TEL AVIV, Israel — Greeted by joyous relatives and a crowd of reporters, about 40 Iranian Jews landed in Israel on Tuesday, leaving behind their lives in the Islamic Republic for new homes in the Jewish state.
Family members screamed in delight and threw candy at the newcomers as they emerged into the airport reception hall.
“I feel so good,” said Yosef, 16. He and his brother Michael arrived with their parents and a sister and were greeted by their grandparents, who went to Israel six years ago.
“I just saw all of my family. You can’t put that into words,” Yosef said.
The brothers declined to give their family name to protect relatives still in Iran.
The new arrivals were sponsored by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a charity that funnels millions of dollars from evangelical donors each year.
Its founder, Rabbi Yehiel Eckstein, said by telephone from Chicago that each immigrant received $10,000 because they left behind all their possessions and “start in Israel with nothing.” Many said they were joining family already here.
Evangelical backers of Israel say they are following a biblical prophecy that creation of a Jewish state here is a step toward the Messianic Age. Some Israeli critics say their ultimate goal is to convert Jews to Christianity, which the evangelicals deny.
Michael, 15, said he told all his friends where he was going, and they wanted to come along.
“I was scared in Iran as a Jew,” he said.
No comment was available Tuesday from the Iranian government.
Iran’s Jewish community of about 25,000 people is protected by the country’s constitution and remains the largest in the Muslim Middle East. Synagogues, Jewish schools and stores operate openly in the capital, but Jews also report discrimination and increasing concerns about hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hostility toward Israel.
About 200 Iranian Jews arrived in Israel this year, more than any other year since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, said Michael Jankelowitz, spokesman for the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency, which deals with immigration.
In 2000, Iranian authorities arrested 10 Jews, convicted them of spying for Israel and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from four to 13 years. An appeals court later reduced their sentences under international pressure and eventually freed them.
