Review of Lior B. Sternfeld, Between Iran and Zion: Jewish histories of twentieth Century Iran. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2019. Pp.208

The long-term existence of the Jews in Iran since the conquest of Samaria by Sargon II (722–705 B.C.) influenced their traditions, culture, way of life, and religious traditions. As a result, Iranian Jewish history became culturally, politically, and socially part of Iranian history. The long-time existence of Iranian Jews in Iran and its legacy is at the center of the author's discussion on the development of the Iranian Jewish community in Iran in the early 20th century. The book focuses on a few specific events that affected Iranian Jewish history, and the geopolitics of Iran from 1941, with the Allied occupation of Iran during WWII, until the early 1980s. According to the author, these years were pivotal in transforming the community socially and politically, and the Iranian Jewish community developed an identity that was strongly affected by its Iranian historical roots.