, Concealed, and participate in a discussion about the ways “walls” and “bridges” may be built between communities, even across different Jewish communities. They will also watch the “Iran Loomed Large” film, viewing through the lens of cultural cross-pollination while identifying tensions between value systems and the support systems Mashhadi Jews created for each other, followed by another reading from Concealed focused on these themes. The lesson culminates with students crafting their own vignette, emulating the personal storytelling of Esther Amini by focusing on the same themes she addresses.