Shmuel Hayyim (HE: שמואל חיים) (born 1891 - died 1931), also known as Shmuel Eshagh Effendi or Monsieur Hayyim, was a

Persian Jewish Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor s ...

journalist, leader of the Iranian Jewish community, a Zionist, and a member of the Majlis (Iranian Parliament).

Biography

Hayyim was born in

Kermanshah Kermanshah ( fa, کرمانشاه, Kermânšâh ), also known as Kermashan (; romanized: Kirmaşan), is the capital of Kermanshah Province, located from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 946,68 ...

. He studied in the

Alliance Israelite Universelle An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

schools in

and learned foreign languages. He was employed in the customs from 1914 and made good connections with the

British embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, excluding honorary consulates. The UK has one of the largest global networks of diplomatic missions. UK diplomatic missions to capitals of other Com ...

in Iran. He came to Tehran in 1920 and started working as a Journalist. He decided to start publishing a newspaper for the Iranian Jews called Ha-Hayyim. This newspaper was published between 1922 and 1925. Most of the newspaper was in Persian, but there were some Hebrew articles as well. Hayyim used the political power of his newspaper to encourage Jewish Iranians to fight politically. He wrote inflammatory articles criticizing the Iranian government for not giving Jews enough protection and not abolishing religious laws against Jews. Hayyim contacted the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

and asked for help for Iranian Jewry. He also used the newspaper to spread Zionism among

Iranian Jews Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor s ...

. These actions made many enemies for him inside and outside the government. He became a candidate for Iranian parliament in 1923 and won with a landslide victory. However,

Reza Khan , , spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort)Turan AmirsoleimaniEsmat Dowlatshahi , issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess ShamsMohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza Prin ...

did not like his political ambitions and he was arrested before the sixth parliament elections. His arrest led to his losing the election to Ayoub Loghman Nehourai. Subsequently, he was falsely charged with conspiracy to murder the

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

and attempting to overthrow the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

in favor of a republic - charges that were never substantiated, and later proven to have been instigated by his political rivals. He was tried in a military tribunal and condemned to death. He was held in prison for six years, and abruptly executed by firing squad in 1931.Great Britain and Reza Shah, Mohammad Gholi Majd, University Press of Florida, 2001, Page 168.

Biography

References

Further reading