Studies are conducted on the Jewish Sabbath and all Jewish pupils are obliged to attend. Tamuz, the only Jewish newspaper in Iran, was closed in 1991 because is criticized the confiscation of Jewish institutional buildings by the authorities. No other Jewish newspaper has been allowed since. All Jews are required to wear traditional Iranian garb and to follow the Iranian religious dress codes. Immigration from Iran is difficult for all citizens, especially for Jews, but some 1,000 succeed to steal the border or to escape by other means each year.
Telephone lines are tapped regularly, the mail is watched and other means of communication are few.
It is quite possible the growing economic stress under which Iran now finds itself lies at the bottom of recent animosity toward the Iranian Jews. Some have been pressed to buy their freedom by expansive bribes. The recent international public outcry has been subdued by the request of Iranian and Israeli Jewish officials, who believe that discussions conducted with a lower profile are more likely to help. But knocking on heaven's doors on behalf of these needy and frightened Jewish people is surely in place for all who know how to pray. This item appears with the permission of Human Rights Without Frontiers.