In the early 1950s, Tehran — particularly the Oudlajan area — grappled with widespread poverty within its Jewish community. Despite the many challenges, these families found comfort in the efforts of kind individuals who tirelessly helped to reduce their hardships, offering both material and spiritual support.
Among these individuals stood Dr. Aziza Beral, a highly educated woman holding a doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Tehran. With a dream to serve the illiterate and the less fortunate of her community, she founded the Women’s Hatef Organization.
She turned the Women’s Hatef Organization one of the most active and influential groups among the Iranian Jewish community. This organization was highly successful in charity work and well-known for its efficient organization. Thanks to her efforts, the institution was officially registered as a Jewish charity organization.
At the leadership, Hatef Organization had Dr. Beral, who exhibited boundless love for her fellow citizens, particularly the elderly members of the community. Even before the formal establishment of institutions like the National Fund of the Tehran Jewish Committee and the Elders’ Home, she tirelessly provided essential and valuable assistance to elderly Jews, ensuring they had access to basic necessities like food, medicine, and clothing.
Dr. Beral also held a firm belief in the potential of underprivileged yet talented students to pursue university education. With the support of her husband and sister, Ehteram, she took on the role of a social worker at the Roohi Shad School, which was also known as Darvazeh Dolat School.
In 1960, Dr. Beral collaborated with the Synagogue Council and the Roohi Shad School to organize a charity event in the Culture Hall, inviting Iranian Jewish families to contribute. The proceeding were used to repair and expand the Roohi Shad School, and a room was saved for Mrs. Beral for the use of the Hatef Charity Organization.
Soon, with the support of several eager philanthropic friends — including the generous Nikkhah (Mah Sultan) Elghanian, Mrs. Nehdar, and Tooba Soomekh — Dr. Baral swiftly established the Women’s Hatef Organization. This marked the beginning of their official charitable endeavors within the community.
Like a guardian angel, Dr. Aziza Beral devoted her life to selflessness and cultural advancement. As the founder and leader of the Hatef Women’s Organization, she became a pillar of support for numerous Iranian Jewish families in Tehran and its surroundings.
Hatef is an abbreviation of the organization’s banner, “هدایت افکار و ترویج فرهنگ” i.e. “Guidance of Thoughts and Cultural Promotion”. Dr. Beral tirelessly worked to provide educational opportunities and encourage children from impoverished backgrounds to pursue learning. At its core, Hatef aimed to ensure that financial barriers would not hinder the educational aspirations of young people.
In 1966, the Women’s Hatef Organization gained official recognition as a charitable entity in the Ministry of Interior with registration number 1113. Among Dr. Beral’s notable initiatives was organizing events and ceremonies to honor outstanding students from Iranian Jewish schools, fostering a sense of community among the youth. The funds raised from these gatherings primarily supported underprivileged individuals with education and marriage expenses.
This effort quickly caught the attention of many parents and educators, especially officials from the American Joint, who were keen to provide direct assistance. They even suggested covering up to 75% of the charity expenses.
Alongside gifts and prizes, a multitude of textbooks, notebooks, and other school essentials were provided free of charge to underprivileged students since that year. With help from the Beroukhim Institute, this support soon expanded to more than 25 Iranian Jewish schools. Later on, the Hatef organization’s aid also reached non-Iranian Jewish schools.
The American Joint suggested extending aid to university students, with the Joint taking on financial responsibilities. According to Hatef’s records, each year between 60 to 80 students received support for tuition fees or enrollment expenses, totaling 600 students overall. Moreover, a substantial number of illiterate individuals received loans on trust.
The Minister of Education, Farrokhroo Parsa, showed keen interest in boosting and broadening these initiatives. With backing from the ministry, these endeavors were set to reach beyond Jewish schools to encompass non-Jewish ones as well. Farrokhroo Parsa designated Dr. Aziza Baral to lead the Committee for the Education of Children with Special Needs in underprivileged regions, which was directly under her supervision.
Dr. Baral’s impactful and compassionate work earned her an invitation from the Capital Women’s Organization. She was to represent Jewish women, fostering broader collaborations. Later, in recognition of her decade-long volunteer service as a social worker at the railway kiosk, the Iranian Women’s Organization honored her with a letter of recognition. Hatef also became a member in the Legion of Humanitarian Servants (in Persian, Lejion-e Khedmatgozaran-e Bashar), supervised by Asadollah Alam, the Minister of Royal Court of Imperial State of Iran. This membership presented a significant and noteworthy opportunity for both the Iranian Jewish community and the organization.
During this period, the number of social workers in the Hatef organization increased. Some of them worked in the Oudlajan neighborhood on Gorgan Street under the name of the Hatef Council, diligently fulfilling their duties. Even students from other schools spent their internships collaborating with the Hatef Council in the Oudlajan neighborhood.
In 1985, with the assistance of Safi Ali Shah Publications (managed by Shafagh Hamedani), the Women’s Hatef Organization took steps to publish and distribute small Hebrew-to-Persian and Persian-to-Hebrew dictionaries. These dictionaries were provided free of charge to interested individuals. Later, a portion of these books was made available to the Jewish Agency for Israel for travelers and immigrants bound for Jerusalem.
Many community members believed that the greatest success of the Hatef organization lay in its direct and reciprocal collaboration, free from political maneuvering and organizational biases, with individuals and other segments of society.
Another notable activity of the Women’s Hatef Organization during Dr. Baral’s tenure was the establishment of an Elderly Home in 1963. Although the Iranian Jewish community initially did not embrace this initiative — only bringing the elderly there when they faced caregiving challenges at home or were entirely alone — it did not undermine the altruistic goals of this endeavor. Thus, facilities were provided to cover transportation costs and ensure access to transportation for the elderly and disabled individuals. Additionally, social workers from the Hatef organization provided weekly bathing services and attended to the cleanliness and hygiene needs of the elderly and disabled individuals in their homes.
Another notable innovation of hers was the meticulous compilation of statistics and the organization of files to assess the living conditions of needy and single-parent families. This initiative, undertaken in collaboration with the Hatef organization, the support of the American Joint, and in partnership with the Social Affairs Council affiliated with the Tehran Jewish Committee, marked a significant first in Iran. Typically, once a file was established, swift action was taken upon a family’s request for financial assistance, ensuring that necessary measures were promptly implemented.
Dr. Aziza Beral emerged as one of the most prominent and active Jewish women in Iran, bringing honor to the Hatef organization within the Iranian Jewish community.
Following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Dr. Aziza Beral left her homeland and migrated to the United States, against her own inclinations. This led to the dissolution of the organization’s structures.
List of the founders of the Hatef organization:
- Aziza Beral
- Mah Sultan (wife of Haj Habib Elghanian)
- Yafa Levi
- Soomekh
- Mahin Bina
- Ezat Banayan
- Maryam Mobseri
- Farrokh Al-Molook Sabzeroo
- Nehzat Beral
- Mahin Simino
- Eliane Talmud
- Eliane Elghanian
- Parvin Achdut
- Colette Elghanyan
- Shahnaz Achdut
- Shahnaz Sabzevar
- Parvin Ghanooni
- Jeanette Beral
Other members who later joined the Hatef organization for social activities:
- Nehedar
- Kardan
- Khoramian
- Yasharel
- Keshavar Hai
- Pari Rahimian
- Mostowfi
- Mehri Nazarian
- Forough Nazarian
- Navi
- Flora Rasekh
Furthermore, among the gentlemen who joined this group were Messrs Ghanooni and Hakimi.