Born | Iran, 1978; fled with his family as a young child after the revolution |
Today | Journalist, commentator, and attorney in Los Angeles |
Expertise | Iranian Jewish history, the Iranian American community, human rights in Iran |
Speaks to | Synagogues, community groups, schools, and audiences across the U.S. and Canada |
Languages | English and Farsi |
Website | |
Karmel Melamed is an award winning, internationally published journalist, activist, and attorney based in Los Angeles. He was born in Iran in 1978 and fled with his family as a young child after the Iranian Revolution, arriving in the United States as refugees. Fluent in Farsi, he has worked as a journalist since 2000, reporting on the Iranian Jewish community in the United States, Iranian Americans, and the wider Middle East.
His articles have appeared in The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, The Jerusalem Post, JTA, The Forward, Tablet, Israel Hayom, and JNS, and he writes a commentary blog for The Times of Israel. In 2004 he conducted a rare U.S. interview with Farah Pahlavi, Iran's former empress. He has also been a guest on Farsi language radio and has consulted for journalists at NPR, CNN, CBS News, and the Los Angeles Times.
As a member of JIMENA's Speakers Bureau, Karmel speaks about the history and contributions of Iranian Jews, the experiences of religious minorities in Iran, and why Iranian Jewish history belongs in ethnic studies classrooms. He has spoken for the American Sephardi Federation, The Media Line, synagogues, and community groups across the United States and Canada, bringing a reporter's eye and a refugee family's memory to every talk.
Speaking Topics
What Karmel talks about
1. How Iran's Jews Flourished, 1925 to 1979
Jewish contributions to modern Iran before the 1979 revolution.
2. Jewish Life in Iran Today
What daily life is like for the Jews who remain in Iran.
3. Iranian Jews in Los Angeles
How Iranian Jewish refugees built one of America's most vibrant Jewish communities.
4. Iranian Jewish History in the Classroom
Why Iranian Jewish experiences belong in ethnic studies and world history.
5. Human Rights and Religious Minorities in Iran
The situation of minorities, women, journalists, and artists under the Islamic Republic.
Select Talks
Selected talks and appearances
2023 | American Sephardi Federation, live on Zoom: 1925 to 1979, How Iran's Jews Flourished and Helped Iran Prosper (January 23) |
2020 | The Media Line, cosponsored by JIMENA: Lifting the Veil on Jewish Life in Iran, online (June 9) |
2019 | Congregation Kol Ami, West Hollywood: Shabbat guest speaker on the status of Iran's Jews (November 15) |
2014 | JIMENA panel Faith Beyond Borders, Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, San Francisco (May 27) |
2004 | Interview with former Empress Farah Pahlavi |
These are a selection of Karmel’s talks. Karmel has given many more, at synagogues, Jewish heritage organizations, and online programs in California and New York.
Publications and Media
Read, watch, and listen
Article
Remembering Iranian Jewish martyr Arvin Ghahramani
Commentary on The Times of Israel blogs, November 2025. Read in The Times of Israel
Article
Why does State of California Ignore Iranian Jewish history?
A 2020 Times of Israel blog post on Iranian Jewish history and California's ethnic studies curriculum. Read in The Times of Israel
Article
A Reply To 'Reading Megillah in Tehran'
A 2014 Tablet Magazine essay on religious freedom for Jews in Iran. Read in Tablet
Article
COVID-19 exposes the Iranian regime's true face
A March 2020 opinion piece in Israel Hayom. Read in Israel Hayom
Affiliations
Organizations
- JIMENA Speakers Bureau
- The Times of Israel (blogger)
- Jewish News Syndicate (contributor)
- The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles (contributor)
Book Karmel
Bring this speaker to your audience
To invite Karmel Melamed to your school, university, congregation, or organization, use the Book Speaker button above or email info@jimena.org.