Yosef Hamadani Cohen

Yusef Hamadani Cohen (Persian: یوسف همدانی کهن‎ ;1916 – 29 March 2014) was the Chief Rabbi of Iran and spiritual leader for the Jewish community of Iran (Iranian Jews) between January 1994 and 2007.[1]

Chacham Yosef Hamadani Cohen
Personal
Born	1916
Died	March 29, 2014 Tehran, Iran
Religion	Judaism
Jewish leader
Predecessor	Uriel Davidi
Successor	Younes Hamami Lalehzar
Position	Chief Rabbi of Iran
Synagogue	Yusef Abad Synagogue
Began	1994
Ended	2006

In August 2000, Chief Rabbi Hamadani Cohen met with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami for the first time.[2] In 2003, Cohen and Member of Parliament Morris Motamed met with Khatami at Yusef Abad Synagogue which was the first time a President of Iran had visited a synagogue since the Islamic Revolution.[3] For the event, Cohen led the opening the Torah scroll ark and the reciting of prayers.[4]

Cohen died after a long illness on 29 March 2014 in Tehran over Shabbat.[5][6]

References

1. Iran: Kosher Info and Synagogues Kosher Delight
2. Khatami Meets Jewish leaders BBC
3. Report of Iranian President’s visit from Yousef-Abad Synagogue, Tehran Iran Jewish
4. President Khatami visits the main synagogue in Teheran on Tu B'shvat Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture
5. Newman, Marissa (30 March 2014). "Iranian chief rabbi Yousef Hamadani Cohen dies". Times of Israel. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
6. "Iran's Chief Rabbi Passed Away Over Shabbat". The Jewish Press. 30 March 2014.