To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (290509 ) 6/12/2006 3:31:33 AM From: tejek Read Replies (2) | Respond to Re: The Iranian is making very clear his preference......that he wants Jews AND the Israeli state out of the ME. If the Israelis refuse, then he would not be opposed to annihilating them. Its not by chance that Iranian Jews have been fleeing that country in recent years. At the time of the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, there were approximately 140,000-150,000 Jews living in Iran, the historical center of Persian Jewry. Over 85% have since migrated to either Israel or the United States. At the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, 80,000 still remained in Iran. From then on, Jewish emigration from Iran dramatically increased, as about 20,000 Jews left within several months after the Islamic Revolution.[19] On March 16, 1979, Habib Elghanian, the honorary leader of the Jewish community, was arrested on charges of "corruption", "contacts with Israel and Zionism", "friendship with the enemies of God", "warring with God and his emissaries", and "economic imperialism". He was tried by an Islamic revolutionary tribunal, sentenced to death, and executed on May 8.[19][22]. In mid- and late 1980s, the Jewish population of Iran was estimated at 20,000-30,000. The reports put the figure at around 35,000 in mid-1990s[23] and at less than 40,000 nowadays, with around 25,000 residing in Tehran. However, Iran's Jewish community still remains the largest in the Middle East outside of Israel. [13]"en.wikipedia.org
