Report: Rohani gives $400,000 to Tehran's Jewish hospital
New York Times' Tehran bureau chief tweets that the Iranian president has made the donation to the institution, which also serves non-Jews.
Iran's President Hassan Rohani has reportedly donated $400,000 to
Tehran's Jewish hospital.
Thomas Erdbrink, the New York Times Bureau Chief in the Iranian capital,
tweeted the information Wednesday, citing the semi-official Mehr news agency. The Jewish hospital in Tehran also serves non-Jews,
he said.
Iran's Jewish community today numbers less than 30,000 Jews. Before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the community numbered nearer to 100,000. Still, it is the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside of Israel. Iran's Jews constitute one of the world's oldest Jewish communities, with historical roots reaching back 2,700 years.
In 2008, the country's Jews rejected an Israeli initiative to compel Iran's Jewish community to immigrate to Israel using cash incentives, calling the offer "inappropriate and politically immature."
Iran's leadership has generally not retaliated against Iranian Jews over tensions with Israel, in part because it likes to tout their presence as proof of the government's tolerance. The biggest exception to that was the trial in 2000 of 13 Iranian Jews on charges of spying for Israel.
Haaretz
