Abrishami Synagogue

Abrishami Synagogue בית הכנסת אברישמי‎ كنيسهء ابريشمى
Abrishami Synagogue, Tehran, Iran
Religion
Affiliation	Orthodox Judaism
Status	In Use
Location
Location	Tehran Tehran, Iran
Geographic coordinates	35.7123201242255°N 51.403911162097046°E / 35.7123201242255; 51.403911162097046
Architecture
Style	Persian
Completed	1965
Capacity	500

Abrishami Synagogue (Persian: كنيسهء ابريشمى Kanise ye Abrishami, Hebrew: בית הכנסת אברישמי) is a synagogue in Tehran, Iran. It was built in September 1965 in the upper-middle-class neighborhood of Kakh Shomali (currently N. Palestine Street). The land on which the synagogue-school compound was built was granted by the Iranian Jewish philanthropist, Aghajan Abrishami and is 1,025 square meters (approximately 11,040 square feet) in size. A foundation was originally created by the name of Tzedek Cultural Foundation whose mission was to oversee the building and operations of the Abrishami Synagogue-School Compound. The founding members of the foundation were: Aghajan Abrishami, Nasser Akhtarzad, David Berukhim, Menashe Purat, Benjamin Shaban, Mehdi Musazadeh, Habib Lavi, (Hacham) Abdollah Netan Eli and Musa Nassir.

The foundation tablet of the Abrishami Synagogue-School Compound credits the members of the Tzedek Cultural Foundation with the vision to build the compound. The inscription on the brown section reads: "Memorial Tablet of the Abrishami Synagogue, Tehran, Iran." It was placed after the Islamic revolution of 1979 to cover the original inscription on the tablet which gave praises to the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi as was customary in public-use buildings built during his reign.

The compound consists of two floors. The first floor is a school and the second floor houses Abrishami Synagogue. The building was constructed in a modernist 1960s architectural style.

Abrishami Synagogue serves as the social and cultural center of the Jewish community of Tehran and is administered directly by the Chief Rabbinate. The Chief Rabbi of Iran, Yousef Hamadani Cohen died March 29, 2014.

See also

• History of the Jews in Iran
• List of synagogues in Iran