Harmony rises from war-scarred Tehran synagogue
Iran’s cultural authorities pledged to restore a Tehran synagogue damaged during last year’s Israeli and US airstrikes on the capital, as officials, Jewish community figures and peace researchers convened at the site on Thursday for the cultural event ‘Harmony at Tehran’s Wounded Synagogue.’
Held at the Rafi-Nia Synagogue in central Tehran, the gathering brought together Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Minister Reza Salehi-Amiri, Iranian Peace Studies Association head Nematollah Fazeli, Jewish-Iranian cultural figure Shalmo Aghalian and members of Iran’s Jewish academic community.
Salehi-Amiri said the synagogue, damaged during the closing days of the last Iranian calendar year’s conflict, would be rebuilt “in a manner worthy” of Iran’s Jewish community and formally documented as a nationally registered historical event.
“We will submit its documents to international bodies so the world can see what the Iranian nation endured,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony.
The minister described Iran’s Jewish community as an “esteemed” and longstanding part of the country’s social fabric, saying Iranian Jews had “stood beside the nation in difficult times.”
He also proposed converting part of the restored synagogue into a museum and archival space preserving testimonies and documents related to the wartime damage.
The event showed Iran’s emphasis on interfaith coexistence and cultural continuity, with organizers framing the synagogue’s restoration as both a heritage project and a symbol of national solidarity.
Iran is home to one of the Middle East’s oldest Jewish communities, with active synagogues in Tehran, Isfahan and several other cities.