2022/08/11 by Neda Bolourchi · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics #Islamic Studies and History #Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies
paper · doi:10.1080/02757206.2022.2096022
openalex publication_date 2022/08/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
‘Overlooked but Not Forgotten’ is the first work to examine the ‘Jewish Exemption Claim’. In doing so, this article asks two questions. One, is the Jewish Exemption Claim true: did the Islamic Republic exempt Iranian Jews from the ‘war fronts’ of the Iran-Iraq War (‘the War)’ from 1980 to 1986? Two, because a clear, definitive answer may be lacking, is there evidence that Jewish Iranians participated in the War at the war fronts as opposed to the home fronts? In addition to examining the original source of the Claim, ‘Overlooked but Not Forgotten’ analyzes the available empirical data. It also analyzes the digital archives of the Society of Tehran Jews, a civic organization that historically has played a role in Jewish Tehranis’ socio-cultural lives. The article also produces oral histories from Tehrani Jews who lived in Iran during the War. Ultimately, ‘Overlooked but Not Forgotten’ unsettles the Jewish Exemption Claim, helps undo exclusionist representations of how Jewish pasts are archived, narrated, and commemorated, and provides a foundation from which to further pursue research on the Claim.