Esfahan , Iran ( CNN ) If you 're looking for the Jewish community in the Iranian town of Esfahan , you wo n't have to search for long . The main synagogue is on Palestine Square , right in the heart of Iran 's third largest city . There are public prayers several times a day -- sometimes with more than a hundred people in attendance . The Jewish community in Iran does not hide its heritage . At the synagogue , Michael Malakon leads the prayer service . He says he is proud of his Jewish identity . And even in a country that is so hostile towards Israel , Malakon says he can practice freely and that he has many Muslim friends . `` I hang around with all kinds of young people and I have a lot of Muslim friends , '' Malakon tells CNN after finishing the noon prayer on a Monday . About 20 people were in attendance , usually from local businesses around the synagogue . None of them tried to hide the fact that they were Jewish -- and inside the synagogue the Star of David is proudly displayed in many places , alongside passages from the Torah . There have been Jews in Iran for more than 2,500 years . Many left the country after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 that brought Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power . Khomeini said Iran wanted to destroy Israel , but he also issued a fatwa , a religious decree , saying that Iranian Jews were different to those in Israel and should be considered an integral part of the Islamic Republic . Sion Mahgrefte is the head of the Jewish community in Esfahan . He declined to comment directly on political matters , especially in the current heated environment , but he did say that the members of his community felt very much at home in Iran . `` Israel and Iran are countries , '' he said . `` And we consider ourselves Iranian Jews , not Israeli Jews . So the hostilities between Israel and Iran do not affect us . '' There is even a Jewish representative in Iran 's parliament . And aside from the vibrant Jewish community in Esfahan -- there are 13 synagogues in the city -- there are also several Orthodox Cathedrals representing a sizable Christian community . Most of Esfahan 's Jews are business people . In the center of town there is a shopping mall , known to people here as the `` Jewish Passage '' because so many businesses are Jewish-owned . When our crew arrived there they found Muslim and Jewish shop owners joking around . One of them is Said Shemyon , who owns a clothing store . His friends call him `` Mordechai , '' and he showed us some Hebrew prayer books he always keeps in the store . Like most others , Shemyon was not keen to talk about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's recent address to U.S. Congress , or the problems between Israel and Iran . He says those politics have no place here . `` We just want peace , '' he said . `` We really hope that all these problems can be solved one day , God willing . We are just hoping for unity and peace . '' There are about 1,500 Jews in Esfahan these days . The community 's leaders conduct religious studies for the younger members of the congregation . While Sion Mahgrefte is adamant that they have no problems with their Shia neighbors , he does acknowledge that friends living abroad often worry about them . `` Of course sometimes people we know who live in Israel or elsewhere are very concerned about us , and they tell us we are crazy to live here , '' he says . `` But then we tell them how things are and they calm down . ''
Iranian have been living in Iran for more than 2,500 years . 1,500 Iranian call Esfahan home despite tensions between Iran and Israel . Community leader : `` Israel and Iran are countries , and we consider ourselves Jews Iranian ''