Before the Revolution

When Israelis lived in Tehran before the Iranian Revolution

Before the Iranian Revolution of 1979 overthrew the regime of the Shah, a close political and economic relationship between Iran and Israel allowed thousands of Israeli diplomats, engineers and businessmen to live and work in Tehran. Protected by large arms deals and complex financial partnerships between the two countries, the Israeli community in Iran enjoyed favourable economic conditions and a lifestyle marked by wealth, opportunity and social privilege.

At the time, this cooperation seemed natural within the geopolitical context of the region. Historical tensions between Persians and Arabs and networks of political power helped justify the alliance between the Persian government and the Israeli state. For many Israelis, Iran appeared to be a place of stability and prosperity.

Before the Revolution explores this little known chapter of Middle Eastern history through the voices of those who lived it. Many of them believed they had found a lasting home in what they later described as an Iranian paradise. Yet the political situation was changing rapidly. The corrupt and increasingly unpopular rule of the Shah was collapsing, and the growing revolutionary movement would soon transform the country.

Through interviews with members of the Israeli community who were forced to flee, and through extensive archival material including rare 8mm home movies and television footage from the 1960s and 1970s, directors Dan Shadur and Barak Heymann reconstruct the dramatic shift that turned privilege into fear. As the Islamist revolution gained strength, Israelis in Tehran suddenly became enemies of the people, caught in the middle of one of the first modern popular uprisings in the Middle East.