Iran's Jews Snub Israel's Offer of Cash for Emigration

Offers were for $10,000 a person
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 13, 2007 5:07 PM CDT
Iran's Jews Snub Israel's Offer of Cash for Emigration
A young girls stands after disembarking from a Nefesh B'Nefesh flight after arriving on a flight from New York City, in Tel Aviv, Israel, early Tuesday, July 10, 2007. The flight brought 220 American and Canadian Jews to Israel as part of a program by Nefesh B'Nesh, an organization that promotes immigration...   (Associated Press)

Iran's Jews collectively rebuffed a $10K-per-person cash offer from Israel seeking their emigration, extended by a group of wealthy expats. "The identity of Iranian Jews is not tradable for any amount of money," says the spokesman for the country's Jews.

Iran's Jewish community has been decimated since the revolution, but at 25,000 is still the largest Middle Eastern population outside of Israel. Jews have lived in Iran since at least 700 BCE, although the present government's enmity towards Israel means that they are often treated with distrust and hostility. (More Iran stories.)

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