Trapped Minority
Captivating photo exhibit of Iran's Jews marks 15 years of TAU's Alliance Center for Iranian Studies
Iranian prominent photographer, filmmaker and TV producer Hasan Sarbakhshian started documenting Iran's Jewish community at the start of the century, when his wife discovered she had Jewish roots. This personal journey turned into a years-long trek through the Islamic Republic. As they dug deeper into this intriguing group which lives under a radical Muslim regime, the couple suspected they were being followed by the authorities. Sarbakhshian and his family fled Iran and live in Prague.
The result of Sarbakhshian’s work is a beautiful and haunting photo collection, exploring the precarious status of Iran's Jews. An exhibition of the photos, entitled "Trapped Minority," was planned in celebration of the 15th anniversary of TAU's Alliance Center for Iranian Studies, but was postponed because of COVID-19. In the meantime, a sampling of the exhibit is featured here. Read more about the Alliance Center's important role in the TAU Review article, Enemies: A Love Story.
Isfahan and Tehran synagogues, 2007
Jewish Iranians demonstrate in support of Gaza during an escalation of Israeli-Palestinian violence outside of the UN office, Tehran, December 2008, and A Jewish school for girls in Shiraz, February 2008
Jewish cemeteris in Pir Khaneh and Isfahan, 2007
