Mahalleh or Ghetto?
I am writing this blog a little bit later than my actual going to this event, but thought that the information was still accurate and current!
On April 2 I went to a lecture called ‘Mahalleh or Ghetto? The Challenges of Writing a Jewish History of Iran’ led by Lior B. Sternfeld.
The topic of this lecture was basically about the prominence of Jews in Middle Eastern countries, specifically in Iran. To start with, the reason that I went to this lecture was because I am currently in an international studies class called Women & Gender Studies in the Middle East and I felt since I was truly enjoying this course, this lecture would provide even more insight to other types of demographics because “discriminated” against.
Sternfeld focused on the fact that when you try to do research on Jews of Iran, the Middle East, and many other countries– there is hardly any information in regards to Jews in Middle Eastern countries.
To be honest, I never even knew that there were Jewish people in Iran to begin with. I believe this shows the entire world’s false perceptions on what they expect and know about other countries.
Sternfeld’s research continued to show that Jews were discriminated in Iran and lived in a neighborhood that was referred to as the ‘ghetto’. I find this extremely demeaning to these people especially in a nation that is judged itself and looked down by many other nations around the world.
To learn that there were Jews in Iran and the fact that they are discriminated against was extremely enlightening because it was something that I had never known before.