Mideast’s largest Jewish population outside Israel finds new acceptance by officials

(25 Nov 2014) Iran is home to the largest population of Jews in the Middle East outside of Israel. For 3,000 years Jews have been living in Iran but tensions between Iran and Israel have in the past inflamed tensions. However, Iranian Jews celebrating pilgrimage say there is a greater acceptance from the new government of the moderate President Hassan Rouhani. This old synagogue in central Iran - built more than 100 years ago - is packed once a year with Iranian Jews, the biggest Jewish community in the Middle East outside Israel. Jewish families from various Iranian cities embark on a long pilgrimage to Yazd, 700 kilometres from Tehran, taking the bus or train to perform early morning prayers at Molla Aqa Baba Synagogue and pay tribute to the tomb of Harav Oursharga, a sacred rabbi. An old Torah is removed from a cupboard and a prayer leader recites lines to be repeated by the pilgrims. Pieces of cloth are draped over the book as a form of blessing and Jewish men carry it around