Establishment and Expansion

Establishment

As new residents migrated towards Jannat Gate, Mr. Musa Nasrollahian took the initiative to establish a synagogue in the Adlieh Alley of Mashhad, within the residence of Mr. Abdolkarim Karmeli. Later, the community decided to rent and renovate a house owned by a Muslim cleric located at the end of the alley where they resided, in the Mostofi Alley on Jannat Street. This house was eventually purchased by the Levi family a few years later.

First acquisition

Behind this house was another property with its entrance facing a different alley, owned by a corrupt family. The community was determined to acquire this property by any means necessary to expand the synagogue premises. According to Mr. Abdolrahim Zar and Mr. Farajollah Levian, the second courtyard of the Levis Synagogue in Jannat was purchased with the efforts of Messrs. Nematollah Nematzadeh, the late Haj Agha Amrami, and Nurollah Lord (also known as Nemat Nejad). The religious leader and treasurer of this synagogue was the late Mullah Yosef Zar. After his migration to Tehran, Mr. Mullah Abraham Ghasab and Mr. Nazar Mangi assumed responsibility for its administration.

Deed transferal

The deed and documents for this courtyard were transferred from its owners, Messrs. Nematzadeh and Amrami, to the name of the Khorasan Association, donating its ownership to the association.

Acquisition of Adjacent Property and Expansion

In October 1998, Mr. Nematollah Nematzadeh recounted the story of acquiring the adjacent property:

“About fifty years ago, at a gathering, the late Nurollah Lard (Nemat Nejad) suggested to me, ‘Nemat, bro, I have a mitzvah for you. How about you purchase the house behind the Levis Synagogue on Jahanbani Street? The one owned by those shady characters. You could donate it to the synagogue.’ I replied, ‘If you’re in too, I’ll talk to my partner, Haj Agha Amrami, and the three of us can buy the house.’

The late Haj Agha Amrami immediately agreed, and within a few days, the late Mr. Nurollah Nemat Nejad finalized the deal. The three of us went to the notary’s office and purchased the house. With the agreement of the Levis, we removed the wall between the house and the Synagogue after renovations, merging them into a single structure.”

Attempted Sale

Mr. Nematzadeh continued:

“Fifteen years later, during one of our business trips to Mashhad, a man named Khalesi, a notary public and real estate agent, approached them on Arg Street and said, “Gentlemen, I have a buyer for your property on Jahanbani Street. This property has a 100-foot frontage on Jahanbani Street, and a car company needs this location to set up a showroom and is willing to pay a price several times the purchase price for this house. I told him that this property does not belong to us but is a charitable endowment and belongs to the synagogue of our community. Our community has an association and organization, and the authority over these properties lies with the officials of the Mashhadi Association in Tehran.

Immediately upon returning to Tehran, along with Haj Agha Amrami, we approached Messrs. Abdolrahim Etesami and Abdolrahim Zar, who were in charge of the association’s affairs, and stated that we were willing to transfer two-thirds of this property, which belonged to us, to the Mashhadi Association. Mr. Farajollah Levian, who had power of attorney from the late Nurollah Lard, joined them at the notary’s office, and together they registered the entire six sections of this house to the Khorasan Association. In Iran, each property deed was typically divided into six sections.”

This synagogue remains the only synagogue of the Mashhadi community still standing in the vicinity of Jannat Gate in Mashhad.

The Yosefzadeh Synagogue

Another synagogue was established on Mostofi Alley in Jannat Street with the efforts of Mr. Abdolsamad Yosefzadeh and his sons. They purchased a house with a large hall and dedicated it as a synagogue. This synagogue was named the Yosefzadeh Synagogue. The leader and treasurer were Mullah Ali Naghi Basal Rahimov and Mullah Yoel Bukharai. The late Mr. Elias Kashi was also one of the elders and rabbis of the synagogue, and the late Mr. Musa Rafi’i also served as treasurer. The administrative affairs of the synagogue were managed by Mr. Yosef Agha Yosefzadeh and Mr. Rahmatollah Rahmanan themselves.