Rabbi Yousef Hamedani Cohan, a former leader of the Iranian Jewry, passed away on March 29 at the age of 100.
IRNA reports that Siamak Mareh Sedgh, the representative in Parliament for Iranian Jews, announced the passing of the senior religious leader, saying: “Rabbi Yousef Hamedani Cohan was a veteran member of the Jewish clergy who retired about eight years ago due to complications from Alzheimer’s.”
Rabbi Hamedani Cohan, who led Iranian Jews from 1994 to 2007, was laid to rest yesterday.
According to AFP, prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, between 80,000 and 100,000 Jews lived in Iran, but in 2011 only 8,756 Jews were said to remain, based mostly in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz.
Iranian Jews are officially regarded as a minority religion in Iran and have one representative in the Iranian Parliament.
