Number of Jews reaches 25,000 in Iran

The number of Jews in Iran has reached 25,000 making it the largest Jewish community in any country in the Middle East outside of Israel.

According to wire report from the Iranian capital Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has donated $170,000 to the country’s only Jewish hospital, his second such gesture since taking office. The official Iranian news agency has said that Rouhani has given the same amount from government funds as he did last year to the D Sapir charity hospital, established in 1942 in the capital, Tehran.

The donation is seen as part of Rouhani’s pledge to pay more attention to the country’s minorities.

It’s also in contrast to Rouhani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who prompted an international outcry by denying the Holocaust took place while also calling for the destruction of Israel.