The Jews of Iran: Lesson Plans

Jews have lived in Iran for over 2,700 years, making this community one of the oldest in the Jewish diaspora. Over the course of nearly three millennia, Jews have witnessed, participated in, and undergone repeated political, social, and cultural transformations in Iran.

Teaching about the histories, cultures, and identities of Jews in Iran is a valuable ingredient in a vision of history and social studies education oriented towards multiculturalism and global citizenship.

“The Jews of Iran” is a film collection and lesson series produced by Project Mosaics, an education nonprofit whose mission is to expand the representation of Jewish people in classrooms through multimedia resources, curriculum, and professional development.

“The Jews of Iran” films feature seven leading historians and memoirists, who add intimate personal connections and emotional depth to the lesson plans. “The Jews of Iran” provides teachers with the resources they need to weave Jewish voices, perspectives, and experiences into ancient and modern world history and modern U.S. history courses.

Too often, Iran is flattened in classrooms, at the expense of the multiethnic, multireligious, and multilinguistic diversity found there. Including Jewish voices in the study of ancient and modern Iran is one way to add texture and dimension to Iranian studies.

The largest Iranian diaspora in the world is in Los Angeles. Including Iranian Jewish perspectives can add nuance to the study of migration and integration in American studies.

The Jews of Iran content provides intuitive extensions to themes and issues central to history and social studies education: resilience and resistance, marginalization and integration, cultural hybridity and cross-pollination, intra-group diversity, intergroup relations, revolution, nationalism, migration, and diaspora.