The Jews of Iraq [1 ed.] 9783832591298, 9783832544836

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Arabische Welt - Arab World Edited by Rudiger ¨ Lohlker

Volume 4

Alisa Douer

The Jews of Iraq

λογος

Arabische Welt - Arab World

Band 4

Arabische Welt - Arab World Band 4

Herausgegeben von Rudiger ¨ Lohlker

Alisa Douer

The Jews of Iraq

Logos Verlag Berlin

λογος

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Bibliothek Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de.

Cover: Ezra’s tomb old view, Iraq. Created by De Bar after Lejean, published on Le Tour du Monde, Paris, 1867 c Can Stock Photo / marzolino Foto:

c Copyright Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH 2017

All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-3-8325-4483-6 ISSN 2199-4013

Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH Comeniushof, Gubener Str. 47, 10243 Berlin Tel.: +49 (0)30 / 42 85 10 90 Fax: +49 (0)30 / 42 85 10 92 http://www.logos-verlag.de

A Note of Thanks

I am grateful to Professor Rdiger Lohlker, who stood by my side with observant counsel writing this book. I thank the scientists who have written about the Middle East and its long history, especially about Iraq and its volatile history, affording me a good overview of the subject. Special thanks go as well to the Israeli writers of Iraqi origin or descendent who live mostly in Israel and are an integral and important share of Israeli Literture as to newspaper Haaretz and its journalists for their contributions and open-mindedness - a unique attitude in the Middle East. Dedicated to the Jews of Iraq

Introduction Iraq - Land of tow streams Iraq exists under this name and within today’s borders officially only since 1932, when it got its independency through a United Nation general assembly resolution. Before it was named Iraq, the region in general, not necessarily within today’s borders, had many other names with thousands of years passing like Mesopotamia, Babylon, Assyria (in the north) Parthia and others, and the geographical borders differ in all directions within the time in which this book begins, which is the Jewish exile to Babylon by Nebuchadnetzer after he destroyed Jerusalem and sent the Jews into Diaspora in Babylon in 586 BC. Iraq of today dose not include the mentioned regions completely.1 For reasons of convenience, the term Iraq will be used throughout the book to designate the territory of modern Iraq as well as for periods prior to the establishment of the state of Iraq in 1932, as the name can not be changed all the time telling the history of this country / Region. The “Fertile Crescent” which included Egypt, Palestine / Eretz-Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and South East Turkey, is considered in the western historiography to be the “birth of human civilization” and includes Mesopotamia and the Levant. Arabian has many meanings. Some would understand a geographical region, some rather a unity of languages, others would see in it a danger and a threat to the western world, some see it as the cradle of Fables, myth and fairy tales like in ‘Thousand and one night’. All this images, and many more, have one thing in common: the idea of a united region, which it is not, as we understand after giving a careful look to it: there are different people, languages, religions, minorities and countries. The region changed in the last few thousand years, as people came from different parts of the world, and many different regimes occupied the region; its population, its religions, its languages and more underwent a process of changes. The one-God religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam were invented there and were than spread all over the world. In 1948, after the declaration of the independent stat of Israel, five Arab countries: Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq attacked Israel and the war, which is called in Israel: ‘The war of independent’ started, as the Arab countries did not accept the ‘division plan’ of Palestine by the UN General assembly into a Jewish and an Arab country which was decided 1

Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 10, p. 14-15.

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by the UN vote of November 29th 1947. Iraq participated in the fights against Israel. Iraq wanted not only to be part of the Arab world after the Arab League was founded in Egypt in 1945, but it wanted also to play a role as an important member of the league by strengthening its position against Israel, which is, since the beginning in 1945, almost the only issue that is agreed by the Arab countries. On the basis of the story of the Jewish Community of Iraq, we can realize in a way, the relationships of all communities and minorities of the country to each other, since this geographical part of the world was, and still is, the place of many minorities; there was never a people which have “always” been there (like in Egypt f.e.). At the beginning of building an Arabic nationalism, many other minorities were involved and participated to a large extention like Berber, Christians, Jews, Kurds, Yesides and others; a division between Arabs and non Arabs did not exist for many centuries. Another thing was that many members of the minorities became part of the colonial elite, belonged to the Arabic rising nationalism and were accepted as such. The British Colonial power ruling the country since 1917 had to leave the region as a result of the creation of all independent nations. Obviously, time of colonialism was over. One of the intension of this reserch is to show the long history of Jews in Iraq, which lasted for more than 2,500 years, their integrity and their contribution to the society. We should not forget also that they did not leave their home – country voluntarily, but were forced to leave after the creation of Israel in 1948, as it happened in the entire Arab world. I would like to show that this Jewish history was not only a foot note of world history but it is, in many ways, an exemplarian part of the history of the middle east. I would also like to remind of a Jewish part of the Arab world which used to be the home of many ethnic and religious minorities that lived more or less in a peaceful coexistence. But than came the expulsion of the Jews from the place which used to be their home for more than 2.600 years, and this loss narrowed the variety of Iraq and brought with it a big loss for the country. It was a big los in culture like Music or Literature, the inventors were gone, the economy and the trade deteriorated. I put my finger on the discrimination that the Jews of Iraq - like all Jews of the Arab countries - which were Sephardic Jews, had to suffer in their new home – Israel, after being expulsed from their homeland; they were not a real accepted minority, as many of the Jews of Israel were Ashkenazim – European Jews – which discriminated everybody that did not belong to their schema of culture, education, or manners, and yet their integration was a success.

2

And last but not least, more than twenty percent of the Israeli writers are of Iraqi origin. My assumption is that it is because writing was always an Iraqi tradition which included many Jewish writers.

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Table of contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 Table of contents .................................................................................................................. 4 Time Table ............................................................................................................................ 10 History .................................................................................................................................... 12 Ancient Time ........................................................................................................................ 12 The Name ............................................................................................................................... 12 Location ................................................................................................................................. 13 Designation ........................................................................................................................... 14 Geography ............................................................................................................................. 15 Country of Asia .................................................................................................................... 15 Kurdistan ............................................................................................................................... 16 Erbil ......................................................................................................................................... 18 Ancient history of Erbil ..................................................................................................... 19 History of the Jews in Kurdistan .................................................................................... 20 Medieval history of Erbil .................................................................................................. 20 Modern history of Erbil .................................................................................................... 21 Kurdish Jews in modern times ....................................................................................... 21 Kirkuk ..................................................................................................................................... 22 Mesopotamia Geography ................................................................................................. 24 Mesopotamia ancient history ......................................................................................... 25 Writings of Mesopotamia ................................................................................................. 26 Sumer ...................................................................................................................................... 27 Babylonian history ............................................................................................................. 28 Biblical history .................................................................................................................... 29 Biblical Babylon .................................................................................................................. 30 The Assyrian ......................................................................................................................... 31 The Jewish exile to Babylon ............................................................................................ 32 Jews of Babylon ................................................................................................................... 33

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Archeological excarvations ((Greek Period and before)) ................................... 34 Mosul, Ninveh ....................................................................................................................... 35 The Specificity of Mosul .................................................................................................... 36 Statistics ................................................................................................................................. 38 Alexander the great ........................................................................................................... 38 Parthian period ................................................................................................................... 39 Jews in the Sassanid period ............................................................................................. 40 Jews of Babylon ................................................................................................................... 41 Jews out of the cities .......................................................................................................... 42 Judaism - the first One God Religion ............................................................................ 43 Babylonia as center of Judaism ...................................................................................... 43 Academies of Babylon ....................................................................................................... 44 Nehardea, Sura, Pumbedita ............................................................................................. 44 Nehardea ............................................................................................................................... 46 Sura ......................................................................................................................................... 47 Pumbedita ............................................................................................................................. 47 The title Gaon and the Geonic period .......................................................................... 49 The Geonim ........................................................................................................................... 49 Geonim and the Academies ............................................................................................. 50 Appointment as Gaon ........................................................................................................ 51 The Babylonian Talmud / Talmud Bavli .................................................................... 52 The structure of the Talmud ........................................................................................... 54 Sassanid period ................................................................................................................... 55 Arab conquest and early Islamic period ..................................................................... 55 Basra ....................................................................................................................................... 56 Theosophists in Basra ....................................................................................................... 58 The Farhud in Basra, 1941 .............................................................................................. 58 Anti-Jewish and anti-Zionism in Basra ........................................................................ 59 Non-Muslim population of Basra .................................................................................. 60 Islamic period and the Jews ............................................................................................ 61 The Umayyads ..................................................................................................................... 62 The Umayyads and the Jews ........................................................................................... 62

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The Abbasid Caliphate ...................................................................................................... 63 Baghdad ................................................................................................................................. 65 Jews of Baghdad .................................................................................................................. 67 1258- the ruin of Baghdad ............................................................................................... 68 The Ottomans ....................................................................................................................... 69 Statistics: ............................................................................................................................... 70 Jewish housing in Baghdad ............................................................................................. 70 Brits in Baghdad .................................................................................................................. 71 The Farhud in Baghdad .................................................................................................... 72 The bombing in Baghdad ................................................................................................. 73 Jews of Islam ......................................................................................................................... 75 Crisis in Iraq at the 10th century .................................................................................. 76 The Buyids ............................................................................................................................ 77 Iraq from 1055 to 1534 .................................................................................................... 78 The Seljuqs ............................................................................................................................ 78 The later Abbasids ............................................................................................................. 79 The Mongols ......................................................................................................................... 79 Mongol period and the Jews ............................................................................................ 80 The Safavids .......................................................................................................................... 81 Ottoman Iraq ........................................................................................................................ 82 The Ottoman entry to Iraq ............................................................................................... 82 The 16th century .................................................................................................................. 84 The 18th century .................................................................................................................. 85 Iraqi Jews in India .............................................................................................................. 85 The 19th century .................................................................................................................. 86 The Kurdish minority ........................................................................................................ 88 Jews of The 19th century ................................................................................................... 89 The 20th century .................................................................................................................. 90 Education ............................................................................................................................... 92 Ottoman rule and the Jews .............................................................................................. 92 Zionism .................................................................................................................................. 94 The beginning of Zionism in Iraq .................................................................................. 94

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Zionism in Iraq .................................................................................................................... 95 Brits in Iraq ........................................................................................................................... 96 World War I (1914-1918) ................................................................................................ 98 After World War I ............................................................................................................ 100 Education ............................................................................................................................ 101 The Art of the Jews of Iraq ............................................................................................ 103 Literature ........................................................................................................................... 104 Jewish Press ....................................................................................................................... 104 Music .................................................................................................................................... 105 Art and handy-craft ......................................................................................................... 107 Theatre ................................................................................................................................ 108 British mandate ............................................................................................................... 108 British Mandate and the Jews ...................................................................................... 110 The "State of Iraq" ........................................................................................................... 111 Independency 1932 ........................................................................................................ 113 Before World War II ....................................................................................................... 114 Nazis in Iraq ....................................................................................................................... 115 World War II (1939-1945) ........................................................................................... 116 Jewish emigration to Iraq around 1938 ................................................................... 117 Excurse ................................................................................................................................ 117 The Farhud of 1941 - Pogrom of the Iraqi Jews ..................................................... 118 Post World War II Iraq ................................................................................................... 119 The cold war ...................................................................................................................... 121 1948, the birth of the state of Israel .......................................................................... 122 The Jewish Exodus - ‘Operation Ezra & Nehemiah’ .............................................. 124 In Israel ............................................................................................................................... 126 Iraqi Jews, Zionism and Israel ..................................................................................... 127 British Statistics ............................................................................................................... 128 Later years in Iraq ........................................................................................................... 132 1958, the Officers coup .................................................................................................. 132 1963, military revolt ...................................................................................................... 132 1967 war against Israel ................................................................................................. 133

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1968, a new revolt ........................................................................................................... 133 Time Table ......................................................................................................................... 135 Lost and confiscated assets .......................................................................................... 135 The Babylonian Amora’im .............................................................................................. 136 The Babylonian Jews ........................................................................................................ 137 The Jews of Iraq in the Land of Israel ....................................................................... 137 The Jews of Kurdistan .................................................................................................... 136 The Social-cultural Development of the Iraqi Jews from 1830 until today ..................................................................................................... 137 demography ................................................................................................................. 142 University ............................................................................................................................ 138 Iraqi Hahamim ................................................................................................................... 141 Jewish writers ..................................................................................................................... 145 Education ............................................................................................................................. 142 Art and culture in the Jewish society of Iraq ............................................................ 143 Jewish journalism in Iraq .............................................................................................. 143 Theater and stage .............................................................................................................. 145 Music .................................................................................................................................... 147 Other fields of the Art ..................................................................................................... 148 Jews in Iraqi economy .................................................................................................... 149 Comerce .............................................................................................................................. 149 Industry .............................................................................................................................. 149 British occupation ........................................................................................................... 150 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 151 Background & Talking Points ...................................................................................... 151 The Issue ............................................................................................................................. 151 The Collection ................................................................................................................... 152 The Jews of Arabia ................................................................................................... 155 Famos Jews from Iraq ............................................................................................... 156 Israeli Authors of Iraqi origine ................................................................................... 167 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 168 Academic sources ............................................................................................................ 178

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The web ............................................................................................................................... 179 Research institutions ..................................................................................................... 180 Archives .............................................................................................................................. 181

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Time Table2 Ubaid period

5300 – 4100 BC (Neolithic to Chalcolithic)

Uruk period

4100 – 2900 BC (Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age I)

Early Dynastic I period

2900–2800 BC

Early Dynastic II period

2800–2600 BC (Gilgamesh)

Early Dynastic IIIa period

2600–2500 BC

Early Dynastic IIIb period: c. 2500–2334 BC Early Assyria

c. 2400 BC

Akkadian Empire period

c. 2334–2218 BC (Sargon)

Gutian period

c. 2218–2047 BC (Early Bronze Age IV)

Ur III period

c. 2047–1940 BC

Assyrian Dynastic period

c. 2035 BC

Neo Assyrian Caliphate

911-605 BC

Parthia

605-320 BC

Achaemenian period

539-331 BC

Hellenistic period

320/331-100 BC (Alexander the grate)

Roman Empire

100-220 AD

Parthian period

126 BC-227 AD3

Sassanids (Persia)

224-632 AD

Muslim period

632 (begin)

Umayyad Caliphate

661-750

Abbasid Caliphate

750-1258

Buyids

932-1062

Seljuks

1055-1150

The later Abbasids

1152-1258

The Mongols

1258-1335

Il-Khanid successors

1335-1410

The Turkmen

1410–1508

The Safavids

1508–1534

Ottomans

1534-1917

2 3

Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 10, p. 14. Roux, p. 406.

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Persians

1623-1638

British

1917-1932 (1958)

Independent

1932

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History Ancient Time4 Iraq is referred to also as the "Cradle of Civilization", which is a common term for the area of modern Iraq, as it was home to the earliest known civilization, the Sumerian, which arose in the fertile Tigris-Euphrates river valley of southern Iraq in the Bronze age, 5000 BC. The Neo Assyrian Empire 911–605 BC put Iraq at the heart of a massive empire, stretching from the Caucasus to Egypt and Arabia, and from Cyprus to Persia. In the 6th century BC, Cyrus the Great (600-530 BC) of Persia defeated the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the region was subsumed into the Achaemenid Empire for nearly two centuries. In the late 4th century BC, Alexander the Great conquered the region, putting it under Hellenistic rule for over two centuries. The Romans invaded western parts of the region several times. Christianity came into Iraq (particularly in Assyria) between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, and Assyria became a center of the Eastern Church. The Sassanids of Persia under Ardashir I (180-242 AD) conquered the region in 224 AD; it became a province of the Sassanid Empire for more than four centuries, until the Muslim conquest at about 630 AD.

The Name “Long before the most important European cities were founded, the land between the two rivers saw the rise and fall, the growth and decline of dynasties and nations. Sumer and Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria, Parthians and Medians, Persians and Sassanides.” They are not only names, they indices of Fortune and misfortune, Peace times and battles, prosperity and intellectual expansion, religious and political developments during thousands of years. The knowledge about Baghdad before the Moslem conquest does not enable to ascertain the role, which Baghdad played in this earlier history.5 Iraq exists under this name officially since 1932, when it got its independency by a United Nation decision, accredited as a member of the UN. Before it was named Iraq only within 4 5

Hrouda, p. 78. Sassoon, p. 6.

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parts of today’s borders; the region had many other names like Mesopotamia, Babylon, Assyria (in the north) Parthia and others. Iraq of today dose not includes the mentioned regions completely.6 During ancient times the lands now comprising Iraq were known as Mesopotamia or “Land Between the Rivers”, a region whose extensive alluvial plains gave rise to some of the world’s earliest civilizations, including those of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and more. This wealthy region, constituting much of what was called the ‘’Fertile Crescent’, later became a valuable part of larger imperial politics, including sundry Persian, Greek, and Roman dynasties, and after the 7th century, with the invasion of the Arab-Muslim army, became a central and integral part of the Islamic world.7 When the Muslims conquered Babylon from the Persian Sasanids at about 632, they started to use the name Iraq, which became known, but was not in official use until 1920, when Iraq started its diplomatic efforts towards independency. In 754/5 the Muslims founded the city of Baghdad and made it their capital. Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, became the capital of the ʿAbbasid Caliphate in the 8th century. The modern nation-state of Iraq was created following World War I (1914–18) out of the Ottoman provinces of Baghdad, Al-Baṣrah, and Mosul. It derives its name from the Arabic term used in the pre-modern period, to describe a region that roughly corresponded with Mesopotamia and the northwestern Iran. Jews joined the new capital strait after its foundation, and soon it became the largest Jewish community of the region and the seat of the Exilarch – head of the exiled Jews in the Diaspora.8

Location The country is located in Western Asia encompassing the Mesopotamian alluvial plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. The size of Iraq is about 437 sq. km. Iraq’s neighbors are: Turkey in the north, Iran in the east, Kuwait in the southeast, Saudi Arabia in the south, Jordan in the southwest, and Syria in the west. It has a narrow coastline 6

Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 10, p. 14-15. Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”. 8 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 10, p. 14-15. 7

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of 58 km; in the south-east of the country, and is called ‘Shat-el-Arab’ – gate to Arabia, it is located on the northern end of the Persian Gulf. Baghdad is its capital; it is located in the center-east of the country. The country consists mainly of desert, except for the two major rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, which are running from the North to the south, through the center of Iraq; both conduct some 60 Million cubic matters of water every year. They provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land contrary to the steppe and desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia. At different periods in history, Iraq was the center of Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian empires, and It was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as the British Mandate area of Mesopotamia through a decision of the League of Nations. In 1921 Britain established there a monarchy and so Iraq gained at the end its independence in 1932. Though it took another 26 years until in 1958 the monarchy was overthrown and the Republic of Iraq was realy created.

Designation As a geographical place it should be identified with Mesopotamia, although they do not always correspond. Mesopotamia is an old Greek name, which means ‘the land between the rivers.’ “Iraq is an Arabic term and it came into use only after the Arab conquest in the seventh century AD. Since that time it has applied to the portion of the valley known as ancient Babylonia or Chaldea, whose old Arabic name was ‘Iraq ul ‘Arab’ – the Arab’s mudbank.”9 Iraq is part of the “Fertile Crescent” together with Egypt, Israel, Lebanon Jordan, Syria, and South East Turkey. It is considered in the western historiography to be the “birth of human civilization” and includes Mesopotamia and the Levant. Many Jews settled in Baghdad where and remained the oldest ethnic community of the city until 1950-1951 with the exodus of the Jews. After the Arab conquest, the Jewish community adopted Arabic as their vernacular, replacing the spoken Aramaic.10

9

Foster, p. 2-3. Menasseh, p. 34.

10

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Geography It is located geographically in the southeast of the ‘Fertile Crescent.’ The Tigris and Euphrat rivers are flowing from north to south and they end at the ‘Shatt-el-Arab’ the most south end of the country, where the town Qurna is located. This is the only sea cost Iraq posseses; it is 58 km long and is located on the northern part of the Persian gulf. To the West, across the Euphrat, is the place ‘Ur Kassdim’ – Ur of Chaldees, “from which Jehovah ‘Bought’ Abraham. ... It was from here, according to sacred account, that this farfamed Hebrew leader, who was most probably born in Ur, made his way over the desert into the land of Canaan.”11 Roux describes it as follow: “There is no reason to doubt the reality of Abraham’s migration from Ur to Hebron via Haran as described in Genesis XI. 31. ... this move must have taken place ‘about 1850 BC or a little later”12.

Country of Asia During ancient times most of the lands now comprising Iraq were known as Mesopotamia “Land Between the Rivers”, a region whose extensive alluvial plains gave rise to some of the world’s earliest civilizations, including those of Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Assyria and more. This wealthy region, constituting much of what is the Fertile Crescent, later became a valuable part of larger imperial politics, including sundry Persian, Greek, and Roman dynasties, and after the 7th century became a central and integral part of the Islamic world. Three elements of Iraq’s past have formed the memory and consciousness of twenty-firstcentury Iraq: the civilization of ancient Mesopotamia, the Arab-Islamic heritage, and the legacy of the Ottoman Empire. Ancient Mesopotamia contributed enormous to the progress of humankind, including writing, the wheel, metalworking, literature, mathematics and other science. The first world’s epic, the story of Gilgamesh, became part of the mythology of Mesopotamia. The first accurate calendar of the world,13 which is in use world wide until today, were invented there In the late 4th millennium BC.

11

Foster, p. 5. Roux, p. 239. R. De Vaux, with discussion on the date of Abraham’s entry into Palestine. p. 245-253. 13 Marr, p. 3-4.

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Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, became the capital of the ʿAbbasid Caliphate in the 8th century. The modern nation-state of Iraq was created following World War I (1914–18) from the Ottoman provinces of Baghdad, Al-Baṣrah, and Mosul and derives its name from the Arabic term used in the pre-modern period to describe a region that roughly corresponded to Mesopotamia “Arabian Iraq” and modern northwestern Iran “foreign [Persian] Iraq”. Iraq gained formal independence in 1932 but remained subject to British imperial influence during the next quarter century of turbulent monarchical rule. Political instability on an even greater scale followed the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958, but the installation of an Arab nationalist and socialist regime—the Baʿth Party—in a bloodless coup ten years later brought new stability. With proven oil reserves second only to those of Saudi Arabia, the regime was able to finance ambitious projects and development plans throughout the 1970s and to build one of the largest and best-equipped armed forces in the Arab world.14

Kurdistan The region of what used to be Kurdistan is divided between Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran. The Jews lived in Kurdistan among Muslims and Christians. “The fact that Kurdish Jews lived as free peasants side by side with their Muslim neighbors is a rare instance in the history of Jewish-Diaspora-Life.” The Jews of Kurdistan – about 146 communities, lived until the great exodus of 1950-51 mainly in the Iraqi region. They spoke a mixture of Aramaeic with Turkish, Persian, Kurdish, Arabic, and Hebrew words. Their language was called Lishna Yahudiyya – Jewish language. Despite the fact that there is no accurate statistics on the Jews of Kurdistan, the estimation is, that in the late 1940s and beginning of the 1950s, there number was between 20,000 and 30,000. An ancient tradition relates that the Kurdish Jews are descendents of the ten lost tribes of Israel, which became present in Kurdistan at the Assyrian exile period. This captivity began in approximately 740 BC, when the northern Kingdom of Israel (north of the Kingdom of Judea), the place where the ten tribes lived, was conquered by the Assyrians; this Jews

14

Encyclopedia Britanica online.

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never returned to their homeland Israel. Benjamin of Tudela visited Kurdistan in 1170; he mentions to have found 100 Jewish communities there.15 The Kurdish Jews claimed to be the descendents of the Benjamin Tribe; they lived in 38 villages in the provinces of Mosul, Kirkuk, and Khanaqin, most of the Jewish villagers were poor. The urban Jews were essentially engaged in commerce and crafts; several owned estates and peasants for the agricultural work. There were also owners of orchards, vineyards, ships, and cattle. The main brunches of craft were weavers, gold and silversmiths, dyers, carpenters, tanners, and cobblers.16 At the 16th century, about thirty Jewish-Kurdish Paytanim – poets, are known; they wrote as well religious as secular poems in Hebrew and Aramaeic; the most important poet was Rabbi Samuel ben Nathanel ha-Levi Barazani , who was also head of a yeshiva – torah-school, in Mosul. The smaller communities, which did not have a Nassi- president, turned in all religious and legal matters either to the bigger communities or to the rabbis of Baghdad.17 Robbery and murder upon Jews were common, but as they lived isolated from the outside world, nobody outside the region knew about their lives and sufferings. They were by persons and belongings enslaved to feudal rulers, and found protection of the powerful Agha by subordinating themselves and fulfilling his orders; the Agha’s sometimes sold the Jews or gave them as presents; “This servitude continued until the beginning of the 20th century.”18 Before the 19th century the larger Jewish communities were headed by a Nassi – president, the smaller ones were subordinated to the bigger ones; the Hakhamim – wise men, were subordinate to the Nassi. This position was abolished during the 19th century.19 In the large Kurdish communities there were several synagogues; the oldest one was built in 1210 in Mosul, the second in 1228 in Amediya. In 1900 and 1906, the Alliance Israélite Universelle opened schools in Mosul.20 The emissaries which came from Palestine / Eretz Israel in the 1940s to Kurdistan noted a sympathy for and contributions to the Holy Land. Already at the 16th century began an Aliya from Kurdistan to Eretz Israel. Between 1920 and 1926, some 1,900 immigrated to the Holy Land, in 1935 some 2,500, and after the establishment of Israel in 1948, most of the ones

15 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 12, p. 389-391. The bible: Book of Chronicles, chapter 9; 3, and Book of Kings II, chapter 7. 16 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 12, p. 390. 17 Jewish Encyclopedia online. 18 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 12, p. 390-392. 19 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 12, p. 390. 20 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 12, p. 391.

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who were still there, also immigrated. The rest of the Kurdish Jews left Iraq following the “Ezra and Nehemia” exodus of 1950-51.21 Another important minority of Kurdistan are the Yazidis, a minority of about 500,000 people.22

Erbil Erbil is the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. It is located approximately 350 kilometres north of Baghdad and 88 km east of Mosul, and its governorate has a permanent population of approximately 1.61 million as of 2011. 23 Settlement at Erbil can be dated back to 2500 BC. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited areas in the world. The earliest historical reference to the region dates to the Ur III dynasty of Sumer, mentioned as the city of Urbilum – the ancient Sumero-AkkadianAssyro-Babylonian name of modern-day Arbil. The city became an integral part of Assyria from the 25th century BC to the end of the 7th century BC. 24 It remained part of the Geo-Political province of Assyria from the beginning of the 6th century BC, and was under the rule of different regional powers, including: Median, Achaemenid, Macedonian, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman and Sassanid Empires. The town and kingdom are known in Jewish Middle Eastern history for the conversion of the royal family to Judaism.25

21

Jewish Encyclopedia online. The Yazidi are an Kurdish ethno-religious community, representing an ancient religion that is linked to Zoroastrianism. They live primarily in the Nineveh Province of northern Iraq. John Guest: The Yezidis. London, Routgers and Kegan Paul 1987. p. 32-41. Their belief is in the King Tavas (peacock), an engel which fell from the sky. Their religion includes pagan, zoroastica, Jewish, Christian and Islamic elements. They are chased and persecuted by all other religions; they are also believers of the sainthood of a 12th century Sufi; they were ethnically Kurdish and lived in the mountains east and west of Mosul. The head of their community resided in the Christian village Ba’athra at the foot of the ‘Ain Sifna mountains. Orthodox Muslims believed that they were devil worshipers and the ‘ulama of Mosul sanctioned war against them. 22

23

Toral-Niehof, p. 152. Herzfeld, pp. 304-07. 25 Lissner.

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Ancient history of Erbil The region in which Erbil lies was under Sumerian domination from 3000 BC, and from perhaps the 25th century BC, under the control of pastoralist Akkadian. The Neo-Sumerian ruler of Ur, Amar-Sin (1981-1973 BC), sacked Urbilum in his second year, at 1975 BC. Erbil was an integral part of Assyria from around 2050 BC, becoming a relatively important city during the Old Assyrian Empire (1975-1750 BC), Middle Assyrian Empire (1365-1050 BC) and the Neo Assyrian Empire (935-612 BC), until the last of these empires fell between 612-599 BC, and it remained part of Assyria under Persian, Greek, Parthian, Roman and Sassanid rule. The Persian emperor Cyrus the Great occupied Assyria in 547 BC, and established it as an Achaemenid satrapy called in Old Persian (Athura), with Arbela as the capital. The Battle of Gaugamela, in which Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia in 331 BC, took place approximately 100 kilometr west of Erbil. After the battle, Darius managed to flee to the city; this confrontation is known as the "Battle of Arbela". Erbil became part of the region disputed between Rome and Persia under the Sasanids. The ancient Assyrian kingdom of Adiabene had its center at Erbil, and the town and kingdom are known in Jewish Middle Eastern history for the conversion of the royal family to Judaism. Its populace then gradually converted from the Mesopotamian Religion between the 1st and 4th centuries to the Assyrian Church of the East Christianity, although the ancient Assyrian religion did not die entirely until the 5th century AD. It became a centre of eastern Syrian Christianity until the late Middle Ages. The first mention of Erbil in literary sources' comes from the archives of the east Semitic speaking kingdom of Ebla. They record two journeys to Erbil (Irbilum) by a messenger from Ebla around 2300 BC. Later, Erridupizir, king of the language isolate speaking kingdom ofGutium, captured the city in 2150 BC. The Battle of Gaugamela, in which Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia in 331 BC, took place approximately 100 kilometres west of Erbil. After the battle, Darius managed to flee to the city, and, somewhat inaccurately, the confrontation is sometimes known as the "Battle of Arbela".

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History of the Jews in Kurdistan The Jewish community in Mesopotamia was one of the oldest in the world, dating back to the Babylonian conquest of the southern tribes of Israel, (mostly the tribe of Judah) in 586 BC. A smaller group of Israelites were taken into captivity almost 150 years earlier from the northern part of Israel by Assyria, in 722 BC. There were times when Jews flourished in Babylon, producing the Babylonian Talmud there between the years 500 and 700 AD. Based on these relations, the Jews of Kurdistan lived freely alongside Muslims and Christians for generations in relative security. Those that immigrated to Israel would reminisce about the positive experiences they and their fathers and forefathers had in the tribal Kurdish society. Without these roots, the state of Israel would have never been able to connect sincerely with the Kurdish leadership, which was mostly tribal. The Jews and the Kurds lived for thousends of years in very good relations. Mullā Mustafā Barazani always emphasized the bond between the Jews and the Kurds and the need to continue to protect the Jewish families.

Medieval history of Erbil As many of the Aramaic-speaking Assyrians adapted Biblical - Jewish names, most of the early bishops had Eastern Aramaic or Jewish - Biblical names, which does not suggest that many of the early Christians in this city were converts from Judaism. It served as the seat of a Metropolitan of the Assyrian Church of the East. Following the Muslim conquest of Persia, the Sasanid province of Assuristan, of which Erbil made part of was dissolved. When the Mongols invaded the Near East in the 13th century, they attacked Arbil for the first time in 1237. They plundered the lower town but had to retreat before an approaching Caliphate army and had to put off the capture of the citadel. After the fall of Baghdad to the Mongols in 1258, they returned to Arbil and were able to capture the citadel. They then appointed an Assyrian Christian governor to the town, and the Syriac Orthodox Church was allowed to build a church.

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During the reign of the Ilkhan Öljeitü the Assyrian Christian inhabitants retreated to the citadel to escape persecution. In the Spring of 1310, the Malek of the region attempted to seize it from them with the help of the Kurds. Despite the Assyrian bishop best efforts to avert the impending doom, the citadel was at last taken on July 1, 1310, and all the defenders were massacred. In the Middle Ages, Erbil was ruled successively by the Umayyads, the Abbasids, the Buwayhids, the Seljuks and then the Atabegs of Erbil (1131–1232), under whom it was a Turkmen state; they were in turn followed by the Ilkhanids, the Jalayirids, the Kara Koyunlu, the Timurids, and the Ak Koyunlu. Erbil was the birthplace of the famous 12th and 13th century Kurdish historians and writers Ibn Khallikan (1212-1282) and Ibn al-Mustawfi (?). Erbil and all the region came under the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century. Erbil was part of the Musul Vilayet until World War I.

Modern history of Erbil The modern town of Erbil stands on a tell topped by an Ottoman fort. During the Middle Ages, Erbil became a major trading centre on the route between Baghdad and Mosul, a role which it still plays today with important road links to the outside world. Erbil is both multi-ethnic and multi-religious, with the Kurds forming the largest ethnic group in the city, with smaller numbers of Arabs, Assyrians, Turcoman, Armenians, Yazidis, Shabaks, Circassians, Kawliyah and Mandeans.

Kurdish Jews in modern times The special relations between the Barzani tribal chiefs and the patriarchs of the Jewish family of Khawaja Khinno continued even after the exodus of Mustafa Barzani to Russia in 1947 and the mass migration of the Jews to the State of Israel from 1951 to 1952. Following the collapse of the Republic of Mahabad at the end of 1946, Mustafa Barzani went into exile in Russia. His wife and son, returned to Iraq.

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During World War II and especially at the end of the British Mandate of Palestine in 1947, a drastic reduction in the Jewish population of Iraq began, affecting also the Jews inhabiting the northern Kurdish-dominated regions. In 1950, Iraqi Jews (including Baghdadi, Kurdish and other Jews of Iraq) were given permission to leave within one year, on condition that they renounce their Iraqi citizenship. One year later the Jews who left had their property frozen. Jews who had chosen to stay in Iraq had economic restrictions placed on them. The Jews of the Kurdish regions evacuated entirely, all coming to Israel. Since the mid-20th century the population of the Jews in northern Iraq, specifically in Kurdistan, was decimated. However, there are signs that there are some "hidden Jews" still residing in Kurdish areas and some came back from Israel to stay. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Israeli government established relations with the Barzani chieftain, Mulla Mustafa Barzani, who had become the most important leader of the Kurds.

Kirkuk Kirkuk is the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, 236 Km north of Baghdad. The city exists since about 1250 BC as the capital of the Hurritic kingdom of Arraphkha, The ancient name of Kirkuk. Kirkuk is a multilingual and diverse city with a history of fluidity of identity.26 The city, which has been multilingual for centuries, and the development of distinct ethnic groups, was a process that took place over the course of Kirkuk's urbanization in the twentieth century. Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs lay conflicting claims to this zone, and all have their historical accounts and memories to backup this claims. Because of the strategic geographical location of the city, Kirkuk was the battle ground for three empires: the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, and the Media, each controlled the city at various times.27 Kurds and Turkmens have claimed the city as a cultural capital. The city consists mostly of Arabs, Assyrians, Iraqi Turkmens and Kurds. During the Ottoman period the Turkmen were 26

Bet-Shlimon, Arbella. 2012. Group Identities, Oil, and the Local Political Domain in Kirkuk: A Historical Perspective. Journal of Urban History 38, no. 5. 27 Book Bedouins, Part I: Mesopotamia, Syria, northern Iraq, Al-Ubaid, Author Max Oppenheim; Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, Baban Family Entry, p. 70; Bruinessen, Martin van, and Walter Posch. 2005. Looking into Iraq. Paris: European Union Institute for Security Studies.

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the predominant population of Kirkuk city but Kurds constituted the majority of the rural population. Arab Muslims invaded the Sassanid empire in the 7th century, and the city became part of the Islamic Caliphate until the 10th Century. Kirkuk and the surrounding areas were than ruled by the Seljuk Turks for a long period, until the Ottoman Empire took control of Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, and the Hejaz in the early 16th century. Turkish / Ottoman rule continued until 1917, means that it controlled most of the middle east for 400 years. By the end of World War I, in 1918, the British took over as rulers. Both Turkey and Great Britain desperately wanted control of the Vilayet of Mosul (of which Kirkuk was a part) mainly because of the oil reserves of the region, but the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 failed to solve the issue. For this reason, the question of Mosul was forwarded to the League of Nations. A committee came to following decision: the territory south of the "Brussels line" belonged to Iraq. By the Treaty of Angora of 1926, Kirkuk became part of the Kingdom of Iraq. In 1927, Iraqi and American drillers working for the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) struck a huge oil gusher at Baba Gurgur near Kirkuk. The exploitation of Kirkuk’s oil which began around 1930, brought Arabs and Kurds to the city in search of work. According to the 1957 census, Kirkuk had 40% Iraqi Turkmen, 35% Kurdish, and less than 25% Arabs. Jews had a long history in Kirkuk. Ottoman records show that in 1560 there were 104 Jewish homes in Kirkuk28, and in 1896 there were 760 Jews in the city. After WWI, the Jewish population increased, especially after Kirkuk became a petroleum center; in 1947 there were 2,350 Jews there, they were active mostly in commerce and handicraft. Social progress was slow, and it was only in the 1940s that some Jewish students acquired secondary academic education. By 1951 almost all the Iraqi Jews had left for Israel.29 On paper, the Autonomy Agreement of March 11, 1970 recognized the legitimacy of Kurdish participation in government and Kurdish as teaching language in schools. According to the Kurds, it would surely have shown a solid Kurdish majority in the city of Kirkuk and the surrounding oilfields, as well as in the secondary oil-bearing Kurdish area of Khanaqin, south of the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah. A census was not scheduled until 1977, by which time

28

29

Under the word Homes was meant a family of 5 to 7 people. Diplomatic Observer. 2004-12-02. Retrieved 2013-03-26; "Kirkuk". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2013-03-26.

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the autonomy deal was dead. In June 1973, Kurdish relations were already souring, and the Kurdish leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani laid formal claim to the Kirkuk oilfields. Mesopotamia Geography “In Mesopotamia is the cradle of our culture located.” The term Mesopotamia was applied to the lands between the Euphrates and the Tigris; both rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrat start in Armenia, near mount Ararat. The Euphrat is 2,780 kilometer long, the Tigris is 1,950 kilometer long. They never mingle, and along the way they come closer and flow farther of each other; near Baghdad they almost meet; both reach at the end the town Al-Qurnah, 100 kilometer north of Basra, where they form the ‘Shatt-el-Arab’. From there it becomes the River Karun, which ends in the Persian Gulf after 200 kilometers.30 The region is incorporating not only parts of Syria but also almost all of Iraq and southeastern Turkey (of today). Upper Mesopotamia, also known as the Jezirah, is the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris from their sources down to Baghdad. Lower Mesopotamia consists of southern Iraq, Kuwait and parts of western Iran. In modern academic usage, it is used to designate the area before the Muslim conquests, with names like Syria, al-Jezirah, and Iraq being used to describe the region. “Within the geographical place, a triangle called Mesopotamia, a civilization flourished, which in equality and importance was only equaled by the civilization of Egypt. We call it ‘Chaldaean’, ‘Assyro-Babylonian’, ‘Sumero-Akkadian’ or ‘Mesopotamian’ civilization, but these are all one and the same thing.” Beginning in prehistoric times, it lasted for nearly three thousand years, remaining stable even though repeatedly shaken by the political powers that concur the region time and again. As centers important for this stability were the towns Ur, Uruk, Nippur, Agade, Babylon, Assur and Nineveh, situated near the rivers Tigris and Euphrat. At the beginning of the Christian era, the Mesopotamian civilization declined, than vanished.31 The documented records of historical events and the ancient history of lower Mesopotamia starts at about the mid-third millennium BC with cuneiform records of early dynastic kings, and ends with the Islamic conquest and the establishment of the Caliphate in the late 7th

30 31

Roux, p. 5. Roux, p. 3.

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century CE. The region was one of the four civilizations where writing was supposedly invented. The Greek named the northern region between the two stream’s Euphrat and Tigris, Mesopotamia whereas the south they named Babylonia. Since the first century AD, the whole region included from the south dip of the Taurus to the Persian Golf; to the east the Persian range is its limit, to the west the Arab desert and the Syrian plateau; herewith, most of Mesopotamia is now Iraq. In the Hebrew bible it is called ‘Garden of Eden’, means paradise.32

Mesopotamia ancient history In course of history, it was home to many folks: Sumerian, Acadian, Assyrian, Syrian, Jews, Aramaic, Greek – with Alexander the great, Iranian, mentioning only part of the people, which mint history and culture of Mesopotamia till the Islamic victory. In its best period Babylon had about one million inhabitants. In the bible Babylon is called ‘place of vice’ because of the many languages, sin and lorry.33 ‘Land between rivers’ at the Tigris–Euphrates river system; Hebrew equivalent: Aram-Naharaim – dual of Nahar – river. In the Bronze Age Mesopotamia included the Sumer, Babylonian, Akkadian, and Assyrian empires, all parts of the modern-day Iraq. The Sumerians and Akkadians dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of written history about 3100 BC to the fall of Babylon to the Persian Cyros in 539 BC. He crowned his son to King of Babylon; he was a tolerant ruler and allowed the Jews to go back to Judea, but most were already established, the economy boomed, so most of them stayed. The Romans invaded the region and stayed from 64 to 115-117 AD.34 As of the period 626 to 594 BC, there exist a whole group of tablets known as the Babylonian Chronicle. It provides among other subjects also a chronicle data, in which one can read that Nebuchadnezzar came on the throne in 604 BC.35 In 332 BC it was conquered by Alexander the Great, and after his death, it became part of the Greek Seleucid Empire.

32

Hrouda, p. 7, 56. Hrouda, p. 11-12, 52-53. 34 Hrouda, p. 51-54, 59. 35 Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 14, p. 93. 33

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Around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthians. In 226 BC, it fell to the Sassanid Persians and remained under Persian rule until the Arab Islamic conquest in the 7thcentury. The Chaldean empire reached its peak under Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC); Jerusalem was taken by the Babylonians in 597 and destroyed in 587 BC, when a large part of the Jews with King Jehoyachin were deported to Babylon36 by Nebuchadnezzar, who developed the city with new huge mass building like the Ishtar gate or the 90 meter high Ziggurat with the Marduk temple, called ‘Tower of Babel’. At the turn from the 4th to the 3ed millennium BC, with the economy growing rapidly, the cipher as well as the writing was contrived in Mesopotamia; both are the basic requirement for the development of the occident. Writes Hrouda.37 Aramaic became the lingua franca of Mesopotamia.38

Writings of Mesopotamia The earliest evidence of writing from Mesopotamia dates back to around the middle of the fourth millennium BC. Before that, literature existed in Mesopotamia only in oral form, which went parallel to the written literature for long spans of time.39 Ancient Mesopotamian literature commonly refers to the vast – if not complete – body of writings in cuneiform script which has come down from ancient Mesopotamia. Those are mostly clay tablets on which the writing was impressed when the clay was still moist. It would either dry in the sun, or, specially important documents were backed to hard ceramics. Archaeological excavations began in Iraq in 1843 and have continued unceasingly ever since; the excavations were performed by diverse archaeologist from different countries. The discoveries made according to the archaeological work changed in the last 150 years the knowledge and understanding of Mesopotamian history and “has been completely altered and broadened beyond all expectations.”40

36

Hrouda, p. 51. Hrouda, p. 78. 38 Hrouda, p. 82. 39 Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 14, p. 97-98. 40 Roux, p. 17-18. 37

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The old time layed hidden under the ruins of old Mesopotamia. English excavation of Nineveh show remnants of a great library in around 600BCby the than Persian ruler. Unfortunately, many of the tablets, which were not estimated when found, were broken and fragmentary. The tablets were written in a few languages and included a lexicon and a kind of dictionary. Mesopotamia corresponds on a relatively high level to present day Iraq.

Sumer At the beginning the land was called ‘Sumer and Akkad’ until the Greece under Chammurabi (Died 1750 BC) named it Babylon, now the West half of Iraq. Through the many Canals, originally meant for the Agriculture, it gave life to a dense population and had a tight road network. King Sanherib (704-681 BC) mentions in the many anchorages he captured.41 The people’s strong religious attachment can’t be over estimated, which means that the sanctuary had a singular exclusivity and became the life-center of the place.42 Sumer’s provenance existed at about 5.000 years ago in southern Mesopotamia and is the Southern part of ‘Iraq Arabi’. The Sumerian history tells about the time of 3.000 BC. 43 (((At the beginning the land was called ‘Sumer and Akkad’ until the Greek under Hammurabi (died 1750 BC) named it Babylon, now the West half of Iraq. The many Canals, originally meant for Agriculture, gave life to a dense population and had a tight road network. King Sennacherib (died 681 BC) mentions the many anchorages he captured. The people’s strong religious attachment can’t be over estimated, which means that the sanctuary had a singular exclusivity and became the life-center of the place.44))) The most important and impressing accomplishment of the Sumerian was obviously the creation of the letters (writing), which was taken over by the – at the time – second high crop, the Nil land, Egypt. For thousand of years it was this old Sumerian and Babylonian writing as

41

Schmökel, p. 43. Schmökel, pp. 43, 81. 43 Schmökel, p. 10-11, 47. 44 Schmökel, p. 81. 42

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well as the Sumerian invented ‘numerary-order’ which was used as the only communication for trade and similar purposes worldwide,45 writes Schmökel.

Babylonian history Babylonia is an ancient country situated in Mesopotamia – Greek: ‘gate of God’, which corresponds approximately with modern Iraq. The earliest emergence of the city of Babylon was found on a tablet from the time of the reign of Sargon of Akkad (2334-2279 BC). Babylon was merely a religious and cultural center at this point, not yet an independent state; like the rest of Mesopotamia, it was part of the Akkadian Empire. After its collapse, the southern Mesopotamian region was dominated by the Gutians46 for a few decades; later the Sumerian third dynasty of Ur rose,47 and controlled the whole of Mesopotamia, including Babylon.48 The Babylonians were an ancient Akkadian speaking Semitic nation and cultural region in the center of southern Mesopotamia (now Iraq). It emerged as an independent state at about 1894 BC, with the city of Babylon as its capital. Babylonia became the major power in the region after Hammurabi (about 1696-1654 BC), when it became an empire out of many of the territories of the former Akkadian Empire. The earlier Akkadian and Sumerian traditions played a major role in Babylonian culture, and the region remained an important cultural center, even within periods of outside rulers for hundreds of years. “The Arabs are Semites, belonging to the same great racial group as the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians, Arameans, Phoenicians, and Hebrews. They must have had, at some time in history, a common original habitat. This common home of all Semites seems, according to scholars, to have been the Arabian Peninsula.” And farther, “The intimacy of Jew and Arab is attested by the similarity of their language, by the Jewish historian Josephus Phlavious, and by Muslim historians.” How at a time Judaism held sway in South Arabia and how, when Islam commanced it had to deal with Israelite communities settled in the cradle of the system, the Hijaz.49 Writes Foster.

45

Schmökel, p. 162-165. 46 The Gutian dynasty came to power in Mesopotamia around 2150 BC. The Gutian people (Guti) were native to Gutium, presumably in the central Zagros Mountains, though almost nothing is known about their origins. 47 The Third Dynasty of Ur, refers to a 21st to 20th century BC Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur 48 Encyclopedia Britanica on line. 49 Foster, p. 10-12.

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As well under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar (634-562) as under his successors, Babylon experienced a unique bloom; the cuneiform inscription charters and the enormous palaces, temples and huge walls are evidences to Nebuchadnezzar’s enormous influence on the cityscape, which he formed.50

Biblical history We can get an accurate picture of some periods in Mesopotamian history through the Hebrew bible; the examination of Israel and Judah with the Assyrian and the Babylonian in it’s ground elements are illustrated in the books of the kings in a historical correct way.51 In the Bible, Bavel - Babylon and the country of Babylonia are not always clearly distinguished, in most cases the same word being used for both. In some passages the land of Babylonia is called Shinar, Hebrew: Shen’ar, while in the post-exilic literature it is called Chaldea, Hebrew: Kassdim. In the Book of Genesis, Babylonia is described as the land in which Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh (Gen. x. 10) are located, which are declared to have formed the beginning of Nimrod's52 kingdom. Here, the Tower of Babel was located (Gen. xi. 1-9); and it was also the seat of Amraphel's dominion Hebrew: Hammurabi, who ruled Babylonia from 1792 BC until his death in 1750 BC. (Gen. xiv. 1, 9). In the historical books Babylonia53 is frequently referred to. Allusions to it are confined to the points of contact between the Israelites and the various Babylonian kings, especially Nebuchadnezzar. The Book of Isaiah resounds with the "burden of Babylon" (xiii. 1). In the number and importance of its references to Babylonian life and history, the Book of Jeremiah stands also, preeminent in the Hebrew biblical literature. In contemporary convention, there is the city, which is called Babylon, and the district, which is called Babylonia. The city was located in the suburbs of today’s Baghdad, according to the ruins found there.54

50

Jursa, p. 36. Frahm, p. 8. 52 Acording to many biblical scholars, Nimrod lived at the same time as Abraham. Miller, J.M. & Hayes, J.H. (1986). A History of Ancient Israel and Judah. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 257-259. Time Life Lost Civilizations series: Mesopotamia: The Mighty Kings. (1995) p. 96–7 53 There are thirty-one allusions in the Books of Kings. 54 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 4, p. 23; Jewish Encyclopedia online. 51

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Biblical Babylon The Hebrew biblical name for Babylon is ‘Bavel’. The first Jews escaped Jerusalem in 722 BC to Babylon after they were defeated by Assyria; it was probably a relatively small group. During the 6th century BC, the Jews of the Kingdom of Judah were exiled to Babylon three times by Nebuchadnezzar 604-562 BC55 The first exile was in 597 BC, when the Jews refused to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 5:1-5); he exiled them and partly despoiled the temple in Jerusalem. “Jerusalem was under siege of the Babylonians; after eighteen month, on July 29 587 BC it was captured by storm. ... Thousands of Jews were deported with their king, while others took refuge in Egypt. Jerusalem was looted, its walls were ‘broken down round about’ and the Temple built by king Solomon was burnt down. Thus 135 years after Israel, Judah was carried away out of the land.”56 The second exile was in 586 BC; after the Jews revolted against Nebuchadnezzar, he erased Jerusalem completely, expelled most Jews to Babylon and enslaved them. King Jehoyakhin (615 BC -) of Judea was among the exiles. A further deportation, the third one, took place in 581 BC. (Jeremiah). After the overthrow of Babylonia by the Persians, Cyrus gave the Jews permission to return to their native land (537 BC), and supposedly more than forty thousand availed the privilege. (see Ezra, Nehemiah).57 The tombs of the Prophets Jehezkel, Ezra and Jona are in todays Iraq.58 This period is also called ‘The Babylonian captivity’. Later Babylonia became home for Jews, which refer to themselves as ‘Babylonian Jews’ Hebrew: Yehudim Bavlim. After the fall of Jerusalem and the exile, Babylon became the focus of Judaism for more than a thousand years. The Iraqi scholars wrote as well the Babylonian Talmud as many of the prayers in Judeo-Aramaic, for the first time not only in Hebrew. Babylonia was the first Jewish exile to become a Torah center out of Jerusalem.

55

II Kings xx. 12, Isaiah xxxix. 1, xiii. 1, Ezra v. 13, Nehemia xiii. 6. Jeremiah 52:28-30 Jeremiah has become a valuable source in reconstructing of the Babylonian Jewish history. 56 Roux, p. 379-380. 57 See also jewishvirtuallibrary. 58 Saadoun, p. 11.

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The Assyrian “By 600 BC the entire vastly expanded country shared the Assyrian identity. Which essentially consisted of a common unifying language (Aramaic) and a common religion, culture, and value system. The identity persisted virtually unchanged and was converted into an ethnic identity in the Neo-Babylonian period (600-330 BC).” Several semi-independent Mesopotamian kingdoms perpetuated Assyrian religious and cultural traditions until the third century AD. From the fourth century on. Christianity has been essential to Assyrian identity and helped preserve it to the present day, in which the Assyrians became dwindling minorities in their home countries.59 It should be noted, that nationalism and the concepts of nation and citizenship are by no means new phenomena but already played an important role in the ancient world, not only in ancient Athens and Rome but also in ancient Mesopotamia.” The Assyrian kings systematically strove to unite the multitude of people into a single nation. The “Land of Assur”, which was originally a province, grew with the addition of new provinces, and their peoples became regular Assyrian citizens with full civil rights which gave them safety and prosperity, equality before the law and obligations like taxes and military service. This strategies goal was to build a nation united by a semi-divine king perceived as the source of safety, peace and prosperity, not an empire upheld by arms. Although the empire included many different ethnics, cultures, traditions, and languages, they all spoke the same national language; the lingua franca was Imperial Aramaic, which created a unity.60 With the fall of Nineveh ??, the empire was split in two, the western half in the hands of the Chaldean dynasty, the eastern into the hands of the Median kings. They became incorporated in the Achaemenid Empire by 539 BC. Assyria as a political power was gone, but its people, culture and religion lived on. Today, the Assyrian nation largely lives in diaspora, split into rivaling churches and political factions and they would probably not be able to survive as a nation.61

59

60 61

Parpola, Journal, p. 5. Parpola, Journal, p. 12-15. Parpola, Journal, p. 18-19, 22.

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The Jewish exile to Babylon During the second Babylonian invasion into Judea in 586/7 BC,62 the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon63, again captured the kingdom of Judea, Jerusalem was

burned down64 and they destroyed the Jewish temple;65 a great number of the Judean population was deported to Babylon for the second time. Nebuchadnezzar II erased Jerusalem completely, and deported the Judean king Jehojakhin (615 BC-, see the books of Ezra and Nehemiah) with most of his (Jewish) subjects from Judea into the Babylonian exile and were and enslaved.66 „Most of the city’s population was deported to Babylon; some, however, took refuge in Egypt.“67 Later documents prove the presence of the Jews that were deported from

the Levant and lived in Babylon.68 As well under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar (634-562) as under his successors, Babylon experienced a unique bloom; the cuneiform inscription charters and the enormous palaces, temples and huge walls are evidences to Nebuchadnezzar’s enormous influence on the cityscape, which he formed.69 In 539 BC Babylon came under Persian conquest by Cyrus (576-530 BC), he gave the Jews permission to return to their native land (537 BC), and supposedly more than forty thousand availed the privilege, but most of them stayed in Babylon, as they had a relatively good life there and were commercially successful, prosperous and integrated with the passing years and did not see a necessity to change their lives. This Persian period ended with the Islamic invasion in 634 AD.70 This period is also called ‘The Babylonian captivity’. Later Babylonia became home for Jews, which refer to themselves as ‘Babylonian Jews’ Hebrew: Yehudim Bavlim. The country prospered economically and culturally during this time. However, since the 6th century BC there was continuously a Jewish community in Mesopotamia / Babylon, and after the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem in 69 BC by the Romans, Mesopotamia, and especially Babylon became the cultural and intellectual center for Jewish people in the whole world for hundreds of years.71 62

Ghanimah 1998, p. 151-165. 634-562; reign 605-562 BC, the bible, the book Daniel, chapter1-7. 64 Hebrew bible, Book of the Kings II, 24:13. 65 The destruction of the Temple, named also „Salomon-Tempel“, circa 598 BC. Book of the kings II, chapter 24:13. 66 About this events is written in the books: Esra, Nehemia and Jeremia in the Hebrew bible 67 Encyclopedia Judaica, book 6, „Egyptian Literature in the Bible“, p. 225, Schmidt, S. 491. 68 Jursa, p. 36. 69 Jursa, p. 36. 70 Jursa, p. 39; See also jewishvirtuallibrary.com. 71 Neusner 1969, p. 75. See Talmud and Academies of Babylon. 63

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Babylon became the most important center for spiritual heritage of the folk of Israel as well out as inside Israel. It maintained its dominant position even after falling to the Persian.

Jews of Babylon Babylon is mentioned often in the Old Testament, in the books of Isaiah, Ezra, Jeremiah, and Nehemiah, as a place of sin, evil, and vanity. For the Jews it remained simply the place where they lived, worked, exercised there religion were rabbis and Yeshiva Students; the Babylonian Talmud was written there, beside having had many Babylonian rabbis who were well known and appreciated not only in Babylon, but also in other countries of Jewish diasporas and in Jerusalem.72 After Alexander the great (356-323 BC) invaded Babylon in 331 BC, and the Greeks started ruling the country, the Jews have prospered “by trusting and being trusted” by the Greeks. Jews even served in the Greek army. The Parthian, who conquered Babylon in 120 BC and ruled the country until 224 AD, also treated the Jews well. Among the Jews was a class of assimilated nobility, which was familiar with Parthian culture, language and other learning, as well as being an authority within the Jewish community. Nothing is known about the poorer Jews of the time.73 Pharisaic Judaism74 was already established in Eretz Israel, and during revolts and wars in the first centuries of the first millennia some of them fled to Babylon, and became part of the Jewish community there; they educated the first native born and bred the rabbis of Babylonia, and launched high level Pharisaic-Rabbinic schools which brought out well trained lawyers who served the Exilarchs;75 nevertheless they were not of large influence.76

72

Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 4, p. 24. Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 4, p. 25. 74 Pharisaic – Hebrew: Perushim – comes from Perush-commentary, a Jewish denomination which included the followers of the Vilna, Lithuania Gaon (1720-1797), who went to Erez Israel after his death, as he told them. It is not known when they came to Babylon. Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 4, p. 27. 75 Exilarch: head of the Jewish community in any Diaspora. 76 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 4, p. 27-28. 73

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Archeological excarvations (Greek Period and before) Since the 1850s, all the great powers of Europe, later also of the USA, elaborate archeological substantial excavation in Iraq. They found thousands Ceramic panels especially in Ninveh, Babylon, Sippar, Umm and Lagash. They are written in languages as Semitic Accady, Assyrian-Babylonian, Sumerian. As for today there exist more than half a million such panels. They are to be found in museums and private collections but most are not jet translated or edited. The Persian ruled Mesopotamia from 539 to 331 BC. Many of the panels are dated in this period.77 Benjamin of Tudela, during his stay in Iraq, visited the cities of Ninveh and Babylon at about 1600, where he found many Jewish families,78 writes Frahm.

77 78

Frahm, p. 15-17, 236-237, 250. Frahm, p. 10.

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Mosul, Ninveh Mosul was the biggest city in Mesopotamia in northern Iraq and the capital of the Nineveh Province, some 400 km northwest of Baghdad. The name of the city is first mentioned in 401 BC. The original city was built on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh; later it occupied both banks.79 The majority of its inhabitants

are Arabs and Assyrian, Turcoman and Kurdish origin.

Iraq’s

third

city

after Baghdad and Basra, though now its second largest in terms of population, is Mosul, which is situated on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh. Mosul is the centre for the upper Tigris basin, specializing in processing and marketing agricultural and animal products. It has grown rapidly, partly as a result of the influx of Kurdish refugees fleeing government repression in Iraqi Kurdistan.80 The fabric Muslin, since long time manufactured here, was named after this city. The city is also a historic center for the Nestorian Christianity of the Assyrians, containing the tombs of several old-testament prophets such as Jonah. Mosul was the largest city in the world after its violent fall to the Babylonians in 612 AD. In its current Islamic form and spelling, the term Mosul or ‘Mawsil’ which is Arabic and means ‘linking point’. Mosul should not be confused with the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh which is located across the Tigris from Mosul on the eastern banks, in an area known today as the Town named Nebi Yunus - after the prophet Jonas; the tomb of the Biblical Jonah is in Ninveh as he lived and died there at the time when it was the capital of ancient Assyria. According to Biblical sources Nineveh was founded by Nimrod, the son of Cush.81 Today Ninveh has been absorbed into the Mosul metropolitan area. In approximately 850 BC, the Assyrian made the city of Nimrod their capital. Mosul later succeeded Nineveh as the Tigris bridgehead of the road to Syria and Anatolia. The city changed hands often in its history; Christianity was present to the people in Mosul as early as the second century. It became an Episcopal-seat of the Nestorian faith in the sixth century. In 637 or 641, the city was annexed to the Rashidun Caliphate.82 Mosul became the capital of Mesopotamia under the Umayyads in the eighth century. 79

Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 14, p. 568. Encyclopedia Britanica online. 81 Kush was, according to the Bible, the eldest son of Ham who was one of the sons of Noah. Genessis, 7-8. 82 The Rashidun Caliphate is the term including the first four caliphs - ‘Rightly Guided’ and was founded after Muhammad's death in 632. At its height, the Caliphate controlled a vast empire from the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant, to the Caucasus in the north, North Africa from Egypt to present day Tunisia in the west, and the Iranian highlands to Central Asia in the east. 80

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Despite being part of the Ottoman Empire, during the Ottoman rule Mosul was considered the most independent district within the Middle East, the Ottomans following the Roman model of indirect rule through local notables. Until the Ottoman occupation of the Mosul region, it was a space in which the borders were fluid and large population movements were common. “The position of Mosul as a frontier town was equally important in shaping its political economy.”83 Writes Rizk Khoury. And, “Mosul was a medium-size Ottoman city with a prolific literary elite linked to regional, Kurdish, Syrian, Ottoman, Central Asian, and Arabic/Indian intellectuals and privy to debates on reform current among scholars in these area.”84

The Specificity of Mosul The specificity of Mosul’s position within both the Ottoman and the Iraqi contexts as a frontier province is important in order to understand the growth of both the population and the economy. A comparison with Baghdad and Basra shows that the alliance of merchants and gentry provided the social basis of reform, which was specific only for Mosul.85 Mosul's importance as a trading centre declined after the opening of the Suez Canal. The city revived with the discovery of oil in the area in the late 1920s. The possibility of dissolving the Ottoman Empire became real with WW II, since Germany was the ally of the Ottoman Empire. Secret agreements between the French and the British governments - known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916; it dictated the drawing of a straight line from the Jordan heights to Iran: where the northern zone - Syria, and later Lebanon came under French influence, the southern zone, Iraq, Palestine including Jordan, came under British influence. Mosul was in the northern zone, and would have become a Syrian city, but after the discovery of oil in the region, the British government pushed yet another negotiation with the French in order to include the region of Mosul into the British zone.86 Rizk Khoury, p. 23-24. All information of Mosul in the 16th century comes from two registers (1541 and 1575) which are located in the Iraqi Scientific Society in Baghdad. 84 Rizk Khoury, p. 17. 85 Rizk Khoury, p. 214-215. 86 The borderline that divides the two sides has not changed since 1918, but it has helped determine the boundaries of the modern Middle East for the coming century with the creation of different countries from the Ottoman Empire. 83

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There is a Sunni Arab majority in the urban areas such as downtown Mosul on the Tigris. Across the Tigris and further north in the suburban lived the other part of Mosul's population Assyrians, Kurds, Turkmens, and Armenians. In the middle of the seventh century there was, according to the encyclopedia Judaica, a Jewish community in Mosul; they lived in a special quarter “Mahallat al-Yahud” – Arabic, the Jewish quarter. Another Jewish population settled in ancient Ninveh near Mosul in about 730-712 BC, after Assyria conquered Samaria. By the first half of the twelves century many Jews came to Mosul, escaping the Crusaders in Eretz Israel and placed themselves under the protection of the Muslim rulers. Benjamin of Tudela, which visited Mosul at about 1170, found approximately 7,000 Jews.87 The Mosul Jews had periods of prosperity and such of harsh declines, which impoverished the community. In the sixteenth century Mosul had a great yeshiva, Hebrew – Torah-school. Until the beginning of the twentieth century there lived about 3,000 Jews continuously there, but with the decline of Mosul Jews started to depart the city, going to Baghdad. Most Jews of Mosul were poor; a few were merchants. The Alliance Israélite Universelle opened in 1906 a school for boys and in 1912 for girls, but they were closed at the outbreak of WW I; there was no Jewish high-school.88 Like most Iraqi Jews, they left in 1950–51. A larger number may have converted to Islam in the past century. It is impossible to give a reliable estimate of the Jewish population of Iraq generally and of Mosul in particularly. Most Iraqi Jews have moved to Israel, some went to other countries. The Kurd minority in Mosul is the biggest minority of Iraq, among many other, smaller minorities. “Mosul was a medium-size Ottoman city with a prolific literary elite linked to regional, Kurdish, Syrian, Ottoman, Central Asian, and Arabic/Indian intellectuals and privy to debates on reform current among scholars in these area.”89 Until the Ottoman occupation of the Mosul region, it was a space in which the borders were fluid and large population movements were common. “The position of Mosul as a frontier town was equally important in shaping its political economy.”90

87

Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 14, p. 568. Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 14, p. 569. 89 Rizk Khoury, p. 17. 90 Rizk Khoury, p. 23-24. All information of Mosul in the 16th century comes from two registers (1541 and 1575) which are located in the Iraqi Scientific Society in Baghdad. 88

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The specificity of Mosul’s position within both the Ottoman and the Iraqi contexts as a frontier province is important in order to understand the growth of both the population and the economy. A comparison with Baghdad and Basra shows that the alliance of merchants and gentry provided the social basis of reform, which was specific only for Mosul.91 By 1922-24 the Iraqi government made two statistics of the inhabitants of the Vilayet of Mosul; the first shows a total inhabitant number of 799,090, out of them 11,897 Jews. The second shows a total of 306,000 out of them 7,550 Jews.92

Statistics 50% of the Kurds are Shiit-Muslims 20% are Sunni-Muslims 15% are Kurd-Sunni-Muslims; there are other, smaller minorities: Turkish Turkmen 4%, Persian 4-6% are Christian – most Nestroyan-Ashuri 3-4%, Christians were victims of a massacre in 1933, most of the survivors escaped Iraq Smaller groups like the Yezidi 130.000 Jews in the 1930s and 1940s The biggest problem for the Iraqi politics used to be the Kurdish minority; this people made many revolts against the Iraqis in purpose to get independence93 Alexander the great In 331 BC, Alexander the great (356-323 BC) invaded the Persian Empire, which existed as such for 200 years in 335-331 BC and he kept maintaining more wars in the area. He made Babylon the capital of his new empire. His army contained numerous Jews who refused, from religious scruples, to take part in the reconstruction of the destroyed Belus temple - Hebrew: Ba’al, Pagan - in Babylon. Alexander the great was announced as ‘King of Asia’. Later he entered Babylon, where he was mostly welcomed by the population. He initiated there considerably reconstruction work 91

Rizk Khoury, p. 214-215. Foster, p. 160-161, Report of the Commission, p. 3. 93 Vehement Kurd revolts took place as from 1922 until today. Shimoni, p. 187-188. 92

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on the city temple. He died at the age of 33 as a result of an illness in June 323 BC. The Greek ruled this region for farther 200 years.94 After his death its inhabitants moved away and the city was abandoned for a few centuries.

Parthian period Jewish sources contain no mention of Parthian influence at this time and place; the very name "Parthian" does not occur, unless indeed "Parthian" is meant to be "Persian," which occurs occationally. The Syrian king, Antiochus Sidetes, marched against the Parthians; and when the allied armies defeated the Parthians (129 BC), the king ordered a Feast of Weeks. The Jews of Babylonia, it seems, had the intention of founding a high priesthood, which would have made themquite independent of Judea. But the Judeans received a Babylonian as their high priest, which indicates the importance enjoyed by the Jews of Babylonia. Still in religious matters the Babylonians, as indeed the whole diaspora, were in many regards dependent upon Judea. They went on pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the festivals. How free a hand the Parthians permitted the Jews is perhaps best illustrated by the rise of the little Jewish state in Nehardea. Very remarkable is the conversion of the king of Adiabene to Judaism. These instances show not only the tolerance, but the weakness of the Parthian kings. The Babylonian Jews made their hatred felt and after the Romans under Trajan tried to invade the country; it was in a great measure owing to the revolt of the Babylonian Jews that the Romans did not become masters of Babylonia too. Philo of Alexandria (15 BC to 40 AD) speaks of the large number of Jewish resident in that country, a population, which was no doubt considerably swelled by new immigrants after the destruction of Jerusalem. Accustomed in Jerusalem from early times to look to the east for help, and aware, as the Romans were, the Jews of Babylon could render effectual assistance, Babylonia became with after the fall of Jerusalem the very bulwark of Judaism. The collapse of the Bar Kochba revolt (132-136 AD) no doubt added to the number of Jewish refugees in Babylon.95

94 95

Frahm, p. 236-241. jewishvirtuallibrary. Jewish Encyclopedia online.

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In the continuous Roman–Persian Wars, the Jews had every reason to hate the Romans, the destroyers of their sanctuary, and to side with the Parthians, their protectors. Possibly it was recognition of services thus rendered by the Jews of Babylonia, and by the Davidic house especially. The numerous Jewish subjects were provided with a central authority, which assured an undisturbed development of their own internal affairs.

Jews in the Sassanid period The Persian Ardashir I96 180–242 AD destroyed the rule of the Arsacids in the winter of 226, and founded the illustrious dynasty of the Sassanids, which intensified nationalism, different from the Parthian rulers prior. Shapur I the Great (?-270, son of Ardashir I and his succesor was the second King of the Sasanid Empire. He was a particularly tolerant ruler, ensuring the best reception for representatives of all religions in his empire. Jewish sources mention him as a benevolent ruler that gave audiences to the leaders of the community. He was a friend of the Jews and his friendship with Shmuel was beneficial for the Jewish community. His Wife was Jewish and this gave the Jewish community a relative freedom of religion and other advantages. Shapur II (309-379 AD) was also friend of the Babylonian Jews, especially of rabbi Abba Arikha (175-247 AD). The Exilarch Bostanai was called as most Exilarchs out of Eretz Israel, Reish Galuta, Hebrew for Head of the Diaspora. The first historical documents referring to it date from the time when Babylon was part of the Parthian Empire. The office of the Exilarch lasted to the middle of the 6th century. The position was restored again in the 7th century, under Arab/Muslim rule. Exilarchs continued to be appointed through the 11th century. Under Arab rule, Muslims treated the Exilarch with great pomp and respect. In Arabic legend, the Resh Galuta (Arabic: ras al-galut) remained a highly important personage; they were the secular authority over the Jews in Islamic countries, and according to tradition, they were descendants of Judean kings, which is why they were treated with grate honor.

96

Ardashir I was "King of Kings of Sasanian Empire" and its the founder in 224 with the overthrow of the Parthian Empire. The dynasty ruled for four centuries, until it was overthrown by the Rashidun Caliphate in 651.

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Jews of Babylon The latest about 280-300 AD, there is an attestation in form of a Zoroastic inscription of the chief priest Kadir, that writes about his success in the abatement of Christians and Jews. The Jews were the oldest organized religious group in the Sassanid south Babylon, as a combination of settlements and conversions, which can be proven through the fact that most Pagan temple vanished and were replaced with synagogues, as Judaism started to spread within the Aramaeic population. Many of this “new Jews” converted later to Christianity97. After the fall of Jerusalem, Babylonia became the focus and academic center of Judaism for more than a thousand years, all the way up to the 13th century. To the original Jews, which lived there since the sixth century BC, Many more Jews migrated to Babylon in 135 AD after the Bar Kokhba revolt - 132–136 AD98, and in the centuries after.99 One of the main seats of Babylonian Judaism was Nehardea, which became a large city made up mostly of Jews. By the first century BC, Babylonia had already a quickly growing population of an estimated 1,000,000 Jews, which increased to an estimated two million between the years 200 AD and 500 AD, both by natural growth and by immigration of more Jews from the Land of Israel. This community made up about a sixth of the world Jewish population at that time.100

97

Toral-Niehoff, p. 152-153. The Bar Kokhba revolt was a major rebellion of the Jews of the Judaea Province against the Roman Empire. The revolt erupted as a result of religious and political tensions in the Judaea province, under the command of Simon bar Kokhba. 99 Vermebrand, p. 95. 100 Gryazel, p. 137. ?? 98

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Jews out of the cities In the middle of the Sassanid period, big Jewish community was built101; the important and well known Jewish Talmudic-academies Sura102 and Nahardea103 were established in central Babylonia, and Pumbedita104 near the Euphrath. Although there are not real historical evident for this assumption, it is most probable that there was a Jewish community in Al-Hira, which is yet an evident in historical records. Jewish-Arabic communities existed probably threw out the whole Arabic peninsula, which is mentioned in many Arabic scripts and sources, especially in south-Arabia and the Hijaz; the most well known are the Jewish communities in Medina. The Jewishness of this for-Islamic-Arab communities are partly ignored, especially by Jewish scholars, as there is no mentioning of them in the Mishna or Talmud; some of the Jewish scholars see them as non-Jewish minorities. Others, like Christian Robin, on behalf of the inscripts found mostly in south-Arabia, think that the Jewish communities really existed and they have to be counted as real Jews. Anyhow, Robin does not see the fact that they are not mentioned in Talmud or Mishna as an evidence that this Jewish communities did not exist, or that this communities were non-Jewish ones.105 Al-Hira was placed on a road-cross of many international commercial ways. Leading from north Mesopotamia and Syria to central Arabia and the Persian golf, it became an important information and commercial center, resting places for Caravans and had an harbor. Christians, Jews and Agnostics had a big influence on the development and the character of the city. As the merchants passed borders, they were bearer and brought diverse cultural influences to the place and became Cultural Intermediators. Christians and Jews brought there bible tells and motives.106

101

Neusner, p. 242. Encyclopedia Judaica, “Sura”, Bashan, p. 316-317. 103 Encyclopedia Judaica, “Nehardea”, Gilat, p. 59-60. 104 Encyclopedia Judaica “Pumbedita”, Beer, p. 733. 105 Toral-Niehoff, p. 157-158. 106 Toral-Niehoff, p. 159. 102

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Judaism - the first One God Religion First, the Jews believed that the temple in Jerusalem was their only center, but with time passing and many diasporas developing, they started to build synagogues which were to replace the temple of Jerusalem, especially since the temple had long since been destroyed. With time passing, “the synagogues became the ‘heart of Judaism’; later on, out of the synagogues and out of Judaism being the one religion that believes in a sole god, the Christian church and the Mohammedan mosque has grown. The protound moral and religious teachings growing out of the richness of Hebraic experience, ... much of it out of contact with the Two River Country, were later brought together in form of the Pentateuch. On that great body of law and teachings rested Judaism, and in it were the roots of Christianity and Islam.” Writes Foster. And, that “this shows the intimate associations of Iraq with the origins of civilization, including that of Judaism and Christianity.”107 When Muhammad came with Islam, Jewish and Christian elements had already widely penetrated the country and were competing for acceptance.108

Babylonia as center of Judaism After the fall of Jerusalem, Babylon became the focus of Judaism for more than a thousand years, and the place where Jews would acclimate themselves as a people without a land. The Jews of Babylon would even, for the first time, write prayers such as the Kaddish, in a language other than Hebrew, in Judeo-Aramaic, a harbinger of the many languages Jewish prayers would come to be written on top of Hebrew and Aramaic as Greek, Arabic, and Turkish in the Diaspora. The rabbi Abba Arika (175-247 AD), or "Rab" due to his status as being the highest authority in Judaism, is considered by the Jewish oral tradition the key leader, who along with the whole people in the Diaspora maintained Judaism after the destruction of Jerusalem. Rab quietly left the Judea Province to return to his Babylonian home, the year of which has been recorded as 219 of the common era; this year is considered to mark the beginning of a new era 107 108

Foster, p. 6- 10. Foster, p. 16.

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for the Jewish People; it is seen as the initiation of the dominant role which the Babylonian academies played for several centuries, for the first time outmoding Judea and Galilee in the quality of Torah study. .

By 100 AD many of the Aramaic-speaking Assyrians adapted Biblical Jewish names.109 Other scientists see the beginning of Christianity in the region closer to the west; it does not answer the question if the early Christians were Pagan or Jewish before becoming Christians. It can not be proofed, but it is known that the Jews were the oldest community in the region, and they became more by convert of the Pagan population into Judaism. During the Sassanid period, most Pagan temples disappeared and were replaced by Jewish synagogues. Many converted yet later to Christianity.110

Academies of Babylon111

Nehardea, Sura, Pumbedita At the time of beginning of Christianity the Jews launched Academies in Mesopotamia, like in Nahardea, Sura, and Pumbedita, which became the progenitor of European Universities. By the middle ages, the leader rabbis of those academies were the effective leader of Jewry.112 Like in the North, The presence of a dense Jewish community centers in the region is evident in the region of al-Hira and the center of Babylon, which are very close to each other. The important Jewish Talmudic academies Sura and Nehardea were located in central Babylon, Pumbedita was not far from there. It is most probable that there was also a Jewish community in al-Hira, but the evidences are meager. 113 As this places are not mentioned either in Jewish chronology or in the Talmud or Mishna, it is not very well known, and some scientists presume that this groups were not Jews but other

109

Gillman, p. 33. Toral-Niehof, p. 153. 111 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 4, p. 29-30; Saadoun, p. 12; Jewish Encyclopedia online and many more. 112 Rahmani 2006, p. 98. 113 Toral-Niehof, p. 156-157. 110

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groups of monotheistic minorities. The scientist Christian Robin pleads that this fact should not be an argument to expulse them from Judaism.114 In the years 468 to 474 AD, which are called in the Talmud “the year of the destruction of the world”, synagogues were destroyed, study of Torah was prohibited, Jewish children were delivered forcibly to Zoroastrian115 priesthood, and the Sura yeshiva was probably destroyed.116 The time between 474 AD and the Muslim conquest is not well documented; it is only known that the Jews were apparently well treated.117 Most Jews to this day rely on the quality of the work of Babylon during this period rather than that of the Galilee from the same period. The Jewish community of Babylon was already learned, Rab just focused and organized their study. Leaving an existing Babylonian academy at Nehardea - which was later moved to Pumbedita - to his colleague Samuel, Rab founded the new Sura Academy in Sura, which was already known as a Jewish city. This created an environment, in which Babylon had two contemporary leading academies, competing with one another, yet so far removed from one another, they could never interfere with each other's operations. This two academies likewise were accounted of equal rank and influence, this can be compared with the Judea academies of the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai, which had a similar concept of relationship, except that Rab and Shemuel agreed far more often than the respective houses of Hillel and Shammai, which were against each other and who nearly never agreed on questions like law etc. The ensuing discussions in the classes of the Babylonian academies furnished the earliest stratum and style of the scholarly material deposited in the Babylonian Talmud.118 The Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, also known as the Geonic Academies, were the center for Jewish scholarship and the development of Jewish law from roughly 589BCto 1038 114

Toral-Niehof, p. 158. Zoroastrianism is an ancient Iranian religion and areligious philosophy. It was founded by the Prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) in ancient Iran. The precise date of the founding of Zoroastrianism is uncertain. An approximate date of 1500– 1200 BCE has been established through archaeological evidence and linguistic comparisons with the Hindu text Rig Veda. Zoroastism have influenced other, later religions including Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity and Islam. Estimates of the current number of Zoroastrians worldwide vary between 145,000 and 2.6 million. Hinnel, J (1997), The Penguin Dictionary of Religion, Penguin Books UK; Hoschander, Jacob. "The Book of Esther in the Light of History: Chapter IV", The Jewish Quarterly Review, New Series, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jul., 1919), pp. 87–88; Hourani, p. 87; Goodstein, Laurie (200809-06). "Zoroastrians Keep the Faith, and Keep Dwindling". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-03. 116 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 4, p. 29; Foster, p. 6. 117 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 4, p. 30. 118 Saadoun, p. 12. 115

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CE. Geographically it is not identical with the ancient empire of Babylonia, since the Jewish focus of interest had to do with the religious academies, which were situated between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates and primarily between Pumbedita and Sura. The most important and famous academies were Sura, Pumbedita and Nehardea. The academies were founded in pre-Islamic Babylonia under the Zoroastrian Sassanid dynasty. They operated for four hundred years under the Islamic caliphate.

Nehardea Situated near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka, it is one of the earliest centers of Babylonian Judaism. It was the seat of the exilarch and gose back to King Jehoyachin. The Nehardea –Hebrew: river of knowledge - academy was one of the biggest Jewish Yeshiva Academies in Babylon, active intermittently at various times since the beginning of the period of the Amoraim and until the end of the Geonim period. According to Rabbi Sherira Gaon, Jehoiachin and his coexilarchs built the synagogue "Shaf we-Yatib" at Nehardea, for the foundation of which they used earth and stones which they had brought, in accordance with the words of Psalms 102:15, from Jerusalem. Nehardea emerges clearly into the light of history at the end of the Tannaitic period from approximately 10-220 CE. The period of the Tannaim is also referred to as the Mishnaic period. Samuel ben Abba, who was an authority in Nehardea, established the reputation of its academy. Soon after the death of Samuel ben Abba (254), it was destroyed in 259, and its place as the academy second to Sura was taken by Pumbedita.119

119

Babylonian Talmud, Tractate: Shabbat, Bekoroth, Baba Kamma, Baba Bathra, Sanhedrin, Hullin.

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Sura The Sura Academy was founded at about 200 AD in Sura city, which was already known as a Jewish city. The first traces of an attempt to edit the enormous mass of material that ultimately formed the Babylonian Talmud was not Pumbedita, but Sura, which was destined to be the birthplace of this work, along with the sealing of the Talmud. The school at Pumbedita recognized the preeminence of that of Sura; this leadership was firmly retained for several centuries. Also the materials accumulated for two centuries by the Babylonian Academies were collected in Sura. So, the Babylonian Talmud must be considered the work of the Academy of Sura. Later, the Jewish center moved back to Pumbedita. The era of the Savora sages has began in about 500 AD; in most part of that period, proper studying on regular basis did not take place in Sura Academy, due to pogroms against the Jewish community in Sura. Sura declined during this period. In Pumbedita the study continued and the academy became the leading academy of Babylonia.120

Pumbedita The city of Pumbedita was settled by Jews already before the academy was established; actually since the days of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, 69 AD. The academy was founded at the beginning of the second generation of the Amora era, by R. Judah ben Ezekiel, and was active as an influential and dominant Jewish academy for about 800 years - until 1058, along with the Sura Academy.121 The Pumbedita Academy was a Jewish Yeshiva academy, founded in the third century AD. It was named after the Pumbedita city in Babylon, where it was founded. It was situated on the Bedita River, a side Stream of the Euphrat. The modern-day city of Fallujah stands in its ruins. The academy was founded at the beginning of the second generation of the Amora era, and was active as an influential and dominant Jewish academy, along with the Sura Academy. 120 Jewish Encyclopedia - Gaon, Moshe Gil: "Jews in Islamic countries in the Middle Ages", and "Kingdom of Israel in the Gaonic era". jewishencyclopedia.com. 121

The information about the length of the existence of the academies diverges from 450 to 800 years. jewishvirtuallibrary.org. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia Isaac Landman – 1941.

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After the pogroms reached Pumbedeita, the heads of the Yeshiva had to move the Pumbedeita academy to Firuz Shapur for a course of around 50 years, until it was reinaugurated at Pumbedeita city in 589 AD. At the time, the academies of Pumbedita and Sura became the most influential and dominant Yeshivas of the Jewish communities World Wide; Torah decrees and other religious rulings were issued from these Yeshivas to all Jewish Diaspora. Thousands of letters with Halachic issues attached were received at Pumbedita, addressed to the heads of the academy from all around the Jewish Diaspora. Along with Rab Hai Gaon's death in about 1038, the era of the Geonim has ended. Twenty years latter the Pumbedita academy was closed. When in 1038 the era of the Geonim has ended, the Exilarch was appointed dean of the academy of Pumbedita, the only man to be simultaneously a Gaon and the Exilarch. However, 20 years after the latter event, Hezekiah ben David was executed in torture by the Muslim caliph, and the Pumbedita academy was closed.122 The institution of the Jewish Exilarch was dismounted by 1401. There was an atempt which at the end failed, to restore Iraq's Jewry to its former glory which existed For more than 1,500 years, from the era of Alexander the Great to the late 13th century, when a high Mesopotamian priest in Babylon ruled as the supreme leader of Eastern Jewry. Known as the Exilarch, he settled all disputes brought before him by Jews living as far away as India and Spain. His authority ended only when Mongol hordes sacked Babylon, for centuries the world's largest Jewish community. By Joel Millman The Guardian - UK

122

Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon, in accordance with Babylon Talmud, Tractate Rosh Hashanah, Jewish Encyclopedia - Gaon, Moshe Gil, "Kingdom of Israel in the Gaonic era", 1997.

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The title Gaon and the Geonic period123 „The title of ‘gaon’ – Genius – was given to the heads of the two Babylonian academies of Sura and Pumbedita. There are no data whatever to show when the title ‘Gaon’ originated. ... The period of the Geonim may be said to begin with the year 589. The last Gaon died in 1034/38. ... It was Saadia Gaon’s activity that lent to this academy unusual luster and an epoch-making importance for Jewish science and its literature.“ The Geonim were usually nominated by the academies, sometimes by the „Exilarch“.124 The main assignment of a Gaon was the interpretation of the Talmud,125 and according to his interpretations, to confirm and strengthen the „Religious-legal decisions“ as well as to have a considerable knowledge in the Midrash.126 The Gaon had also the function of the overhead judge of the community. The Geonim were the teachers of the whole Diaspora of the Middle East and were often members of the „Great Sanhedrin.“127 The Jewish spiritual, intellectual and mental center, not only for the Middle East, but for the entire Jewish World, was for many centuries in Babylon, but when Cairo was founded by the Fatimides, many of the scholars emigrated from Babylon to Egypt, which became the most important Jewish spiritual center in the Middle East.128

The Geonim The first gaon of Sura, according to Sherira Gaon, was Mar bar Rab Chanan, who assumed office in 609. The last gaon of Sura was Samuel ben Hofni, who died in 1034; the last gaon of Pumbedita was Hezekiah Gaon, who was tortured to death in 1040; hence the activity of the Geonim covers a period of nearly 450 years. 123

Geonim (Plural), Gaon: Hebrew, „Genious”. Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 17, „The Jewish Religious Leadership in the Muslim East“, p. 13, Encyclopedia Hebraica, Volume 24, „Ägypten in the Tora“ (the books Moses), p. 237. Saadoun, Article Regev, p. 87. 124 Exilarch / Reish Galuta / Rosh Galut “head of the exile” refers to the leaders of the Diaspora Jewish community. Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 9, „Gaon“, p. 147; Saadoun, p. 12. 125 Hebrew: „study”. A collection of „Opinions and teachings which disciples acquire from their predecessors in order to explain them“.Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 19, „Talmud“, p. 469-470. 126 Hebrew: „interpretation“. „Rabbinic Literature containing Anthologies and Compilations of both biblical exegesis and sermons delivered in Public.“ Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 14, „Midrash“, p. 182-185. 127 Sanhedrin: “sitting together”, hence “assembly“ or “council” was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel. The „Great Sanhedrin“ was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members. Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 9, „Gaon“, p. 147. 128 Petry, article: Stillman, p. 201.

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The Geonim were the presidents of the great rabbinical colleges of Sura and Pumbedita, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the worldwide Jewish community in the early medieval era.129 During the Geonic period, Sura and Pumbedita were considered the only important seats of learning for the Jewish World: their heads and sages were the undisputed authorities, whose decisions were sought from all sides – means world wideand were accepted wherever Jewish communal life existed.130

Geonim and the Academies Both academies were founded during the era of the Jewish Amoraim – those who say – teachings of the Oral Torah; which agitated from about 200 to 500 AD in Babylonia and Israel, went on during the era of the Savoraim – those who create suppositions - from about 500 to 700 or 800 AD, and ended up with the end of the Geonic period about 1040. Hai Gaon moved the academies to Baghdad approximately in 898-890, because during his period the number of Jews moving to Baghdad was constantly growing. However, the academy names remained "Pumbedita academy", and “Sura academy" despite its relocation. The academies were founded in pre-Islamic Babylonia under the Zoroastrian Sassanid dynasty. For the Jews of late antiquity and the early middle ages, the yeshivot of Babylonia served as a council of Jewish religious authorities. Sura and Pumbedita were considered the seats of Diaspora learning. Pumbedita faded after its chief rabbi was murdered in 1038, and Sura faded soon after. This ended for ever the great scholarly reputation given to Babylonian Jews, as the center of Jewish thought.

129

Louis Ginzberg: Geonica. Graetz, Heinrich: History of the Jews, Vol. 2. Cosimo. p. 547. Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. 6; Saadoun, p. 12. 130 Hebrew Encyclopedia online, Gaon.

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Appointment as Gaon Saadia Gaon / Rasag (882 Fayum, Egypt -942 Israel) 131 „Greatest scholar and author of the Geonic period.“ Saadia ben Joseph Al-Fayyumi132 oder Saadia Gaon / Acronym: Rasag133 was born in 882 in a Village near Fayyum, Egypt. Died in 942 in Israel.134 His father was a simple, working man. It is not known who his teachers were, either in Jewish studies or in Greco-Arabic Philosophy. His dispute with Ben Meir was an important factor in the call to Sura which he received in 928. The Exilarch of Baghdad appointed him as Gaon (head of the academy), despite the weight of precedent (no foreigner had ever served as Gaon before). Under his leadership, the ancient academy entered upon a new period of brilliancy. In a probate case Saadia refused to sign a verdict of the Exilarch which he thought unjust, although the Gaon of Pumbedita had subscribed to it. The son of the Exilarch threatened Saadia Gaon with violence to secure his compliance, which caused open war between the Exilarch and the Gaon. It was a strife which divided Babylonian Judaism. He wrote both in Hebrew and in Arabic a work, now known only from a few fragments, entitled "Sefer ha-Galui" – Hebrew: book of openness - in which he emphasized the services which he had rendered with great but justifiable pride. The seven years, which Saadia spent in Baghdad, did not interrupt his literary activity. His principal philosophical work was completed in 933; and four years later, Saadia was reinstated in his office; but he held it for only five more years. Saadia died in Sura, Babylonia, in 942, at the age of sixty, of "black gall" - melancholia. He prevailed a reputation as „a learned scholar of Torah and secular sciences“. He is probably the first to research and write about Hebrew grammar, and wrote the first Hebrew lexicon as well as philosophical, grammatical, linguistic, halachic, and poetic works.

131

Encyclopedia Hebraica, Band 24, „Ägypten in der Tora“ (die fünf Bücher Moses), S. 237, Encyclopedia Judaica, Band 17, „Saadia (Ben Joseph) Gaon“, S. 606. 132 Petry, Beitrag: Stillman, S. 200. 133 Akronym: Eine jüdische Tradition sieht vor, dass man bei anerkannten großen Gelehrten die Akronyme verwendet, statt die ganzen, oft langen Namen zu verwenden. Encyclopedia Judaica, Band 11, „Judah Halevi“, S. 492-494. 134 Halevi, S. 13.

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The Babylonian Talmud / Talmud Bavli 135 The key work of these (somehow) competing academies was the compilation of the Babylonian Talmud, completed around the year 520, though rougher copies had already been circulated among the scholarly Jews of the Byzantine Empire even earlier. Editorial work by

the Savoraim136 / Rabbanan Savoraei continued as well on the texts as on its grammar for the next 250 years; much of the text did not re its "perfected" form until around 600-700 AD. The Talmud represents the written record of the Jewish oral tradition. Hebrew: Talmud Bavli, consists of documents compiled over the period of Late Antiquity – between the 3rd and the 135

Talmud, Hebrew: lamad, to study. Jewishvirtuallibrary.org/Talmud. Two Talmud’s were developed and were finished at about the same time, 550 AD: the Yerushalmi / Jerusalem and the Babylonian, which defare in some points. It is regarded as the more comprehensive collection of opinions. 136 The Saboraim were post-Talmudic rabbis, scholars that appeared at the end of the Geonim period, whose diligent hands completed the Talmud and the first great Talmudic commentaries in the first third of the 6th century.

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5th centuries.137 During this time the most important Jewish centers in Mesopotamia, later known as Iraq, were the Sura Academy At Neherdea138 founded by Rab Samuel at Sura and Pumbedita. This Jewish Talmudic Academies in Babylonia were also known as the Geonic Academies – Geonim. The Geonim were the presidents of the two great rabbinical academies of Sura and Pumbedita, and were accepted as the spiritual leaders of the worldwide Jewish community in the early medieval era. Talmud Bavli (the "Babylonian Talmud") comprises the Mishnah and the Babylonian Gemara. According to many other sources, the Babylonian Talmud, Hebrew: ‘Talmud Bavli’ was written between 350 and 700 AD.139 It represents the highlight and culmination of over 300 years of analysis of the Mishnah140 and the Babylonian Gemarah,141 which were dealt and analyzed in the Babylonian Academies. The question as to when the Gemara was finally put into its present form is not settled among modern scholars. Babylonia in this sense is a name only used by Jewish sources referring to the Talmudic period, as mentioned before. The key work of these academies was the compilation of the Babylonian Talmud, starting around 550 AD; most of the text reached its final form only around 700. Talmud Bavli consists mainly of documents compiled over the period of Late Antiquity - 3rd to 5th centuries. During this time the most important Jewish centers in Mesopotamia, later known as Iraq, were the Sura and the Pumbeditha academies. The three centuries in the course of which the Babylonian Talmud was developed in the academies of Iraq were followed by five centuries during which it was zealously preserved, studied within the influence and appreciation of the academies of Iraq, which were considered the most important seats of Jewish learning; with the heads and sages they were the undisputed authorities, the Geonim.142 The Talmud is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is also traditionally referred to as Shas, a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim - six orders. The term "Talmud" refers to the

137 "Talmud and Midrash (Judaism) :: The making of the Talmuds: 3rd-6th century".Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2013. Jacobs, p. 261; Saadoun, p. 12. 138 Neherdea: Hebrew, river of knoledge. A city in Babylonia, situated at the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka. It was known as a Jewish city. 139 jewishvirtuallibrary. 140 Mishnah, Hebrew: from the verb shanah, ‘study and review’. First major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions and of Rabbinic literature. The Mishnah was redacted in 220 AD by Rabbi Yehudah haNasi. 141 Gemarah, Aramaic: gamar, ‘learning by tradition’. It is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis and commentary on the Mishnah. There are two versions of the Gemarah: one from Israel, published about 350-400 CE, the other one from the academies of Sura, Pumbedita, and Mata Mehasia in Babylon, which was published about 500 CE. 142 Encyclopedia Judaica, chapter: Talmud; The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia Isaac Landman – 1941; jewishencyclopedia.com/Talmud.

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“Babylonian Talmud” - “Talmud Bavli” as well as to the “Jerusalem Talmud” – “Talmud Jerushalmi”, which was created at about the same time in Jerusalem. But the influence of the ‘Babylonian Talmud’ has been far more significant than that of the ‘Jerusalem Talmud’.143 Mostly, it is because the influence and prestige of the Jewish community of Israel steadily declined in contrast to the Babylonian community, in the years after the redaction of the Talmud, continuing until the end of the Geonic era in 1034/40. It became the basis for many rabbinic legal codes and customs. Big parts of the text reach its "perfected" form around 600-700. This Talmud was accredited by the whole Jewish Diaspora. The academies lasted until the middle of the 11th century, which ended the great scholarly reputation given to the Jews of Babylon as the center of Jewish thought.

The structure of the Talmud The Talmud has two components; the first part is the Mishnah – Hebrew: memorizing. About 200, the written compendium of Rabbinic Judaism's Oral Torah - Torah Hebrew: Instruction, Teaching, memorizing. The second part is the Gemara - ca. 500. Hebrew: to bring something to an end, to finish something - an elucidation of the Mishnah. The whole Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and in standard print it is over 6,200 pages long. It is written in Tannaitic Hebrew and Aramaic. The Talmud contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including Halakha: law, Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, lore and many other topics. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law and is much quoted in rabbinic literature.144 The Talmud represents the written record of an oral tradition. It became the basis for many rabbinic legal codes, most importantly for the ‘Mishneh Torah’ and for the ‘Shulchan Aruch’, Hebrew: the Set Table; also known as ‘Code of Jewish Law’.145 Orthodox and, to a lesser extent, Conservative Judaism accepts the Talmud as authoritative, while Reconstructionist and Reform Judaism do not. 143

The ‘Jerusalem Talmud’ was edited at about 200-300 AD in Tiberia. Jacobs, p. 279. jewishvirtuallibrary.org/Talmud 145 It was authored in Safed in 1563 and published in Venice two years later. Together with its commentaries, it is the most widely accepted compilation of Jewish law ever written. 144

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Sassanid period In the winter of 226, Ardashir I (180-242) founded the dynasty of the Sassanids.146 Under the Sassanids, Babylonia became the province of Asuristan, with its main city, Ctesiphon, becoming the capital of the Sassanid Empire. Shapur I (215-270) (Shvor Malka: Aramaic form of the name) was a friend to the Jews. His friendship with Rab Shmuel gained many advantages for the Jewish community. Shapur II's mother was Jewish and this gave the Jewish community a relative freedom of religion and other advantages. Shapur was also a personal friend of a Babylonian rabbi called Raba, and Raba's friendship with Shapur II enabled him to secure a relaxation of the oppressive laws enacted against the Jews in the Persian Empire. Christians, Manicheans, Buddhists and Jews at first seemed at a disadvantage, especially under Sassanian high-priest Kartir;147 but the Jews, Because of this friendship were not exposed to the general discrimination which broke out against the more isolated Christians and others.

Arab conquest and early Islamic period The first conflict between local Bedouin tribes and Sassanian forces seems to have been in 634, when the Arabs were defeated at the Battle of the Bridge. In 637 a much larger Muslim force defeated the main Persian army and moved on to sack Ctesiphon. By the end of the following year, the Muslims had conquered almost all of Iraq. Under the Islamic Abbasid period, the two river land became, as from 750 AD, one more time in history the center of a huge empire which reached from Transoxania to North Africa.148 The Muslim conquest was followed by mass immigration of Arabs from eastern Arabia and Oman. These new arrivals established two new garrison cities, at Al-Kufah, near ancient Babylon, and at Basra in the south. The intention was that the Muslims should be a separate community of fighting men and their families living off taxes paid by the local 146

Ardashir I, "King of Kings of Sasanian Empire" in 224 with the overthrow of the Parthian Empire, ruled the Sasanian Empire until his death in 242. The dynasty ruled for four centuries. 147 Kartir was a highly influential Zoroastrian high-priest of the late 3rd century AD who served as advisor to at least three Sassanid emperors. 148

Frahm, p. 253.

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inhabitants. In the north of the country, Mosul began to emerge as the most important city and the base of a Muslim governor and garrison. Apart from the Persian elite and the Zoroastrian priests, whose property was confiscated, most of the local people were allowed to keep their possessions and their religion. Iraq became a province of the Muslim Caliphate.149 At first the capital of the caliphate was Medina, but in 661 Iraq became a subordinate province, even though it was the wealthiest area of the Muslim world and the one with the largest Muslim population.150 When the Muslims conquered Babylon from the Persian Sasanids at about 632, they started to use the name Iraq, which became known, but was not in official use until 1920, when Iraq started its efforts towards independency. In 754/5 the Muslims founded Baghdad and made it their capital. Jews joined the new capital strait after its foundation, and soon it became the largest Jewish community of the region and the seat of the Exilarch, head of the exiled Jews – those who lived in the Diaspora.151

Basra Basra was founded in 636 AD after the Muslim invasion in 635; a short time later, many Jews moved to the city. The sours of the name Basra is controversial. Some scholars think it is an Arabic others suppose it is an Aramaic word. It is the only harbor of Iraq, located on the meeting point of the Syrian and the Arabic deserts, on the main road to Aleppo and to the Arab peninsula on the Shatt al-Arab – the Opening to the Persian Gulf. Basra very soon became a center for distinguished philological, philosophical and religious researchers as well as for translation of important works into Arabic - short time after it was founded in 636 AD. The Jews and the Christians welcomed Islam in Basra and participated in its cultural development. And, until Baghdad was founded in 762, Basra was the highest developed city in the region as well from an economic as a cultural point of view. It is also known that many Basra physicians and scholars left at the eleventh century and went to Israel and Egypt.152

149

The Caliphate stretched from North Africa and later Spain in the west to Sind (now southern Pakistan) in the east. Encyclopedia Britanica online. 150 Encyclopedia Britanica online. 151 Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Vol. 10, p. 14-15. 152 A’nima, p. 102-103, Al-Husni, p. 5, Phizi, p. 7, Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 205.

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Al-Baṣrah, on the west bank of the Shatt al-Arab and formerly Iraq’s main port, is the centre of its southern petroleum sector and the hub of the country’s date cultivation. Basra is one of the great cities of Islamic history and heritage. Much of the city’s infrastructure (sewerage, potable water and health care facilities) remained in a state of disarray, with dire results for public health. Al-Baṣrah’s function as a port has been taken over by Umm Qaṣr, a small deepwater port on the gulf.153 In 1170 the traveler Benjamin of Tudela reported that he found about 10,000 Jews in Basra, including wealthy men and religious scholars. The Basra Jewish communities, both Rabbanite and Karait, comprised beside artisans and merchants also religious scholars and the inteligentsia stood in tight contact with the famous ‘Sura’ yeshiva of Baghdad.154 When the Mongols conquered Iraq in the mid thirteen century, Basre was severly damaged; many Jews were killed and all synagogues destroyed.155 Since Iraq came under the Ottomans (1512-1917), and from than on Jews and Christians became second-class citizens and were called ‘Dhimis.’ They had to pay special taxes and at some point had to carry special dresses, but they had religious freedom until 1839, when the Sultan, under pressure of the European powers changed the law and gave the foreigners all rights back.156 In the Middle Ages Basra was a big city and an important trade and financial center thank to its Jewish and Christian inhabitants.157 The first registrations which were made in 1703-1730 show that in Basra there were 6351 households; out of them were 69 Christians and 117 Jewish, which makes it about 2% of the population.158 After the British invaded the ‘two-stream-land’ in 1914, a prosperous period began and the number of Jews increased from 1,500 to almost 10,000 in 1947. Banks and economy grew and an equality law for foreigners was established especially in Baghdad and Basra.159 Under the British mandate, the Jews enjoyed peace and security as well as economic abundance. The British modernized its Port; their commercial interests made it one of the most important ports in the Persian Gulf, serving the British interests in the Colonies of the Far East. During world war II it was an important port, which served the supplies to Russia by the

153

Encyclopedia Britanica online. Sagiv, p. 39-40. 155 Encyclopedia Judaica, volume 3, p. 205. 156 Sagiv, p. 43-44. 157 Sagiv, p. 27. 158 Lewis. The Jews of Islam. P. 110-111. 159 Sagiv, p. 46-47, Gat, p. 13, Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 205. 154

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allies, the USA, England, and France. At the Harbor-administration Jews carried many positions. 160 When Iraq claimed independency in 1920, equal rights for minorities were put into effect, which included also the Jews; five Jews were chosen as members of Parliament in 1924. Only when the riots in Palestine began in 1929, Zionism was put out of law, but until 1934 there were no abuses. 161 In the 1960s there were still nine Synagogues in Basra.162 A number of abuses against Jews, especially in Basra, were reported during the summer of 1948; the Jewish businessman Shafiq Adas was hanged publicly for alleged selling British army scrap to Israel; his Muslim partners were left alone. “His trial was conducted with grotesque publicity”,163 writes Shiblac.

Theosophists in Basra At about 1830, the Theosophical society appeared in Basra and threatened to divide the Jewish community. Their ideas were to reform the society on principles of Humanism and equality also for Women, openness and liberalism, influenced by 17th and 18th Century European philosophers. They had tendencies to secular ideas although they kept their Jewish life stile.164 The Farhud in Basra, 1941 The Farhud began in Mai 1941 in Basra. Jewish property became no-man’s-land and was looted by the incited mob, but shortly after the Farhud life got back to ‘normal.’ Many distinguished Muslim families rescued Jews during agitations and riots by other Muslims.165 Thousands Jews held important posts in the government and its establishments like the harbor, oil-companies etc. There was a minority of very reach Jews; about 80% were highmiddle-class and a middle and law class which lived comfortably; education level was 160

Sagiv, p. 43-47, Gat, p. 13. Gat, pp. 13, 32, Cohen, p. 32. 162 Ben Ja’akov, p. 443, Sasson, pp. 106, 110. 163 Shiblac, p. 93. 164 Cohen, H. p. 401-405, Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 18, pp. 276-278, Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 205. 165 Sagiv, p. 16. 161

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middle, although there were hardly illiterate Jews.166 In November 1945, the anniversary of the Balfour-declaration (November 1917), there were riots and the tension grew. With the establishing of the state of Israel in 1948 in former Palestine the situation of the Jews got worthe. They were accused of being foreign spies and they were under a life threaten.167 Since its foundation Basra was a center of research, especially for the religious, philosophy and linguistic sectors. Especially from the 8th century, historians and writers worked on preservation of the Arab language and perpetuation of Arab poetry, the ‘Jahilia’. Jews and Christian worked together with the Muslims especially on philosophy, linguistic and translation.168 Since there were no possibilities for high education in Basra, which opened its first collage in 1952, whoever wanted to study had to move to Baghdad or to go to a university abroad. The old city is located on the bank of a small extension of the el-Mada river. In this part, the schools, also those of the Jewish community, are concentrated, as most of the synagogues. Since the 1860s there were eight to nine synagogues in Basra. The ‘suq-el-jaj’ – chicken market and the cloth market, most of its shops belonged to Jews at the beginning of the 20th century are also located in the old city. Jews used to close their shops on Saturdays and Jewish holidays, but, with growing influence of education, it changed.169 In 1903 the ‘Alliance Israelite Universelle’ established its first school in Basra; most of the students could not pay the fee, but it was arranged by the Jewish community. In 1913 the first girl’s school was established.170 In 1776 the Persian invaded Basra, murdered a big part of its inhabitants, raped the young women and were especially cruel to the Jews. The president of the Jewish community was captured and taken into Persia. When the Persian left the city in April 1779, the Jews declared this date as ‘the day of miracle’ and celebrated it yearly.171 Anti-Jewish and anti-Zionism in Basra After the revolt of 1920 with the Iraqi claim of independence during a conference in Cairo 1921, the British decided to crown Feisal as King of Iraq; a parliament was established. When 166

Sagiv, p. 98-101, 117-119. Sagiv, p. 121-123. 168 Sagiv, p. 24-25. 169 Sagiv, p. 11, 14-15, 23, 29-30, 56-59, Cohen, 1972 p. 74, Sasson, David, p. 97. 170 Sagiv, p. 145-147. 171 Sagiv, p. 41-42. 167

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Iraq became member of the UN in 1932, the Iraqi government promised to defend the freedom and life of the Jews; but with the beginning of the riots in Palestine (1929, 1936), Zionist activities were forbidden, and the anti-Zionism became anti-Jewish, although there were hardly Zionists among the Jews of Iraq. There were no attacks on Jews because most Palestinians, Syrians and Nazis were located in Baghdad. The Jews were not allowed to leave the country.172 Zionism was of very little interest in Basra, as in the whole Arab world. Until the riots in Palestine in 1929 respectively the Farhud in 1941, there was not any necessity for Zionism. Not until 1943, the ‘Yishuv’ – the Jewish community in Erez Israel, sent ‘Shelihim’ - envoy’s to Iraq in order to convince the Jews of the necessity to leave Iraq. A big amount of weapons was bought in Iraq by the ‘Hagana’ - forerunner of the Israeli army, and sent to Israel.173 After Israel was established in May 1948, until December 1949, a military regime was declared in Iraq; the situation got really bad. Many Jews were arrested and the Zionist movements ceased to exist. In September 1948, Shafiq Adas, a Jewish millionaire, was accused of selling arms to Israel with no evidences. He was hanged in the street, in front of his home in Basra. Jews always found ways to leave Iraq, mostly via Basra and Persia. False papers were common and bribe was paid so airplanes were able to take Jews direct to Israel past the authorities. There were also many smaller initiatives of smuggling Jews from Iraq.174 Non-Muslim population of Basra There exist some numbers of the Jewish and Christian population. The numbers show adult males, which in generally means heads of families: In 1691

the non-Muslim population contained

1,583 adult males

In 1729

the non-Muslim population contained

2,307 adult males

In 1834

the non-Muslim population contained

3,822 adult males

There are indications that the Muslim may have grown even faster, as the wars against the Safavids brought a large number of troops to the city.175

172

Sagiv, p. 89-98. Sagiv, p. 175-182, 188-189, 197-198. 174 Sagiv, p. 214-216, a detailed list is to be found in p. 218-254, Encyclopedia Judaica volume 3, p. 206. 175 Rizk Khoury, p. 112, according to Court Records of Mosul. 173

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Islamic period and the Jews The first caliph, Abu Bakr, sent his best warrior Khalid bin Al-Waleed against Iraq; the conquest of Iraq at 630 CE, brought expressions of Islam toward Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians. The first legal expression of Islam toward those minorities was the institut of the poll tax ("jizyah"), and the tax upon real estate ("kharaj"). The Jews have favored the advance of the Arabs, from whom they could expect mild treatment. The account, at all events, reveals that Bostanai, Who was the first exilarch under Arabian rule and the founder of the succeeding Exilarch dynasty, was a man of prominence, who received certain high privileges from the victorious Arab general, such as the right to wear a signet ring, a privilege otherwise limited to Muslims. Ali, in 656, made the city of Kufa in Iraq his capital, and it was there that Jews who were expelled from the Arabian Peninsula went. It is perhaps according to these immigrants that the Arabic language so rapidly gained ground among the Jews of Babylonia. In 641about 90,000 Jews are said to have dwelt in Firuz Shabur, (today: Anbar), which was captured by Ali. This facts are written in the Jewish chroniclers of the time. The proximity of the court lent to the Jews of Babylonia a central position, compared with the whole caliphate; Babylonia still continued to be the focus of Jewish life. The proximity of the court lent to the Jews of Babylonia a species of central position, so that Babylonia still continued to be the focus of Jewish life. The time-honored institutions of the Exilarchate and the Gaonate—the heads of the academies attained great influence—constituted a kind of higher authority, voluntarily recognized by the whole Jewish Diaspora. In Arabic legend, the resh galuta - the Exilarch, remained a highly important personage. The great schism between the Shi’its and Sunnites brought endless conflict in the civil life of Iraq;176 that is between the Persian and the Muslim ruler, which changed often. But, “Muslim tolerance was very marked. In spite of the cruelties and looting incident to military campaign, there was a remarkable degree of tolerance towards Jews and Christians.”177

176 177

Foster, p. 17-18. Foster, p. 22-23.

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The Umayyads In 637 a large Muslim force defeated the Persian army and moved on towards Mesopotamia. By the end of the following year (638), the Muslims had conquered almost the entire region (today’s Iraq), and the last Sasanian king had fled to Iran. The Muslim conquest was followed by mass immigration of Arabs from eastern Arabia and Oman into the region. These new arrivals established two new garrison cities, at AlKufah, near ancient Babylon, and at Basrah in the south. The intention was that the Muslims should be a separate community of fighting men with their families, living off taxes as paid by the local inhabitants. In the north of the country, Mosul began to emerge as the most important city and the base of a Muslim governor and garrison. Apart from the Persian elite and the Zoroastrian178 priests, whose property was confiscated, most of the local people were allowed to keep their possessions and their diverse religions.179 Iraq now became a province of the Muslim caliphate, which stretched from North Africa (later from Spain) in the north-west to Sind (now southern Pakistan) in the south-east. At first the capital of the caliphate was at Medina, but in 656, ‘Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law made Iraq his base. In 661, however, ʿAli was murdered, and the caliphate was passed to the Umayyad families of Syria. Iraq became a subordinate province, even though it was the wealthiest area of the Muslim world and the one with the largest Muslim population.180

The Umayyads and the Jews The Umayyad caliph, Umar II (717-720), persecuted many Jews. His successor was Harun alRashid (786-809). Although the law requiring Jews to wear a yellow badge upon their clothing originated with Harun, and although the laws of Islam were stringently enforced by him to the detriment of the Jews, the development which Arabian culture underwent in his

178 Named after the religious philosopher Zoroaster; also called Zarathustraism, is an ancient monotheistic Iranian religion and a religious philosophy. Zoroaster's ideas led to a formal religion bearing his name by about the 6th century BCE and have influenced other later religions including Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity and Islam. 179 Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”. 180 Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”.

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time must have benefited the Jews as well; a scientific tendency began to make itself noticeable among the Babylonian Jews under Harun and his successors, especially under AlMa'mun (813-833). The Jews were promoters of knowledge; they translated Greek and Latin authors into Arabic mainly at the House of Wisdom in Bagdad, and by doing it they contributed essentially to their preservation. Nevertheless, at about 830, all non-believers — Magi, Jews, and Christians — were compelled to wear badges; their places of worship were confiscated and turned into mosques; they were excluded from public offices, and compelled to pay to the caliph a tax of one-tenth of the value of their houses and properties. The caliph Al-Mu'tadhel (892-902) ranked the Jews as "state servants."

The Abbasid Caliphate Opposition to the Umayyads finally came in northeastern Iran in 747 with the ʿAbbasids, which were said to be a branch of the Prophets family; they came from their secluded estate in southern Jordan. In 749, the armies from the east reached Iraq, where they received the support of much of the population. The Abbasids, which ruled Mesopotamia between 750 and 1258, made Baghdad de facto their capital. Among the rulers was the well-known Harun ar-Rashid (786-809). As the Mongols conquered the cityon 1258, they destroyed it completely. But they were upright towards the Jews, many Jews came to the country from Kurdistan, Persia and Syria.181 From the beginning, the ʿAbbasid caliphs made Iraq their base. By this time Islam in Iraq had spread well beyond the original garrison towns, even though Muslims were still a minority of the population. This “Abbasid Revolution” ushered in the golden age of Islamic Iraq. The high point of prosperity was probably reached under the reign of Harun al-Rashid (786– 809), when Iraq was very much the centre of the Islamic empire and riches flowed into the capital from throughout the Muslim world. The prosperity and order in the southern part of the country were, however, offset by outbreaks of lawlessness in Al-Jazirah, notably the rebellion of the Bedouins. Serious disruption followed the death of Harun in 809. He divided 181

Rejean 1985, p. 172.

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the caliphate of Baghdad between his two sons; this arrangement soon broke down, and there ensued a very destructive civil war; the political catastrophe of the ʿAbbasid Caliphate was accompanied by economic collapse. The circle of decline started with the civil war after Harun’s death in 809. Iraq was the central province of the caliphate and Baghdad its capital, but the prolonged conflict had left much of the city in ruins and caused great destruction in the countryside.182 It marked the beginning of a long decline in the prosperity of the area, which started at the 9th century and went onwards until the end of the Ottoman period in about 1918. In 819–833, Iraq became the centre of remarkable cultural activity, notably translations of Greek science and philosophy into Arabic. The caliph himself collected texts, he employed translators and established an academy in Baghdad, the Bayt al-Ḥikmah - House of Wisdom, with a library and an observatory; these Arabic translations were rendered into Latin in Spain in the twelfth century. For nearly 30 years the new regime worked well, and Iraq was for the last time the centre of a large empire, and Baghdad continued to prosper. In 870, stability was restored. In the prosperous years of early Islamic Iraq, large numbers of slaves had been imported from East Africa to be used in grueling agricultural work in the marshes of southern Iraq. The great trading port of Basrah was taken in 871, the rebels burning mosques and houses and massacring the inhabitants. Although Baṣrah was soon recaptured, it never fully recovered, and trade shifted down the gulf to other cities.183 The political catastrophe of the Abbasid Caliphate was accompanied by an economic collapse. Although control of much territory lost by the caliphate was regained, virtual autonomy was granted to military governors, or emirs. This practice spiraled out of control under later caliphs, and the eastern dynasties.184

182

Encyclopedia Britanica online. Encyclopedia Britanica online. 184 Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”.

183

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Baghdad As Khorasan was too much on the fringes of the Muslim world to be a suitable Capital, the ʿAbbasids Caliphate built the city of Baghdad in the 8th century as their capital, founded on the site of the old village of Baghdad. It became the leading metropolis of the Arab and Muslim world for five centuries. By the year 800 the city may have had as many as 500,000 inhabitants and was an important commercial centre as well as the seat of government. Baghdad was the largest multicultural city of the middle ages, with a population of more than one million, and was the centre of learning during the Islamic Golden Age.185 “Mansur, the second of the Abbasid line built the new capital city, Baghdad, between 762 and 766. There they were to rule as caliphs till 1258.” Baghdad was built a round city with double walls, as the defense of its frontiers was one of the main concerns of the Abbasid;186 the other concern was the development of a civilization in and about Baghdad. “In many ways Constantinople was her (Baghdad’s) second in learning. In commerce, wealth, and cosmopolitan diversity the world had never seen the equal of Baghdad. For nearly a halfmillenium in the Middle Ages Baghdad was second to no city in population, wealth, influence and intellectual achievements. ... Science was equally as active as commerce. Chemistry, Pharmacy, medicine, botany and biology, mathematics and many other sciences flourished... dictionaries and encyclopedias were produced.”187 The name Baghdad is pre-Islamic and its origins are not quite clear.188 Some Babylonian records are going back to at least 2000 BC. Baghdad is the capital of the Republic of Iraq, as well as of the Baghdad Province surrounding it. It is located on the Tigris River which enabled the city control over strategic points and trading routes.189 “On the west bank of the Tigris a brick was found, stamped with the names and titles of Nebuchadnezzar - 604-561 BC. Many bricks alike were found all over the country, but this one reads: ‘Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, Restorer of E-sagili and E-zida, son of Nabopolassar, King of Babylon, I am.’ This means to Sasson’s opinion, that Baghdad existed at the time of the destruction of the first Temple of Jerusalem (586 BC).”190 He does not write about the beginnings of Baghdad, probably because the former sources are not properly 185

For more information, see under Baghdad. Foster, p. 20-22. 187 Foster, p. 20-22. 188 http://archaeology.about.com/gi/o.htm, www.blackanthem.com/News/Fact_Sheets/Baghdad_Iraq. 189 The population of Baghdad in 2011, was approximately 7,216,040. 190 Sassoon, p. 2. 186

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defined. An inscription by Nebuchadnezzar from 600 BC describes how he rebuilt the old Babylonian town of Baghdadu. “Long before the most important European cities were founded, the land between the two rivers saw the rise and fall, the growth and decline of dynasties and nations. Sumer and Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria, Parthia and Median, Persians and Sassanides.” They are not only names, they indices of Fortune and misfortune, Peace times and battles, prosperity and intellectual expansion, religious and political developments during thousands of years. The knowledge about Baghdad before the Moslem conquest does not enable to ascertain the role, which Baghdad played in this earlier history.191 After the fall of the Umayyads, the first Muslim Dynasty, and the overtaking of the region by the Arab-Muslims, the city was founded in 762 AD by the victorious Abbasid Caliphate, which made it its capital. At first the ʿAbbasid rulers founded a new capital on the site of the old village of Baghdad. Baghdad soon became larger than any other city in either Europe or the Middle East. The ‘Abbasids built massive Round City with four gates, its palace and the main mosque in the centre. This Round City was exclusively a government quarter; across the Tigris on the east bank, a new palace for the caliph’s son and heir al-Mahdi (775–785) was built. Baghdad had access to both the Tigris and the Euphrates river systems and was close to the main route through the Zagros Mountains to the Iranian plateau. Wheat and barley from Al-Jazirah and dates and rice from Al-Basrah and the south could be transported in by water. By the year 800 the city may have had as many as 500,000 inhabitants and was an important commercial centre as well as the seat of government.192 Within a short time Baghdad developed into a major cultural, commercial, and intellectual center for the Islamic world. The ‘House of Wisdom’ was dedicated to the translation of Greek, Middle Persian, Syrian works. It granted the city a worldwide reputation as ‘Center of Learning’. For a variety of reasons, rural migrants have been particularly drawn to Baghdad, the country’s political, economic, and communications hub. First, to minimize the danger of riots in the capital city, the regime—in addition to a variety of security measures—made special efforts to maintain a minimal level of public services, even in the poorest neighborhoods.193

191

Sassoon, p. 6. Encyclopedia Britanica onlin 193 Encyclopedia Britanica online. 192

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Jews of Baghdad From the very beginning of Baghdad, a well-established Jewish community was located there; it was also the seat of the Exilarch – the president of the community. The famous Yeshivot of Sura and of Pumbedita, - The Sura academy was originally dominant, but its authority waned towards the end of the Geonic period and the Pumbedita Gaonate gained ascendancy - were established in Baghdad. They were led by the Geonim – Hebrew: splendors, geniuses, or Rosh Yeshiva - Hebrew: head of the academy. The Geonim played a prominent and decisive role in the transmission and teaching of Torah and Jewish law. They taught Talmud and decided on issues on which no ruling had been rendered during the period of the Talmud. This Yeshivot had a reputation as centers of knowledge and wisdom which was spread all over the Jewish world; the Geonim were accepted as spiritual leaders of the Jewish communities world wide in the early medieval era, and were often asked for advise in religious and personal questions by Rabbis from other countries for many centuries.194 The Geonic period began in 589 and ended about 1040; hence the activity of the Geonim covers a period of nearly 450 years. Other sources say that the tradition of Geonim in Baghdad lasted from the time of the Muslim conquest about 633 AD to 1040 without interruption.195 This two Yeshivot were moved to Baghdad short time after it became the capital of the Abbasides in 762 AD. After Baghdad was rebuilt and made capital of the Abbasid Empire, as well the political as the spiritual center was moved there; it became also the center for the Iraqi Jewry and the seat of the Exilarchs, also named Resh Galutha – head of the exile. The Geonate of Baghdad came in the middle of the twelfth century in close connection with the Jewries of Persia, Central Europe, North Africa and Spain.196 At the beginning of the twelfth century, the Exilarch was Daniel b. Hisdai. The Arabs called him Sayyidna bin Daud. His power and rights over all the Jews in Iraq were accredited and confirmed by the Emir of Baghdad. The Exilarch was also visiting the palace on a weekly basis. His authority extended over all the Abbasid’s empire communities, including Shinar, Persia, Khurasan, Yemen, Mesopotamia, Armenia, Georgia and up to the Caucasus. The rights of the Exilarch’s were, later on, taken over by the Gaon. But, the real head of the Jewish community was the Nasi – the president of the community.197 194

Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 55-56. Sassoon, pp. 11-14, 59-63. 196 Lazarus, p. 279, Sassoon, p. 16. 197 Sassoon, pp. 89-92, 122. 195

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By the tenth century, the situation of the Jews greatly improved. Benjamin of Tudela, a Jewish traveler who visited Iraq in about 1170, and “found approximately 40,000 Jews living peacefully in Baghdad, among the scholars and wealthy people. They had twenty eight synagogues and ten Yeshivot; the rights and authority of the exilarch increased and with it the prestige of the Baghdad community grew.”198 At the end of the twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth, “Baghdad was a seat of wealth and learning, the Jewish community populous and full of religious vigour, free and happy, industrious and charitable.”199 At the first half of the thirteenth century many Jews were physicians, perfumers, shopkeepers, goldsmith or moneychanger, writes Sassoon.

1258- the ruin of Baghdad In 1258 Baghdad was attacked by the Mongol power... and it went down in ruins. This destructive invasion from the east had been made possible by the crusades of western Christendom against Islam, which did not cease for nearly two centuries. Again, the Middle East, including Iraq, was the battleground of world forces, especially France, the leading crusading state from the west. The collision in fact destroyed Baghdad.200 Many quarters were ruined by fire, siege, or looting. The Mongols massacred most of the inhabitants and destroyed large sections of the city. It was the beginning of a recession that lasted through many centuries due to many plagues and multiple successive empires. After changing hands time and again it was taken again by the Mongols; many Jews fled to Kurdistan and Syria.201 Generally, the Jews were oppressed by the Persians, who were fanatical Shi’its, and hated all the non-Muslims. The Mongols, who invaded Iraq in 1258, employed members of Jewish families as their physicians and viziers; one even became Chancellor of the Empire in Baghdad at about 1284. The enmity and jealousy between Mongols and Arabs found its expression by the Arabs overthrowing the Jewish physician, killing him and turning the Jewish quarter of Baghdad into a “pool of blood”.

198

Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 56. Sassoon, p. 91. 200 Foster, p. 25. 201 Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 56. 199

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It seems that the first half of the fourteenth century witnessed a final collapse of the Jewish community in Baghdad, which was probably a result of the pogroms, which began after 1258. There were many distinguished Jewish families from Baghdad in various Persian cities and in other parts of Mesopotamia.202 There is very little knowledge about the Baghdadi Jews for many centuries to come, writes Sassoon.

The Ottomans In 1534 Baghdad fell to the Ottomans. Under the Ottomans, the city fell into decline, partially as a result of the enmity between its rulers, which were Sunni and Shiit Iranians, who did not accept the Sunni control of the city. Between 1623 and 1638, it returned to Iranian rule before falling back into Ottoman hands. For a time, Baghdad had been the largest city in the Middle East. It was also home to a substantial Jewish community, which comprised over a quarter of the city's population.203 But, there was an improvement in the situation of the Jews. Since the middle of the eighth century, “there was a large Jewish community in Baghdad, and its influence was felt in the economic life.”204 Baghdad became known as a press center, and the market for the products of the Baghdadi press was not limited to this Jewish community only, but found outlet among all Jewish communities in India and the Jews of the China Diaspora, which looked upon Baghdad as their “mother community”. Spiritually and religiously they remained dependent on the teaching and tradition of Baghdad. They lived in many places in India, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and of course in Jerusalem205 At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Jews were oppressed again, and many of the wealthy ones fled to Persia, India, and other countries.

202

Sassoon, pp. 92-94, 100. The Nuttall Encyclopedia. 204 Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 56. 205 Sassoon, p. 201-203. 203

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Statistics:206 1170 lived 40,000 Jews in Baghdad according to Benjamin of Tudela. 1860 lived 20,000 Jews in Baghdad according to Rabi Jehiel Kastelmann 1884 lived 40,000 Jews in Baghdad according to Ephraim Neumark Early 20th century lived 50,000 Jews in Baghdad 1930 lived 100,000 Jews in Baghdad 2005 only a few Jews lived in Baghdad In the nineteenth century there were among the wealthy Jews many philanthropists who contributed generously to the community projects, especially to educational and religious institutions. Until 1849 the community was led by a Nasi, later by the Hakham Bashi who was the representative of the Jews to the Turkish authorities.207 The first Hebrew printing was brought to Baghdad in 1863; this house printed 55 books within some twenty years. The second, in 1888 printed some 75 books within twenty five years. The third of 1904 printed some 60 books until 1937. Hebrew Newspapers existed only for short periods.208

Jewish housing in Baghdad Most Baghdadi Jews lived at the beginning of the 20th century in traditional houses within the Jewish quarter, at the North East side of the city. The quarters of each minority were important for the feeling of identity and belonging and for the safety of women and children. The community services were within the quarter, and supplied the inhabitants with every day necessities like markets and shops as well as schools, kindergartens, yeshiva etc. It was a very crowded quarter; the houses were very close to each other, the streets were narrow. In addition for the protection from the hard climate situation and the sun, it served also to avoid movements of attackers and bandits.

206

Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 56, 58. Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 57. 208 Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 58-59.

207

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A process of leaving the quarter started at the beginning of the 20th century and especially after World War I; the middle and upper class families left the Jewish quarter and went to live in modern neighborhoods, especially along the Tigris. Those neighborhoods were mostly of mixed population from all religions. Their cloths were influenced from the Muslim stile and were, except for some small differences, similar to that of their neighbors.209

Brits in Baghdad210 At the beginning of the 20th century, most Jews lived in the big cities which were situated in the center, the north and the south of the country. In Baghdad, they were at the time about a third of the total population of 150.000 inhabitants.211 Baghdad and Southern Iraq remained under Ottoman rule until 1917, when it came under the British during World War I. From 1920, Baghdad became the capital of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia, and after 1932 it was the capital of Iraq. In this time the Jews of Baghdad enjoyed complete freedom, many had leading government positions, and Zionist activity also prospered. As from 1934, and more so from 1936, Jews were dismissed from service, some were murdered, their institutions were bombed, as a result of the troubles between Jews and the Arab revolts in Palestine. After World war II he number of Jewish educational institutions, especially secondary schools, increased during the British administration. The numbers of Jewish students in governmental schools also increased, but reliable source and data about it do not exist. In 1951 there were twenty Jewish schools in Baghdad, sixteen of them under the supervision of the Jewish community. About 400 students studied in colleges of medicine, law, economy, pharmacy, and engineering.212 After the exodus of 1951 there were only two Jewish schools left; in 1960 there were about 900 pupils in this schools. The number of girls in teaching and in clerical work increased, some even got a university education. Many Jews earned their livelihood by clerical professions. A big number of the 209

Saadoun, Article Meir, pp. 139-160. Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 57-59. 211 Rejwan 2004, p. xi. 212 Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 58. 210

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Baghdadi Jews left the traditional Jewish quarters and settle in other parts of the city. The attitude towards religion also changed; at the beginning of the British occupation most Jews kept kosher and profaned the Sabbath, whereas at the end of this period the number of observers decreased; the idea that it has to do with secularity as a result of higher education is not to be dismissed. There were also two Jewish hospitals in Baghdad, founded in 1920 respectively 1924, where the needy received treatment without paying if they were not able to, Jews and non Jews as well. Of the sixty synagogues in Baghdad in 1950, only seven remained in 1960. Chances for employment typically have been better in Baghdad than in other cities. This was true as early as the 1930s, when migrants began to move to the city. Since that time, Shiʿite Arabs from the south have been the largest migrant group in the city. Baghdad, itself a city of legend, is located at the heart of what has long been a rich agricultural region, and the modern city is the undisputed commercial, manufacturing, and service capital of Iraq.213 The Farhud in Baghdad On April 1st, 1941, Rashid Ali installed a pro-German government in order to replace the proBritish government; on 31 May, after the resulting Anglo-Iraqi War and after Rashid Ali and his government had fled, the mayor of Baghdad surrendered to British forces.214 In June 1941, the Farhud started as a revolution against the British, which was initiated by the pro-Germans who were supported by the Nazi government and played a role in Baghdad by this time; it ended up with 120 to 180 killed Jews, among them women, children and elderly, and about 800 injured. The whole revolt lasted only 30 hours and was accompanied by cases of rape and abduction of women. Thousands of Jews left, mostly for India and Palestine. But shortly later, life went back to normal and Jews kept being prosperous until 1945, but after November 1947, even a greater danger took place when the UN resolution of the foundation of the state of Israel was declared. Immediately after it, hundreds of Baghdadi Jews were arrested and accused in communist or Zionist activities, they were convicted on charge of

213 214

Encyclopedia Btitanica online. Saadoun, Article Kazaz, p. 24- 25.

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spying for Israel; some were hanged.215 Israel sent Palestinian Jews to teach the Jews of Baghdad how to organize themselves against the attacks. A few hundred Jewish youth joined this clandestine movement. Iraq was accredited by the UN and was given formal independence in 1932 and increased autonomy in 1946. Baghdad has always played an important role in Arab cultural life and has been the home of famous writers and musicians, Jewish and non-Jewish.

The bombing in Baghdad The true identity and objective of the masterminds behind the bombings has been the subject of controversy. A secret Israeli inquiry in 1960 found no evidence that they were ordered by Israel or any motive that would have explained the attack, though it did find out that most of the witnesses believed that Jews had been responsible for the bombings.216 Historian Moshe Gat reports that "the belief that the bombs had been thrown by Zionist agents was shared by those Iraqi Jews who had just reached Israel". He argues that there was little direct connection between the bombings and exodus. He demonstrates that the frantic and massive Jewish registration for de-naturalisation and departure was driven by knowledge that the denaturalisation law was due to expire in March 1951, as well as the continued antiJewish disturbances which raised the fear of large-scale pogroms. Journalist Naeim Giladi's position that the bombings were "perpetrated by Zionist agents in order to cause fear amongst the Jews, and so promote their exodus to Israel" is shared by a number of anti-Zionist authors like Uri Avnery (1988), Ella Shohat (1986), Abbas Shiblak (1986) and more. In his article, Giladi notes that this was also the conclusion of Wilbur Crane Eveland, a former senior officer in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who outlined that allegation in his book "Ropes of Sand".217 Iraqi authorities eventually charged three members of the Zionist underground with perpetrating some of the explosions. Two of those charged, Shalom Salah Shalom and Yosef Ibrahim Basri, were subsequently found guilty and executed, whilst the third was sentenced to 215

Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 3, p. 57. Morris and Black, p93; Gat, p. 186-187. 217 Gat, p. 177; http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~ajds/mendes_refugees.htm 216

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a lengthy jail term. Salah Shalom claimed in his trial that he was tortured into confessing, and Yosef Basri maintained his innocence throughout. Gat reports that much of the previous literature "reflects the universal conviction that the bombings had a tremendous impact on the large-scale exodus of the Jews... To be more precise it is suggested that the Zionist emissaries committed these brutal acts in order to uproot the prosperous Iraqi Jewish community and bring it to Israel.”218 It is certain that memories and interpretations of the events have further been influenced and distorted by the unfortunate discrimination which many Iraqi Jews experienced on their arrival in Israel. Many years later, the Zionist emissary Yehuda Tager stated that while the main bombings were carried out by the Muslim Brotherhood, later smaller attacks were staged by Yosef Beit-Halahmi, on his own initiative, in an attempt to make it seem as if the activists on trial were not the perpetrators.219 A secret Israeli inquiry in 1960 found no evidence that they were ordered by Israel or any motive that would have explained the attack, though it did find out that most of the witnesses believed that Jews had been responsible for the bombings.220 The issue remains unresolved. The historian Moshe Gat suggested that the Zionist emissaries committed these brutal acts in order to uproot the well-to-do Iraqi Jewish community and bring them to Israel.221 Mendes writes that there was a long history of anti-Jewish bombing in Iraq. The prosecution was not able to produce even one eyewitness who had seen the bombs thrown; the Jewish defendant Shalom Salah indicated in court that he had been severely tortured in order to procure a confession. It therefore remains an open question as to who was responsible for the bombings.222 In 1920, the provinces Mosul, Baghdad and Basra were united; it was the first time that this became the state of Iraq, although not yet recognized by the UN; the British mandate began in the same time, according to a UN resolution; twelve years later, in 1932, Iraq became an independent state.

218

Gat, p. 179; Al-Shawaf, Rayyan 2006, "Review: Iraqi Jews: A History of Mass Exodus by Abbas Shiblak, Saqi, 2005, 215 pp.", Democratiya Winter 2006 (7). P. 67 219 Baghdad Jews Have Become a Fearful Few. By STEPHEN FARRELL. The New York Times, June 1, 2008. 220 Morris and Black, p. 93; Gat, p.186-187. 221 Moshe Gat, p 179 222 Al-Shawaf, Rayyan 2006, "Review: Iraqi Jews: A History of Mass Exodus by Abbas Shiblak, Saqi, 2005, 215 pp.", Democratiya Winter 2006 (7). Page 67

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But, since 1928, with the beginning of troubles between Jews and Arabs in Palestine, antiJewish aggressions arose in Iraq, together with anti-Zionist antipathy, although among the Jews in Iraq there were hardly any Zionist.223

Jews of Islam In the middle Ages, the bigger part of the Jewish people lived under Islamic rulers. The Jews which lived in Europe were an unimportant minority. Whatever was important and creative in Jewish life (but also in general) took place in the Islamic world. The Muslims were more progressive, advanced and modern, they were spiritually and intellectually much more developed and superior to the Europeans. The Islamic land included the whole area from Spain and the Maghreb countries in the west to Iraq and Persia in the east.224 The Jews in the Islamic world, not like the European Jews, were not an only, exotic minority, but part of a society, which included many other minorities like Greeks, Romans and more, beside many different Religions like the East or the Greek Church a.o,225 in addition to the three Abrahamitic religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam each of the three have different divergencyes and many brunches. The typical professions of Jews in the Islamic world were medicine doctors, bringing their knowledge from European universities, and money trader, as it was forbidden for Muslims to trade with or get money as profit, according to the Koran. The Jews brought also theater to the Arab-Islamic world, which was unknown until they came, mostly by the middle of the 19th century; they brought also the Printing from Europe. They were employed in the coinage, because the Ottomans trusted them more than they trusted the Muslims of the Arab countries. But, many professions were never in Jewish hands, like food, transportation and war-good, probably because it was to ‘delicate’.226 “Most Jews who lived west of Persia – from Iraq to Morocco, spoke Arabic,”227 but many spoke in addition Aramaic or Hebrew, especially the scholars.

223

Benjamin 2006, p. 16. Lewis. The Jews of Islam. P. 67. 225 Lewis. The Jews of Islam. P. 87. 226 Lewis. The Jews of Islam. P. 87-89, 120-122, Goitein. A Mediterranean Society, p. 211. 227 Lewis. The Jews of Islam. P. 105. 224

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The specific Jewish factor was a result of the mass-emigration of European Jews, mostly from Spain and Portugal in the 16th century, but not only; there are evident that many European Jews went to the Ottoman Empire because it was more tolerant and the chances for a better life were therefore given. The Muslim historiography contains background evidences of Jewish cultural and social life, but except for the Egyptian Geniza, there are no archives to support it, disregarding very little knowledge of some European embassy-archives and the Jewish chronology, as far it is existent.228

Crisis in Iraq at the 10th century „The 10th century saw a prolonged economic and political crisis in Iraq.“ Many Iraqi’s had to escape; some went to Egypt, among them a considerable amount of Jews. „And it was at this time that the flourishing Jewish community, which we find described in the Genizah documents developed.“229 Raymond writes that „[the Genizah documents] allow us to form an image of the social and economic life of the Muslim world from the eleventh to the thirteenth century.“230 Egypt, which used to be an agricultural orientated country, became a commercial center of the Islamic World. In the Arabic sources there can be found the proof that whole groups of merchants and trade people from Iraq, Jews and non-Jews, immigrated to Egypt during this period.231 The Jews from Babylon established their own communities in Egypt and built their own synagogues, where they followed the tradition which they brought from Iraq; „Religious and juridical queries were addressed to the heads of the Babylonian academies“ and „they (also) recognized the heads of the Palestinian academies;”232 some of the queries were addressed to Palestine, though the Babylonian Yeshivot were the most recognized in behalf of the mentioned questions by the Jews of all the Diaspora. In Fustat, Egypt, an academy had existed from at least the end of the tenth century; the Fustat Academy was founded by Babylonian Jewish scholars,233 is written in the Encyclopedia of Islam. 228

Lewis. The Jews of Islam. P. 106-108, 113. Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 7, p. 161. 230 Raymond, p. 33. 231 Goitein 1974, p. 113. 232 Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 6, „Arab Period“, p. 230. 233 Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 6, p. 231. 229

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„The language of this civilization was Arabic. ... the Arabs were soon absorbed into the old sedentary population of the Middle East, imposing their language on it even while they themselves lost their national identity. ... Arabic, like Latin in Europe, had ceased to be a national language and became the language of a civilization.“234

The Buyids After a decade of chaos, during which some military leaders struggled for power, an element of stability was regained in 945 when Baghdad was taken by the Buyids; they were people from the area southwest of the Caspian Sea. These mountaineers had taken advantage of the prevailing anarchy to take over much of western Iran in 934, and they now moved into Iraq; they established themselves in Baghdad, but never ruled over all of Iraq. When the Buyids made their adherence known to the Shiʿites, there was often violent and tension between their supporters and the Sunnites, who were the majority. Large areas of Baghdad, including much of the Round City of al-Mansur, fell into ruins. In 978 Baghdad was taken by the Buyid ruler, which had great difficulty in governing even Baghdad and the immediately surrounding area. The city was too populous to be fed from its own hinterland, and, when political conflict interrupted the grain supplies from Al-Jazirah, famine was added to the other miseries. From the beginning of the 10th century, Iraq was usually divided politically. The area around Al-Basrah in the south was frequently in the hands of rival Buyid princes, and the north increasingly went its own way. The economic decline: the area was consequently less potentially wealthy than the south but also less vulnerable to political upset. Mosul had been the most important city in Al-Jazirah since the Islamic conquest, and it now became an important regional capital. Baghdad presented a picture of devastation in this period. Disputes between the Sunnites and the Shiʿites became increasingly violent. Despite this disorder and political chaos, Baghdad remained an intellectual centre. The lack of firm political authority meant that free debate and exchange of ideas could take place.235

234 235

Goitein, 1974, p. 125-126. Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”.

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This anarchic which was at the same time culturally productive era in the history of Iraq came to an end in December 1055 when the Seljuq Turks entered the city and rapidly established a secure government over most of Iraq. Apart from the Turkish military and the Kurds of the mountainous areas, most people now spoke one dialect or another of Arabic. Iraq had lost its position as the wealthiest area of the Middle East. Under those circumstances many able and enterprising people escaped the chaos by migrating mainly to Egypt, India, Hong Kong and other destinations. Iraq had lost its imperial role forever.

Iraq from 1055 to 1534 During the subsequent five centuries, the name Iraq referred to two distinct geopolitical regions. The first marked the area roughly corresponding to ancient Mesopotamia or the modern nation of Iraq and consisted of Upper Iraq or Al-Jazirah and Lower Iraq or Al-Sawad. The town of Tikrit was traditionally considered to mark the border between these two entities. The second region, lying to the east of Arabian Iraq and separated from it by the Zagros Mountains, was called foreign Iraq. Together these regions became known as “the Two Iraqs”.236

The Seljuqs The Sunnite Seljuq entered Baghdad in December 1055, Mosul was taken in 1057. In 1058, the Buyid slaves occupied Baghdad, recognizing al-Mustansir, the Shiʿite Faṭimid caliph of Egypt and Syria, and sending him the insignia of rule as trophies. Later, the Seljuqs tried to rid Iraq of all Shiʿite influences. Exchanging Shiʿite Buyid emirs for Sunnite Seljuq sultans, made little difference for the ʿAbbasid caliphs. Though Baghdad continued to be the seat of the caliphate, the Seljuq sultans ultimately established their capital at Esfahan in Persian Iraq. The relations between the caliph and the sultan were formalized by the great theologian al-Ghazali (d. 1111). -236

Encyclopedia Britanica online.

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but the Seljuq sultans established their capital at Esfahan in Persian Iraq. In the second half of the 11th and the first half of the 12th centuries, the Seljuq Turks gradually established direct rule over all of Arabian Iraq. Upper Iraq also came under their rule.237

The later Abbasids By far the most important figure in the revival of independent caliphate authority in Arabian Iraq—after more than 200 years of secular military domination—was the caliph alNasir (1180–1225). For nearly half a century he tried to rally the Islamic world under the banner of ʿAbbasid universalism, not only politically, but also morally, by attempting to reconcile the Sunnites and the Shiʿites. He also began the dangerous precedent of allying himself with powers in Khorasan and Central Asia against the traditional caliphate adversaries in Persian Iraq. Through this policy he was able to rid himself of the last Iraqi Seljuq sultan, Toghrıl III (1176–94).238

The Mongols In 1225, the Mongols under Genghis Khan had already destroyed the state of the KhwarezmShahs and conquered much of northern Iran. In 1258 Baghdad was surrounded by a Mongol force and fell on February the same year. Physically much of Baghdad was destroyed, and it is said that 800,000 of its inhabitants perished. Administratively the city was relegated to the status of a provincial centre. Other cities in Arabian Iraq, such as Al-Kufah and Al-Basrah, readily came to terms with the conqueror and were spared. In Upper Iraq, Mosul was made the capital of the northern provinces. Mongol rule in Baghdad and Mosul and generally took the form of a condominium consisting of a Muslim, Christian, and Jewish civilian administrator, which was seconded by a Mongol garrison commander. 237 238

Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”. Encyclopedia Britanica online.

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In 1258 Baghdad was attacked by the Mongol power... and it went down in ruins. This destructive invasion from the east had been made possible by the crusades of western Christendom against Islam, which did not cease for nearly two centuries. Again, the Middle East, including Iraq, was the battleground of world forces, especially France, the leading crusading state from the west. The collision in fact destroyed Baghdad.239 There are some evidences that Baghdad began to recover somewhat from the devastation it had suffered at the hands of the Mongols; in general Iraq experienced a period of severe political and economic decline that was to last well into the 16th century. The Mongols destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate and Baghdad's House of Wisdom with its innumerable precious historical documents. The city has never regained its former status as a center of culture and influence.240

Mongol period and the Jews The Caliphate was at its end before the rising power of Mongol Empire241 in 1258. These Mongol tribes knew no distinction between heathens, Jews, and Christians; and their Great Khan Kublai Khan showed himself just toward the Jews who served in his army, as reported by Marco Polo. The Great Khan Kublai Khan came to power and ruled during 13th and 14th centuries. Under the Mongolian rulers, the priests of all religions were exempt from the poll tax. In general, the Mongol were friendly to the Jews; At the time of Genghis Khan242 1162-1227, every religion had found converts; he also promoted religious tolerance in the Mongol Empire and set up an institution that ensured complete religious freedom. Arghun Khan 1258-1291 hated the Muslims and was friendly to Jews and Christians; his chief counselor was a Jew, Sa'ad al-Daulah, a physician of Baghdad, but after the death of the great khan and the murder of his Jewish favorite, the Muslims fell upon the Jews, and Baghdad witnessed a regular battle between them. The Mongols also had a Jewish minister of finance, Reshid al-Daulah. Later, his successor made the Jews again second class citizens. 239

Foster, p. 25. Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”. 241 The Mongol empire stretched from Central Europe to the Sea of Japan, covering Siberia in the north and extending southward into Indochina, the Indian subcontinent, the Iranian plateau, and the Middle East and was the largest contiguous land empire in human history. 242 Genghis Khan was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. 240

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Mongolian fury once again devastated the localities inhabited by Jews, when in 1393 Timur Khan243 (1336-1405) captured Baghdad and other cities, the Mongol devastated the Jewish localities and as a result, many Jews fled to other areas. At the end, the Jewish communities almost ceased; most of the Jewish community members most probably either died or fled, and the later Jewish community consisted largely of immigrants from other places, mainly Aleppo. For this reason the traditions of Iraqi Jewry cannot be guaranteed as continuous with the Babylonian tradition of Talmudic or Geonic times, but might be a variant of those of Middle Eastern Jewry generally which might lead to the conclusion that the Iraqi Jews of later times were not the ones who fled Judea.

The Safavids In October 1508,244 Shah Ismaʿil I, founder of the Shiʿite Ṣafavid dynasty in Iran, entered Baghdad at the head of his Turkmen troops. In 1533, the Ottoman sultan Suleyman I – called also the Magnificent (1494/5-1566), set out on his campaign against “the two Iraq’s.” The city was then integrated into the Ottoman Empire, except for a brief Safavid reoccupation from 1623 to 1638. As a result of the Ottoman conquest, Iraq underwent complete geopolitical reorientation westward.

243

Timur Khan was a Turko-Mongol and the founder of the Timurid dynasty; his vision was the restoration of the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan. He was feared and is counted as a barbaric ruler. many biographies were written abot him, like of: Ali Yazdi / Sharaf ud-Din, Ahmad Ibn Arabshah, another one was written under the personal supervision of Timur's grandson, Ibrahim. 244 In the 15th century Turkmen tribal vied control of Iraq, until the Ṣafavid conquest.

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Ottoman Iraq

The Ottoman entry to Iraq Ottoman Iraq was roughly approximate to the Arabian Iraq of the preceding era, though still without clearly defined borders. The Zagros Mountains, which separated Arabian Iraq from Persian Iraq, now lay on the Ottoman-Iranian frontier. On the west and south, Iraq faded out somewhere in the sands of the Syrian and Arabian deserts. The incorporation of Arabian Iraq into the Ottoman Empire not only separated it from Persian Iraq but also reoriented it toward the Ottoman lands in Syria and Anatolia, with especially close ties to the Iraqi provinces.245 “In the sixteenth century local governments were stronger and more oppressive. The Sultan might well be greeted as deliverer. ... A better organization, reformed laws and new rights, had been published by the enlightenment of the great monarch who patronized the sovereigns of Europe. Taxation was light and reasonably equitable. Little fanaticism was directed against non-Muslim races.”246 Writes Longrigg. “The reason why the first generations of Turkish rule in Iraq were the most significant are that the empire was at its apex. The Turks had a great reputation of justify.”247 So, the beginning looked very promising to the Iraqi people. The very appearance, manner, and language of the Turkish Aghas were strange and foreign to Arab eyes and ears. “And they were emphasized by the inner condition of the province. Northern Iraq and Kurdistan were Sunni, Baghdad divided; but the central and southern regions were strongly Shi’i and scorned the pretentions of the new Khalif.” They were hostile to the Sultan and friendly to the Persian Shah; and Iraq became a ‘natural stage’ for this struggle.”248 For administrative purposes Ottoman Iraq was divided into the three central Eyalets of Mosul, Baghdad, and Al-Basrah, with the north-western coast of the Persian Gulf. These provinces only roughly reflected the geographic, linguistic, and religious divisions of Ottoman Iraq. Most of the inhabitants of Mosul and its surroundings were Kurds, Turks, and other non-

245

Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”. Longrigg, p. 27. 247 Longrigg, p. 29. 248 Longrigg, p. 28. 246

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Arabs. The people of the plains, marshes, and deserts were overwhelmingly Arabic speaking; Turkish speakers were also to be found. Centuries of political upheavals, invasions, wars, and general insecurity had taken their toll on Iraq’s population, especially in the urban centers. Outside the towns, social organization and personal allegiances were primarily tribal. Unlike the case in Anatolia and Syria, Iraq’s nonMuslim communities were modest in size, but there was an active Jewish commercial and financial element in Baghdad, and Assyrian Christians were prominent in Mosul.249 In 1534 Baghdad was taken by the Turk Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566), who determined the bounds of Mesopotamia and Persia, and the city became a mere Ottoman Turkish outpost of frontier defense.250 From that time on it was under Ottoman rule until about 1916, when the British took over. The good times for foreigners under the Ottomans varied; there were tolerant and intolerant leader, some liked, others disliked the Jews, which was correlated to the relations between the minorities themselves apart from the feelings of the Ottomans.251 The ottoman Jewry persisted mostly of descendants of the Sephardim, the Jews who were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula about 1492 and later, who were always welcomed by the Ottomans; the Ottomans sent them to many of their provinces, partly because they were more reliable as finance and government officials, partly because they wanted to increas the cultural level of far away provinces. The Jews were spread all over the ottoman provinces in the Middle East like Syria, Iraq, Egypt a. O. A smaller group was built by descendents of ancient Jewish inhabitants of Iraq, which, over centuries became ‘Arabized’ in language and their way of life.252 They refer to themselves, until those days as “Babylonian Jews”.

249

Encyclopedia Britanica online. Foster, p. 26. 251 Lewis. The Jews of Islam. P. 134. 252 Levy, Article Ma’oz, p. 108-109. 250

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The 16th century In the 16th century, most of the territory of present-day Iraq came under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman ruled the territory for almost four centuries, 1533–1918. The population of Iraq had shrunk to under five million by the early 20th century under Ottoman regime. At the same time, Syria, Egypt, and the Hejaz brought the holiest cities of Islam, the most important of the pilgrimage routes, and all the former seats of the caliphate under Ottoman rule. Control of the trade routes passing through the Red Sea and up the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and from Iran to Anatolia, Syria, and the Mediterranean was an important element in the sultan’s efforts to ensure that east-west trade would continue to flow through his territories despite the newly opened sea routes around Africa. Perhaps the most important was that Iraq served as a buffer zone, a shield protecting Ottoman Anatolia and Syria against encroachments from Iran.253 In the 17th century the weakening of the central authority of the Ottoman government gave rise to local despotisms in the Iraqi provinces, with the permission and encouragement of autonomous governors, like British, Dutch, and Portuguese merchants. Central Iraq, including Baghdad, was under Safavid rule from 1623 until 1638, which had been accompanied by the destruction of Sunnite mosques and had resulted in death or slavery for several thousand Sunnites; many of the city’s Shiʿite inhabitants lost their lives when the Ottomans returned to Baghdad. In 1639 Ottoman sovereignty had been restored through the establishment of a boundary between the Safavids and the Ottomans. During the period of the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, the time that Iraq was mostly under the Ottoman power, there were many Persian attempts to recapture the country or parts of it, and the struggles between Sunni – under Ottoman influence, and Shi’a – under Persian influence went on.254

253 254

Encyclopedia Britanica online. Longrigg, p. 128-134.

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The 18th century The early 18th century was a time of important changes both in Istanbul and Baghdad; it was marked by relative political stability and by extensive reforms—some of them influenced by European models. In Baghdad, Hasan Pasha (1704–24), the Ottoman governor, established a Georgian Mamluk (slave) household.255 “The connections of Iraq with the powers of Western Europe had increased since the later eighteenth century. There were many visitors from Europe and India; there exist at least thirty memoires of them.”256 The Mamluks encouraged European trade by permitting the British East India Company to establish an agency in Al-Basrah in 1763.257 Britain’s influence in Iraq had received a major boost in 1798 when Suleyman Pasha gave permission for a permanent British agent to be appointed in Baghdad. This increasing European penetration and the restoration of direct Ottoman rule, accompanied by military, administrative, and other reforms, are the dominant features of 19th-century Iraqi history.

Iraqi Jews in India “From about 1745 Baghdadian Jewish business merchants came selling down the Persian Gulf to the established trading centre of Surat on the west coast of India. They mostly stayed a few years, earning profits, and returned to Baghdad. A few Jews from Mesopotamia and Syria remained, and founded a Jewish community in Surat. By the end of the 18th century, this community began moving from Surat to Bombay and Calcutta, gradually establishing Jewish communities in both cities.”258 Later they moved to other cities in India and established Jewish communities, which held the tradition of the Jews from Iraq in praying, dressing, food etc. Following the misrule and persecutions by the Vali – governor of Baghdad, Daoud Pasha (1797-1851), In 1920, the immigration to Bombay and Calcutta intensified and they became

255

The Mamluks were mostly Christian slaves from the Caucasus who converted to Islam, were trained in special schools, and were then assigned to military and administrative duties. 256 Longrigg, p. 253. 257 Encyclopedia Britanica online. 258 Menasseh, p. 35.

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gradually well established. Two Iraqi Jewish families

played a special role in this

development. In Bombay, it was the David Sassoon family, and in Calcutta the Ezra family.

The 19th century The Ottoman military reforms of 1826 were gradually extended to Iraq. Many Iraqis opted for a military career. Most were Sunnites from modest families, educated in military schools set up in Baghdad and other provincial cities by the Ottoman government. Some were then admitted to the military academy in Istanbul. Apart from the military schools and the traditional religious schools, a number of primary and secondary schools were opened by the government and by foreign Roman Catholic, Protestant missionary as well as by Jewish organizations. In 1865 the ‘Alliance Israélite Universelle’ founded what is reputed to have been the best school in Baghdad; its graduates contributed to the great advances made by the Iraqi Jewish community during the next half century. But, the high administrative positions were practiced by Turkish people. By the end of the 19th century, the graduates of the ‘Aliance israélite’ formed the most numerous group of non--Turkish officers in the Ottoman army. Along with new military, administrative, and educational institutions, the communications network was expanded and modernized. The arrival of a new Ottoman governor in Baghdad in 1831 signaled the end of the Mamluk period and the beginning of a new era in Iraq. Direct rule was gradually imposed over the region. To exercise some control in the tribal areas, the Ottomans continued to rely on the traditional methods of intervening in the competition for tribal leadership, making alliances, and occasionally using military force. While the Arab and Kurdish tribes remained a problem, the reforms set in motion by the Ottomans did affect the tribal structure of Iraq and alleviate the problem.259 Along with new military, administrative, and educational institutions, the communications network was expanded and modernized. Steamships first appeared on the Tigris and Euphrates in 1835, and a company was later formed to provide regular service between Al259

Encyclopedia Britanica online.

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Basrah and Baghdad. The port facilities of Al-Basrah were developed. In the 1860s telegraph lines linked Baghdad with Istanbul, and in the 1880s the postal system was extended to Iraq. Roads were improved and new ones were built. Steamships first appeared on the Tigris and Euphrates in 1835. Railroad construction, however, did not begin until the Germans built the Baghdad-to-Samarraʾ line just before World War I.260 A look at Iraq of the nineteenth century, four centuries after it came under Turkish control, shows very clear “what this wide and rich Muslim country had suffered. ... It showed almost no progress whether of mind and spirit, of a material wealth or modern methods. ... It was just a little less wild and ignorant but not less corrupt than it was before; its resources lay untouched. It had neglected all oportunities, its condition was of perverse backwardness. ... No Islamic state in modern times has reached the first rank among nations; ... Turkey and Iraq are countries of the east and Islam. ... One of the main reasons was (and sill is) the neverending struggle between Sunni and Shi’a.”261 Writes longrigg. In the 19th century, Iraq did not jet have the borders of today. It was divided into three districts: Mosul, Baghdad and Basra, all three were part of the Ottoman Empire, until the British entered Iraq and started to rule the country under the Indian-British government directly from India in 1916. In spite of the European commercial and consular presence in Iraq, it remained more isolated from European influences than the Arab lands adjacent to the Mediterranean. Iraq had relatively few Christians, and little exposure to foreign ideas. The prosperous Jewish community usually avoided politics but tended to be favorably disposed toward the Ottoman government, later toward the Brits. The tribal sheikhs and Shiʿite notables still couched their opposition in traditional terms, and many Turkish and Caucasian families enjoyed official status and other rewards as provincial administrators. A great majority of the population was illiterate. Arab nationalism had made little impact on Iraq before World War I. In Iraq, there was scant nationalist opposition to Ottoman rule. “At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, a new national Arab movement started in Iraq and other countries of the Levant, caused by an awakening of pride in their old traditions, the ‘golden ages’ of the 8th to 10th century Spaine, love to the Arab language and objection of foreign ruler.”262

260

Encyclopedia Britanica online. Longrigg, p. 321-324. 262 Berger, p. 158.

261

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This phenomenon was not specific to Iraq, but to other countries of the Middle East as well. In 1945 the Arab League was founded in Egypt, and it was a sign for Arabs throughout the Arab World to recall their glorious past with the idea to try and install it again in addition to the main dream of the Iraqi people for independence from foreign regimes. It was for long years the idea and desire mainly of the population of the big cities, but did not reach beyond that; it did not define geographical borders or its ideas of the future form; the Arab countries operated with different scales of ideas and were not united, but operated within different organizations which had other aims and went in diverse directions.

The Kurdish minority The Kurdish minority in Mosul is the biggest in Iraq, although there are many other minorities. The biggest problem for Iraq used to be the Kurdish minority; this people made many revolts against the Iraqis in order to get independency.263 About 50% of the Iraqi’s are Shiit-Muslims, about 20% are Sunni-Muslims, about 15% are Kurd-Sunni-Muslims; there are other, smaller minorities: about 4% Turkish, Turkmen about 4-6% Persian and Christian – most Nestroyan-Ashuri, about 3-4%, victims of a massacre in 1933; most of the ones who survived escaped Iraq, some even smaller minorities like the Yezidi, The oldest Jewish community in the world, counting about 130.000 in the 1930s and 1940s.

263

Vehement Kurd revolts took place as from 1922 until today. Shimoni, p. 187-188.

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Jews of The 19th century “When the state (Iraq) granted all religions equal rights in the nineteenth century, the corporate religious status of the Jewish community was in some ways reinforced.”264 The Jewish community in Iraq was the largest in the East.265 The community of Baghdad was apparently growing very rapid during this time. The reforms of the Tanzimat,266 means that civil principles were introduced in Iraq during the reign of the Ottoman Midhat Pasha (18691872), as the position of the Jewish community began to change; Jews were given a high degree of communal autonomy in matters as religion, jurisdiction, education, welfare or personal status; they used their new rights to protect themselves against violations by Muslims. Jews began to participate in political life by becoming representatives of the parliament. Yet, the Muslim superiority -law wise- to Christians and Jews was obvious; restrictions were put on those two groups, like that they were not admitted to high governmental position, they were not allowed to carry arms, build or repair places of worship, to were green dresses – the color reserved for Muslims only, to ride horses and more. They were occasionally subject to violence and oppression by both the authority and the Muslims. As the state did not offer public education for males or females, only Males but also especial Females belonging to well-off families were the ones to attend modern private schools.267 Sultan Abdul Mjid (1839-1861) produced two declarations (1839 and 1856), which granted all Ottoman subjects full equality regardless of their religion. De Facto, it was only parcialy implemented during the nineteenth century.268 A Hahambashi269 was appointed for Baghdad in 1849. Formerly, the chief authority was the Nasi,270 not only in Baghdad but in other Jewish communities in Iraq as well; his assignment was the chief intermediaries between the community and the government, he collected taxes and more. The appointment of the Hahambashi was not without controversy within the Jewish community, because it was rather a religious appointment and the appointed Hahambashi was often foreign to the community, a situation which brought with it a large turnover. The rabbis of Baghdad, which belong to the wealthy families of the city, often enjoyed a higher status 264

Levy, Article Schroeter, p. 89. About 65,000 in 1880. 266 Tanzimat – reform period 267 Levy, Article Schroeter, p. 90-92, Article Ma’oz, p. 109-110, Article Simon, p. 127, 150. 268 Levy, Article Ma’oz, p. 111. 269 Hahambasi- the wiseman in charge of the Jewish community. 270 Nasi: Hebrew, President. 265

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than the Hahambashi within the community. He was seen in the community as a representative of the government rather than of the Jews. In 1864, the ‘Aliance Israélite Universelle’ was the first Jewish school opened in Baghdad. In 1893 this organization opened the first schools for Girls; Jewish hospitals served everybody not only Jews, with Doctors that studied in Europe and brought new hygienic standards and qualities to Iraq.271 In 1876, the Jews were for the first time free of the status of Dhimmi272 became equal citizens, and were able to become public servants in the Ottoman government.273

The 20th century During World War I (1914-18), the Ottomans sided with Germany. It was the British, whose interests in the Persian Gulf and the Tigris-Euphrates region had grown steadily since the late eighteenth century, who ultimately brought an end to the Ottomans presence in Iraq. In 1912 the Petroleum Company, which, on the eve of the war, was given a concession to explore for oil in the vilayets of Mosul and Baghdad was established by the Ottomans; after war was declared, a British expeditionary force landed at the head of the gulf and on November 22, 1914, entered Al-Basrah. The British invaded the country but suffered a major defeat during a campaign aimed at taking Baghdad, they suffered a defeat in April 1916, but a reinforced British army marched into Baghdad and captured it on March 11, 1917 by defeating the Ottomans. Eventually the British gained the upper hand, and were supported by local Arabs and Assyrians. In 1916, the British and French made a plan for the post-war division of Western Asia under the Sykes-Picot Agreement.274 An armistice between the British and the Ottomans was signed in 1918. An administration staffed largely by British and Indian officials replaced the Ottoman provincial government in occupied Iraq, but Mosul remained in Ottoman hands until after the Armistice of Mudros (October 30, 1918), which brought an end to the war in the 271

Ghanimah 1998, p. 140-141. Dhimmi: ‘the one who is under protection’. Jews and Christians, which are protected by the Muslims and had freedom of religious, and were obliged to pay additive taxes. Kolo 2007, p. 182, Yahay, p. 424. 273 Longring 2002, p. 321. 274 The Sykes-Picot Agreement between Britain and France about the partition of the Middle East between the two, signed 1916. 272

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Middle East. During World War I the Ottomans were defeated and driven away from most of the middle east by the United Kingdom and France. The Ottomans – by the time refered to as ‘The seek man of Europe’ did not play any role in world policy any more. In spite of the European commercial and consular presence in Iraq, it remained more isolated from European influences than the Arab lands adjacent to the Mediterranean. Iraq had relatively few Christians, and those few had had little exposure to foreign ideas. The prosperous Jewish community usually avoided politics but tended to be favorably disposed toward the Ottoman government. It was the British, whose interests in the Persian Gulf and the Tigris-Euphrates region had grown steadily since the late 18th century, who ultimately brought an end to the Ottoman presence in Iraq as well as to the whole Middle East.275 Under the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), Turkey (the successor to the Ottoman Empire) gave up all claims to its former Arab provinces, including Iraq.276

275 276

Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”. Encyclopedia Britanica online, Richard L. Chambers, Ed.

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Education One of the British’s first concerns was education, which was regarded by Iraqi leaders as ‘the mystic cure’ for all social illnesses. The schools of Iraq were either governmental or nongovernmental that included the Koran schools as well as the community schools which maintained at the expense and management of the different communities of Jews, Catholic, Syrian, Missionary schools and others. In most schools, the language of instruction was Arabic, except for some missionary and community schools. In Baghdad there were in 1931 three government schools in which Jews predominated and three in which Christians dominated. In Mosul there was one government Jewish and twenty-seven Christian schools. All this schools taught the religion of the majority of the pupils.277

School statistics: In 1913 there were in Iraq 160 primary schools with 6,000 pupils, In 1920 there were 84 schools with 6,737 pupils, In 1931 there were 247 boy’s schools with 24,900 pupils and 44 girl’s schools with 6,000 pupils.278 The problem of higher education was solved, by sending students abroad on government expense. Most students went to the universities of Egypt, Syria, Great Britain, France, Germany and the USA. In 1931 there were 178 such students, men and women.279

Ottoman rule and the Jews After various changes of fortune, Mesopotamia and Iraq came into the hands of the Ottoman Turks, when the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman II280 (1642-1691) occupied Tabriz and Baghdad from the Persians in 1534, leading to a distinctly improvement for the Jews. But, from 1623 to 277

Foster, p. 254-258. Foster, p. 258-259. 279 Foster, p. 259. 280 Suleiman II was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1687 to 1691. 278

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1638 it was again under Persian rule. Under the occupation by a huge Turkish Army there were a large number of Jews. At the beginning of the Ottoman period, the Jews, together with most other non-Islamic communities of the empire, enjoyed a high level of prosperity. They were the predominant power in commerce and trade as well as in diplomacy and held other high government offices. In the 16th century especially, the Jews were the most prominent under the ‘millets’ – the foreigners. After the plague of 1743, which destroyed most of the Jewish community, including most rabbis, the Jews asked the Jewish community of Aleppo to send them a new Rabbi; Rabbi Sadka Bekhor Hussein and one effect of this was a further assimilation of Iraqi Judaism to the general Sephardic mode of observance. For much of the Ottoman period, it was a safe haven for Jews fleeing persecution elsewhere. “It would not be difficult to put together the names of a very sizeable number of Jewish subjects or citizens of the Islamic area who have attained to high rank, to power, to great financial influence, to significant and recognized intellectual attainment. ... But it would again not be difficult to compile a lengthy list of persecutions, arbitrary confiscations, attempted forced conversions, or pogroms during the 400 years of Ottoman ruling in Iraq,” 281 wrote G.E. Von Grunebaum. With time passing, the Turkish control over the region deteriorated and the situation of the Jews worsened; many members of the Jewish community had to flee, but never the less, the Jewish population continued to grow; in 1884 there were about 30,000 Jews in Baghdad and by 1900, more than 50,000, embracing over a quarter of the city's total population. The community established modern schools in the second-half of the 19th century. Many of the Iraqi Jews are of Sephardic origin,282 means Jews that originally came from Spain, from where they had to flee persecutions by the Christians in the 15th and 16th century; many came to Turkey, where they were welcome, later they were spread into diverse destinations of the Ottoman territory, especially to the Arab countries under Ottomans, not least because the Turks had more confidence in the Jews than in the Arabs and other minorities of this countries.

281

Grunebaum, p. 369. Spain, Hebrew: Sepharad. The Jews from Spain are called Sephardim. The Jews from East and Central Europe are called Ashkenazim. 282

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Zionism In the same period that the idea of Zionism was beginning to formulate within a Christian European context at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, Jews in the Muslim world occupied a different position, one that did not necessarily require a nationalist articulation of their identity.283 An anti-Jewish propaganda started all over the Arab world shortly before world war II continuing during the war and growing after that and with the proclamation of the Jewish state of Israel in former Palestine / Eretz Israel. Most Arab intellectuals and leaders clarify and act on the distinction between Jews and Zionists; their failure was that they did not actively secured the place of Jews in the society of the Arab world; the persecution of Communists, among them Jews who opposed Zionism; the secretive agreements between some Arab leaders and Israeli leaders concerning the idea of “population exchange”; and the Zionist movement that had virtually nothing to do with those people, namly the Jews in the Arab world, even if it capitalized on a quasi-religious rhetoric.284 Zionism was from its very beginning, a European concept meant to solve the Jewish problem in Europe from a Jewish point of view, according to anti-Semite developments which took place at least since the 18th century, but only in Europe, not in the Arab World, definitely not before World War II.

The beginning of Zionism in Iraq Sociologist Philip Mendes asserts that before the anti-Jewish actions of the 1930s and 1940s, overall Iraqi Jews "viewed themselves as Arabs of the Jewish faith, rather than as a separate race or nationality".285 Besides, modern Zionism was founded in Europe by Theodor Herzl which is also refer at as “Father of modern Zionism” at the end of the 19th century, and was based on the idea of a “new Jew”, a farmer which would transfer the desert into a fertile land; Zionism did not occupy with Jews of the Arab world because first, there was no need for them to leave their countries as the case was in Europe, and second, because this Jews were 283

Shohat 2003, p. 70. Shohat 2003, p. 61-62. 285 THE FORGOTTEN REFUGEES: the causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries, Philip Mendes Latrobe University. 284

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not interested in agriculture or in the socialist ideal of manual labor in Palestine, and to the opinion of the European Zionists the Jews from the Arab countries did not feet in this new image of the Jewish country. "Until World War II, Zionism made little headway (in Iraq) because few Iraqi Jews were interested in the socialist ideal of manual labor in Palestine."286 In 1935, when the restrictions against Zionism grew because of the escalation between Jews and Muslims in Palestine, teaching of the Hebrew language was ban from public schools among other restrictions.

Zionism in Iraq287 In the 1920th and 1930th, a few thousand Iraqi Jews came to Eretz Israel, mostly on illegal ways. During the 1920th a few Zionist organizations were active in Iraq by teaching Hebrew, reading newspapers and literature from Israel, and carried political discussions about Zionism, Israel etc. the members of this movement belonged mostly to the lower-middle-class. During this period, Jews won a full equality; public service was open for them, trade and commerce possibilities widened, and the Jews called this time ‘golden age’. The Jews as a national entity did not exist yet, so the Zionism was not necessary as a solution; it existed only as the bond to Zion, which was the theoretical home of the Jews. With the Farhud of 1941 the situation changed, anti-Jews and anti-Zionism became an issue, the Jews were discriminated and attacked; the Zionist movement became illegal and had to go underground. The war and the Holocaust in Europe made it evident that in order to get a population for the Jewish state, it will need all Jews it could possibly get from the Arab world, as Europe was almost empty of Jews which were either expelled or murdered in Nazi concentration camps during world war II. The Jewish youth that participated in the Zionist organizations were young people that looked for a meaning full contents for their lives. they identified with modernism or with modern ideas it offered to them. They could not participate in any other clubs of youngsters, and another reason was the love to Zion, which they identified with Zionism; they learned how to protect themselves and they learned to be more secure, also from the physical point of view. 286

THE FORGOTTEN REFUGEES: the causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries, Philip Mendes Latrobe University. 287 Saadoun, Article Meir, p. 139-150.

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*In 1942, the Zionist organizations included some 500 youngsters, mostly in Baghdad, but also in Basra and Kirkuk; *In 1943, there were some 35 active Zionist groups in Iraq; *In 1945 there were some 1,700 members in the organization, 1,200 of them in Baghdad, 340 in Basra, the rest in other cities. *In July 1948, the Iraqi parliament announced Zionism as a crime for which one could be arrested, and sentenced to seven years in jail or even death. From that time on, the escape from Iraq got acceleration, and thousands of Jews left the country illegally first to Iran, from there mostly to Israel.

Brits in Iraq Britain’s influence in Iraq had received a major boost in 1798 when the British were given permission for a permanent British agent to be appointed in Baghdad. This increasing European penetration and the restoration of direct Ottoman rule, accompanied by military, administrative, and other reforms, are the dominant features of 19th century Iraqi history. The area which forms the state of Iraq, was never a unity under the Ottomans. Many different minorities lived there: Arabs Turks, Kurds, Persians, which were Sunni or Shi’i Muslims, together with communities of Jews, Christians, Yazidi, Sabaens and others. There was no entity called Iraq, which corresponds to modern Iraq. There was a lack of any sense of national unity, even after the state of Iraq was founded and officialy recognized by the UN general assmbly.288 The British troops defeated the Turks below Basra in November of 1915, although the Germans with their military technique and terrible war machine stood on their side. The Turks fled and the Arab rejoiced the situation, as British prestige was high, herewith the possibility of a Turkish-Arab coalition was prevented and the oil fields were saved.289 As early as 1917, Basra had made a public declaration of its contentment with the new conditions, which were accomplished by the new British regime. The town had made a significant increase in the comfort of the lives of its inhabitants.290

288

Sluglett, p. 1, 5. Foster, p. 38. 290 Foster, p. 67.

289

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By 1922-24 the Iraqi government made two statistics of the inhabitants of the vilayet of Mosul; the first shows a total inhabitant number of 799,090, out of them 11,897 Jews. The second shows a total of 306,000 with 7,550 Jews.291 It was important for Britain to keep control on the Gulf, as trade and British commercial interests increased rapidly after 1864, when they got the shipping navigation rights on Mesopotamia’s rivers from the Ottoman, which ruled the whole region; by 1914, more than two-thirds of imports and half of the exports that passed through Basra were controlled by British and British-Indian commercial interests. Besides, British strategic planners were aware of and sensitive to concerns that Germany or Russia might expand their influence in the region, which could have meant loss of control of the Gulf and as a result, cause trouble ruling India.292 The British ruled the country mostly threw its Indian-British government, directly from India. When the Brits took over all Ottoman regions, the whole situation of the foreigners changed completely, they were under British protection and were secure.293 This was the case with all foreigners in all Arab countries under British rule. During the British mandate in Iraq 1920-1932, the Jewish community prospered and reached its peak. This began at about 1869, with the opening of the Suez-Canal in Egypt. Trade connections in Mesopotamia also due to the enlargement of the Basra harbor. A big part of the Iraqi trade lay in the hands of Jews, as they had a good network with Jews in other countries, like the trade with dates, the biggest Iraqi export product, which was almost exclusively in Jewish hands.294 Jews were represented in Bank affairs, and built a considerably part of educated and cultured Iraqi. Most of them were identified as well by themselves as by others, first as Iraqi and only secondly as Jews.

291

Foster, p. 160-161, Report of the Commission, p. 3. Ulrichsen, p. 121-124. 293 Lewis. The Jews of Islam. P. 145. 294 Benjamin 2006, p. 16; Ben-Dor 2006, p. 147. 292

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World War I (1914-1918) The biggest interest of Britain in Iraq was from the beginning on as well to gain control on the oil resources of the country, as to widened their hegemony in the region not least because of their interests in India. In 1930 a British treaty came into power, the mandate came to an end, but the Brits stayed in the country until 1958. Never the less, Iraq was the first Arab country, which became full member at the UN after getting independent in 1932.295 During the First World War, the British army, which was occupied on the European front fighting the Germans, found time and power to start the invasion of the Middle East. The British were stationed in Egypt since 1882, when the Ottomans, not imagining the consequences, asked them to come and help them with the Oraby revolution, which they could not suffocate alone. Egypt was under British occupation for the following seventy years.296 The military campaign in Mesopotamia lasted from November 1914 to November 1918. It framed the way for the creation of the modern state of Iraq in 1921, de facto in 1932, and it represents the formative politico-historical development in modern Iraqi history.297 When Turkey entered the war on the German side soon after it began, the Western allies Britain and France together with Russia saw their opportunity and attacked the places under Ottoman regime.298 The British started by marching from Egypt, where they stayed since 1882 first into Palestine /Eretz Israel, then into the east and the north, until they reached Iraq. The 16th Indian Brigade entered Shatt al-Arab in October 1914; the cities mercantile community actively welcomed the British, and it was the beginning of a new era for the Jews of Mesopotamia, which built a large part of this community.299 Another reason for the importance of Mesopotamia were the oil reserves either known or estimated: “In Persia and Mesopotamia lie the largest undeveloped resources, as present known in the world... which will form reserves for the future... (hence) it is almost unavoidable that we should acquire the Northern region of Mesopotamia”.300

295

Shimoni, pp. 194-196. Encyclopedia Britanica online, Richard L. Chambers, Ed. 297 Ulrichsen, p. 119. 298 Nevakivi, pp. 13-14, 17. 299 Ulrichsen, p. 121-124. 300 Ulrichsen, p. 170-171. 296

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The French also participated in this moves, and In 1916 the “Seixs-Pico”301 agreement was signed, which divided of the Middle East; France got Lebanon and Syria, Britain got the rest, which included Palestine / Eretz Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq. Except for Jordan, the British had a Mandate to rule this new countries established by them, which were not jet defined as independent countries, and A reinforced British army marched into Baghdad on March 11, 1917. An administration staffed largely by British and Indian officials replaced the Ottoman provincial government in occupied Iraq. During the First World War the Brits absorbed big parts of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East. In 1915, the British army occupied parts of southern Iraq, but was defeated, and not until the beginning of 1917, when a new offensive started, did they take Iraq to stay. the decision that Britain will rule Iraq and Israel as a mandate, was verified by the UN in 1922, but became effective in 1923. The latest by the end of the war in 1918, the Ottoman Empire suffered its definite end.302 The separation of Iraq from the Ottoman corrupt administration after World War I made the Iraqi people allies of the victorious powers, free from Turkish oppression; this was one of the reasons that they were thought to be adequate candidates for a state of their own.303 The invasion of Mesopotamia was not very difficult, as the Ottoman forces in the three provinces were ‘below establishment, ill-trained, ill-disciplined and badly equipped, with no proper organization for supply and maintenance’.304 Sir Dobbs wrote in a memorandum in 1920 that “The Jews and Christians ... are the most progressive of the inhabitants of the country. Although they number only about seven per cent of the population, the proportion of wealth in their hands must be very much greater. They are much more interested in the development of the country.”305 Since 1917, when the British mandate began in Iraq, Jewish families which participated in the economic and cultural boom, moved little by little from the tight neighborhoods in the city center to new, mixed outskirts of Baghdad with better housing. From 1917 until 1932 and even farther, it was a ‘Golden age’ for the Iraqi Jews, which lived mostly in Baghdad and Basra. The idyll came to an end with the ‘Farhud-pogrom’ of June 1941 and became more and more aggressive during WW II when many leading Iraqi politicians sympathize with Hitlers German ‘Third Reich’ and planed the abolishment of the Iraqi Jews according to the 301

Seix-Pico agreement about the division of the Middle East was signed between Britain and France. Shimoni, p. 194-198. 303 Dodge, pp. 5, 7. 304 Majd, p. 91. 305 Foreign Office 371/5227, Sir H. Dobbs’s memo, July 14 1920, p. 2. 302

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model of the national Socialist regime in Germany, which was not accomplished, fortunately.306 During World War II, Iraq officially stopped its diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany, but in 1941 a group of Nazi sympathizers took power in a kind of revolution, betrayed the Brits, and attacked them so that the Brits had to get help from overseas, mainly Jordan and Jews from Eretz-Israel.307

After World War I One of the aims of Britain in prolonging their ties with the Middle East in general and Iraq in particular was their idea of modernizing the Middle East according to European models and ideals like democracy, equality etc., which were foreign to the inhabitants of those countries that always lived in totalitarian regimes and were never introduced to democracy; another, not less important reason was securing the Iraqi oil reserves for themselves for as long as possible.308 They suspected all other western countries in the Middle East as competition entities in respect of oil, which was obviously the liquid which would dominate the world in the future. “The Iraqi state, which emerged in 1921, had a 80 per cent majority of Arabic speakers, about 15 per cent - mostly in the north - Kurds, Turkish, and Persian speakers. More than 90 per cent of the Iraqi population were Muslims divided between Sunni and Shi’a in a ratio of 7 (Sunni) to 5 (Shi’i). There was also a small but important Jewish population of 100.000, mainly residing in Baghdad. ... only 20 per cent of the population lived in towns, mainly in Baghdad, Mosul, and Basra. About 95 per cent of the population was illiterate. ...Very few citizens of the new state thought of themselves as Iraqis; they were rather members of tribes and religious communities or groups.”309 A national identity as much as it existed, was established much later. At the end of the 1920s, the first Iraqi- temporary government was established; it included the provinces Mosul, Baghdad and Basrah. The borders of the new state were set through 306

Weinstock 2008, p. 223-224, Masliyah 1989, p. 216-238. Shimoni, pp. 517. 308 Yapp, p. 1-2. 309 Yapp, p. 69. 307

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agreements.310 In1921 an Iraqi army was established, and Feisal of the Hashemite house was announced King of Iraq by the British government; King Feisal, a British made king of Iraq, was a foreign substance to the Iraqi people. He was not a stranger but a Sunni Muslim whereas the great majority of the Iraqi’s were Shi’it.311 At the same time, Iraq became a constitutional monarchy. The Hashemite dynasty found a tragic end in July 1958. In the thirty years of parliamentarian history of the county, 57 governments ruled, and there had been 22 prime ministers.312 In 1933, Faisal I, Iraq’s first ruler, defined the problem this way: “In Iraq there is still ... no Iraqi people, but unimaginable masses of human beings, devoid of any patriotic ideal, ... connected by no common tie ... ready to rise against any government whatsoever.”313 In the 1920s Iraq had a population of about three million inhabitants, extremely diverse in religion, race and language; the new state faced serious problems in consolidation and defense of its about 120,000 square miles of territory.314

Education One of the British concerns was education, which was regarded by Iraqi leaders as ‘the mystic cure’ for all their social ills. The schools of Iraq were either governmental or nongovernmental which included the Koran schools, community schools which maintained at the expense and management of the different communities of Jews, Catholic, Syrian and others, and Missionary schools. In all schools, the language of instruction was Arabic, except for some missionary and community schools. In Baghdad there were in 1931 three government schools in which Jews predominated and three in which Christians dominated. In Mosul there was one government Jewish and twenty-seven Christian schools. All this schools taught the religion of the majority of the pupils.315

310 The agreements were set between Britain and France (1920 and 1930) for the West and South-West, the Bahra agreement (1925) for the South. The Eastern border with Persia existed already, although there were some problems concerning water suply and harbors. In the Mosul province in the North, at the border with Turkey, an Anglo-Turkish agreement was found with the help of the international community (1924/6). Shimoni, pp. 126, 179-183. 311 Foster, p. 303. 312 Shimoni, p. 194-198. 313 Batatu, p. 28. 314 Foster, p. 303 315 Foster, p. 254-258; Saadoun, pp. 64-68, 73-75.

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School statistics of Iraq: *In 1913 there were 160 primary schools with 6,000 pupils, *In 1920 there were 84 schools with 6,737 pupils, *In 1931 there were 247 boy’s schools with 24,900 pupils and 44 girl’s schools with 6,000 pupils.316 *In 1950/51, at the eve of the grate Jewish emigration to Israel, there were some 16,000 Jewish pupils in Iraq, a third were girls. Many had finished gymnasiums, hundreds studied in universities within Iraq or abroad in Lebanon, Egypt and in Western Europe.317 The problem of higher education was solved by sending students abroad on government expense. Most students went to the universities of Egypt, Syria, Great Britain, Germany and the USA. In 1931 there were 178 such students, men and women.318 One of the most important elements in the consolidation of the state was the development of an educational system: *1920 there were 8,000 students in state primary schools, 200 in secondary schools *1930 there were 34,000 students in state primary schools, 2,000 in secondary schools *1958 there were 74,000 students in state primary schools, 3,500 in secondary schools Still, education was available to a small section of the population, mainly in the urban areas, and mainly mail. And, 85 per cent of the Iraqi’s were still illiterate in 1958.319 The Suez war between Israel and Egypt320 did not end European influence in the Near East. France was still present in Algeria until 1962 and Britain remained in South West Arabia until 1967, in the Persian Gulf until 1971. But it became evident that European influence could not prevail in the face of the hostility of the regional powers and the USA. Both were unwilling and un-capable to stay in the region in the position they had before world war II.321

316

Foster, p. 258-259. Saadoun, Article Meir, p. 16. 318 Foster, p. 259. 319 Yapp, p. 76. 320 Under the initiative and support of Britain and France. 321 Yapp, p. 410. 317

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The Art of the Jews of Iraq Jewish history shows that Jewish scholarship in Iraq was the ultimate spiritual authority world wide in the “Geonic period”, which refers to the first five centuries of Islam; the heads of the two famous academies Sura and Pumbedita were known as “Geonim” – Genius.322 While retaining a communal identity, we were generally well integrated and indigenous to the country, forming an inseparable part of its social and cultural life. Thoroughly Arabized, we used Arabic even in hymns and religious ceremonies. Prominent Jewish writers, poets and scholars played a vital role in Arab culture, distinguishing themselves in Arabic speaking theater, in music, as singers, composers, and players of traditional instruments.323 Many prominent Jewish writers and poets emerged, whose works in Arabic were both highly regarded and well-known within Iraqi cultural life in general. Jewish intellectuals were among the first that began translating books from mainly European languages to Arabic. A number of newspapers and magazines were founded by Jewish journalists; among them al-Haris (1920), al-Misbah (1920-29), al Hasad (1929-37), al Bustan (1929-38), and al-Barid al Yawmi (1948), all in Arabic. There were only “very few if any” publications in Hebrew, other than in other Arab countries (like Egypt a. o.). From about 1920, a number of Jews were prominent in theatre performing in Arabic. Many were prominent in music as singers, composers and traditional-instrument-player. Thirty-two out of the 100 most prominent musicians which were well known not only in Iraq, but over the whole Arab world, were Jewish.324 In the middle of the 19th century, most Jews of Mesopotamia were active in crafts, hawking, small businesses (mainly in Baghdad), and agriculture (mainly in Kurdistan). The Jewish community played a considerably role in finance and foreign trade. Links with other Jews in India, Europe and elsewhere was of help in this undertaking.325 In 1948, there lived about 18.000 Jews all over Kurdistan,326 and by 1950, there were 25.000 Jews in Kurdistan; they were mostly dyer, Leather-tanner, weaver, tailor and hawker.327

322

Shiblac, p. 30. Shohat, Interview. 324 Shiblac, p. 45-46. 325 Shiblac, p. 46-47. 326 Cohen 1975, p. 349. 327 Sabar 1982, p. xxv. 323

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“The cultural affinities of Jews and Muslims, as well as their socio-Economic background, facilitated the integration of the indigenous Jewish communities, which were Arabized in many respects.”328

Literature The Iraqi Jewish community was the only Jewish community in the Arab world, which played an important role by contributing an important, notable and acknowledged part of the modern Arab literature of Iraq. They were acknowledged all over the Arab world by founding the romantic genre in lyrics and short story; they also introduced British and French literature to the Iraqi people. They wrote mostly in the Judeo-Arabic language in Hebrew letters.329 Most authors of Iraq were Jews; they wrote almost exclusively in Arabic. This was a very special case in the Arab world. No where else in the Arab world were so many Jewish authors. Generally, there were many books printed in Iraq compared to other Arab countries, but rather very few newspaper or magazins.330 This tradition of writers continues in Israel even in the third and forth generation of descendants of Iraqi Jews, means that compare to their percent in the population of Israel, there is a very high percent among them who are writers.

Jewish Press331 Very few Jewish journals were published in Iraq, and they had a very short life; comparing to Egypt, where there were many Jewish journals and newspapers were published. The Iraqi Jews which moved to India, published newspapers there in order to protect their brothers in Iraq. 328

Shiblac, p. 27. Saadoun, Article Moreh, the Iraqi-Jewish writer were well-known over the Arab world. Among them: David Tzemah, Jacov Balbul, Samir Naqash, Michael Morad, Anor Sha’ul, Izac bar-Moshe, Avraham Ovadia, Shalom Katav, Sami Michael, Eli Amir, (both Michael and Amir became well-known writers of Israeli literature) and others. p. 101-106. 330 Moreh 1981, p. 24-26. 331 Saadoun, Article Moreh, 108-114. 329

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The first Hebrew newspaper was published in 1863 and In1909, two Newspapers in Arabic have been published under Jewish editors.332 During the Ottoman period: By 1908, when the new constitution which tended to give all ethnic and religious minorities equality rights was announced, the Jews started to establish newspapers and periodicals including news as well as stories. Jewish Press after World War I: The Jews of Iraq were always very careful not to mix in politics; they rather did not talk about politics in order not to get involved in dangerous situations. Never the less, during the British mandate period there were some newspapers, weekly magazines, a literary daily newspaper and others, both in Hebrew and Arabic.

Music333 Especially in Baghdad, Jews were very active in music life on all fields like composing, playing all sort of old instruments and singing, and were well appreciated also by the nonJewish public. They performed not only in Jewish events, but were invited to perform also at festivities of other religions, rather of Muslims. The musicians were mostly members of families, which used to make music for many generation, and were the talents passed from father to son through generations as a tradition. The musical repertoire was built of religious songs, wedding songs and other genres. The group of women drummers ‘Daka’kat’ was well known and performed during many occasions at Jewish and Muslim festivities. The group as well as the genre disappeared after the women moved to Israel. The Jewish brothers and musicians al-Quwaiti were invited to establish the first music group /orchestra of the Iraqi radio in 1936, right after the radio was established. A few of the best musicians that immigrated from Iraq to Israel, played at the Israel radio orchestra, which was founded by Ezra Aharon, another musician from Iraq in the 1950s and 1960s. Jews formed a special category in Iraqi music. The number of wealthy and educated Jews was relatively higher among them than among the rest of the population of Baghdad; they lived

332 333

Moreh 1981, p. 16f. Saadoun, Article Shilo’ach, p. 115-125.

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within a small area of the city, which enabled them to have “Maqam” performances for relatives and neighbors, and the Jews became patrons of the Maqam tradition. Only after World War I in 1918, were women allowed to participate in this concerts. Many of the Maqam singer were also Hazzan – cantor in synagogues.334 Many Jews were instrumentalists and vocalists of Maqam, and their emigration to Israel in 1950-51 had a strong impact on musical life in Iraq. The Maqam tradition lost most of its best singers, instrumentalists and composers and its Jewish patrons. This phenomenon apeared in Europe after world war II when the Jewish artists, musicians, writer and more, disapeared from Europe either by liquidation by the Nazi or by imigration; the same happened also in other Arab countries, when most of the Jews left arround 1948. It was for years, impossible to replace the vacancy the Jewish musicians and other artists left behind.335 “When the Jews decided to immigrate (to Israel, 1950-51) no one wanted the musicians to go.” They were offered to stay with the Broadcast in Iraq or go to another Arab country like Kuwait, which they did not.336 At the beginning, Iraqi Jews had a very hard life in Israel, living in the Maabarot –interim camps, in tents. Their standard of living fell lower than the poorest standard they were used to in Iraq. They did not have enough food, no jobs, no proper health care and no decent life. The situation changed gradually as they started to merge into social life in the country; professionals like doctors, chemists, engineers etc. started to exercise their professions, others opened shops, many musicians found jobs with the ‘Israeli radio orchestra’, and many of the youngsters started to study at the universities.337 The Jewish community of Baghdad was only about 100,000 people in numbers, but they played an important role in many fields of life in Iraq. They were the majority in the Railways administration, in the ministry of finance, post office, bank officials, they controlled several commercial and economic field and more. For many years the majority of students at the medical school and the college of pharmacy were Jewish. There were many Jewish poets and writers, journalists, and they had their own Press. But they suffered prejudice; as from 1934,

334

Kojaman, pp. 15-16, 17-18. Kojaman, pp. 48-50. 336 Kojaman, p. 232. 337 Kojaman, p. 51-52. 335

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the number of Jewish students was restricted to three or four per year, in 1936 many Jews lost their jobs at official offices and an anti Jewish atmosphere was very present.338 The book of Rachel Manasseh,339 published in London, is a sample of the large and wonderful musical Jewish tradition from Iraq, which is about to vanish; Manasseh argues that the strong inter-relationship of Jewish and Arab traditions has been a significant aspect of Jewish life in Iraq. 'Shbahoth: the Baghdadian Jewish term for 'Songs of Praise' in the Babylonian Jewish Tradition, demonstrates linguistic and musical prowess covering Hebrew, Arabic, and English, as well as musical and textual mastery.' 'Sara Manasseh´s Shbahoth is a wonderful anthology of hymns sung by Iraqi Jews and a window into the musical and religious life of this ancient community. It comes along at a time when this aspect of middle-Eastern Jewish popular culture has joined with Jewish and Israeli popular culture, thereby gaining an unexpectedly wide audience. The poems included in the book are accompanied by translations and all the historical and literary information needed for their full enjoyment and understanding.'340

Art and handy-craft341 Beside religious relicts like for example Hanukia, Mernorah, and other relicts mostly to be used in the synagogue during prayer, which were made in an old tradition, there was a big demand for jewelry, for many reasons: as a protection from bad powers, as status symbol, as a good and relative secure way of investment, beside an esthetic and symbolic value. They were made mostly of Gold in different techniques, with precious stones like diamonds, pearls, turquoise, a.o. jewelry were an integrated part of the dowry a bride got from her parents and bought with her to the house of the groom.

338

Kojaman, p. 231. Baghdadian Jews of BombayDr. Sara Manasseh is an ethnomusicologist, lecturer and performer of music in the Babylonian Jewish (Iraqi) tradition. She was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), and moved to London in 1966. Her family, originally from Baghdad, settled in Bombay during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 339

340 The book showcases thirty-one songs and includes English translations, complete Hebrew texts, transliterations and the music notation for each song. By Raymond Scheindlin, Professor of Medieval Hebrew Literature at The Jewish Theological Seminary, USA. To be found on: www.riversofbabylon.com. 341

Saadoun, Article Goldberg- Molkevich, p. 123-126.

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Theatre342 The Iraqi Jewish theatre was a secular one, and was influenced from European theatres, which came to Iraq as well from Europe as from Turkey, Egypt, and Syria, and it was taught in Jewish schools. Most theatrical shows were not very accurate translations from French and English into Arabic. No girls were allowed to play on stages. School theatres were the only existing theatres and they played often for children. No Hebrew shows were given only in Arabic and English languages. Coming to Israel, they could not participate in the Hebrew theatre, which was very Ashkenazi oriented and their pronunciation343 was not accepted. Some of the actors found a place in the Israeli radio as speakers and in radio plays.

British mandate Before the British mandate, there was no Iraq; after it, at 1917, the beginning of a state started. The British created an impressive number of institutions: a Monarchy, a parliament, a constitution western style, a bureaucracy, and an army. The bureaucracy and the army were the only institutions, which remained after 1958. The British dismantled the Ottoman administration very rapidly, especially after Turkey joined Germany during World War I.; the British gained control on all of what is now Iraq, including Kurdistan. After the revolt of 1920, the San Remo conference had assigned a British mandate on Iraq.344 Merging the three provinces of Mosul, Baghdad, and Al-Basrah into one political entity and creating a nation out of the diverse religious and ethnic elements inhabiting these lands, were accomplished by the British after World War I. Action undertaken by the British military authorities during the war and the upsurge of nationalism afterward - in addition to a national revolt which started in the summer of 1920 and had spread to all parts of the country except the big cities of Mosul, Baghdad, and Al-Basrah, where British forces were stationed - helped determine the shape of the new Iraqi state and the course of events during the postwar years. 342

Saadoun, Article Moreh, 132-138. The Jews from Arab countries pronounced the Hebrew as it should be pronounced, which sounds a little like Arabic; this was not accepted by the Ashkenazi majority; later, their children learned to speak Hebrew like the ‘Sabra’ – native born Israelis as part of their integration in Israel. 344 Marr, p. 21-24. 343

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“The possession of Mesopotamia, as we already hold the Persian Gulf, the Red See and Egypt, would secure all approaches to the Mohammedan Holy Places” wrote the British governor of Iraq Lord Kitchener (1850-1916) in a memorandum on March 16, 1915. Churchill also supported the acquisition of Mesopotamia.345 Imperialism, with its empire building and policy of annexation, gradually became unaccepted. Iraq’s nationalism started growing especially among the urban population; that had a major influence on British policy after 1920. Iraq gained international recognition through the League of Nations in 1920, after the Mandate system was agreed upon in Paris in January 30th 1919 and was accepted in San Remo in April 1920.346 Soon, the Mandate was “out of date” and was formally replaced In 1920; talks of a treaty between Britain and Iraq - for the time after the Mandate was expected to end in 1924 - started, and the treaty was to last for twenty years, but the uncertainty of intentions of one side, respectively the other, were strong. Jews and Christians looked for Britain’s continued present in Iraq for their own protection. After the mandate ended in about 1921, a treaty was discussed between Britain and Iraq, which was signed only in 1926, according to which, Britain controlled Iraq’s foreign and defense policies, and was, through its ultimate finance control, able to take influence over Iraq’s internal affairs, regardless of the fact that the number of British advisers to Iraq was reduced from 3000 in 1920 to 100 in 1932.347 It looked like the Iraqi regime was political instable, as between 1921 and 1958 Iraq had elected 59 cabinets; they lasted in average only about eight month.348 Yet, the minister of Finance, Sassoon Hasqayl, which was a Jew and therefore naturally pro British as the non Muslim minorities felt safer under British regime, wrote: “... I do not know what danger has to be guarded against, or to what extent the British Government accept liability for the defense of the country”. At the end, the treaty was signed in 1924; it included Mosul only later, after more talks, and was definitely signed in 1926, binding Britain and Iraq for 25 years. Yet, it ended when Iraq entered the League of Nations as an accredited member in 1932 and the treaty conditions were reduced to considerable latitude only in matters of defense and administration, so, British authorities still retained supreme power.349

345

Nevakivi, p. 17. Dodge, pp. 5, 7, 22. 347 Yapp, p. 70. 348 Yapp, p. 74. 349 Sluglett, pp. 49-52, 69, 92, 160. 346

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“The Mandate system was designed to establish the universal ideal of the sovereign state, with comparatively open markets and politically independent government. ... It signaled the beginning of the end of British international dominance.”350 Iraq became an independent political entity in 1932, however the British remain in Iraq until about 1958 as advisers to the government and army; they controlled most of the oil resources etc. Modern Iraq boundaries were drawn, as many other countries in the Middle East, by the British colonial power that ruled the region since the beginning of the 20th century, during World War I (1914-1918).

British Mandate and the Jews The British mandate of Iraq started in 1918 and ended officially in 1932 as a result of the independency of Iraq. In fact, the British stayed there as consultants for foreign policy and security until 1958. Many of the Iraqi Jews were well educated and played an important role in civic life during the British Mandate, and even after independence in 1932. Iraq's first minister of finance, Sir Sassoon Eskell, (1860-1932) was a Jew; Abraham al-Kabir was director general of the ministry of finance during twenty years, ending in 1948. Jews were important in developing the judicial and postal systems. Records of the Baghdad Chamber of Commerce show that in 1947, 10 out of its 19 members were Jews. Jews were represented in the Iraqi parliament, and many held high positions in the bureaucracy, which often led to resentment by the Muslim population. Many Jews worked in official positions like ministries, railways, post and telegraph, post which were important to the Brits in order to secure their interests in Iraq. Many Jews worked in private companies, especially in banks or in the oil industry; a weighty part of Jews were judges, lawyers, doctors, journalists and others. Jewish merchants became wealthy during the mandate; they expand their businesses to other countries of the British Empire like India a.o.351 350 351

Dodge, p. 1. Especialy in Grate Britain and India. Saadoun, Article Meir, p. 16.

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The first musical band formed for Baghdad's nascent radio in the 1930s consisted mainly of Jews.

The "State of Iraq" In November 1920 Iraq got a League of Nations mandate under British control as the "State of Iraq". In Britain a segment of public opinion wanted to “get out of Mesopotamia”. The British established an Arab government as well as the Hashemite kingdom with King Faisal, who had been forced out of Syria by the French. In 1921 Britain offered the Iraqi throne to Faisal, a British made king of Iraq, which was a foreign substance to the Iraqi people. He was a Sunni Muslim, whereas the great majority of the Iraqi’s were Shi’i. The Civil Commissioner was Sir Percy Cox. he had among others to implement a policy of cooperation with Iraq's Sunni minority. Although the revolt in Iraq was suppressed by force, it prompted Iraq and Great Britain to reconcile their differences; the nationalists were demanding independence. The institution of slavery was abolished in the 1920s.352 The establishment of the monarchy was the first step in setting up a national regime. The signing of a treaty of alliance between Iraq and Great Britain and the drafting of a constitution followed. The treaty was signed on October 10, 1922. Iraq undertook to respect religious freedom and missionary enterprises and the rights of foreigners, to treat all states equally, and to cooperate with the League of Nations. Britain was obligated to offer advice on foreign and domestic affairs, such as military, judicial, and financial matters (defined in separate and subsidiary agreements). Although the terms of the treaty were open to periodic revision, they were to last 20 years. In the meantime, Britain agreed to prepare Iraq for membership in the League of Nations “as soon as possible.” It soon became apparent that the substance, though not the form, of the mandate was still in existence and that complete independence had not been achieved.353 The nationalists argued that there were two governments in Iraq, one foreign and the other national, and that such a regime was an abnormality that was unworkable in practice. After the achievement of independence in 1932, the Iraqi parties dissolved, because their raison 352 353

Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”. Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”, Encyclopedia Britanica online, Richard L. Chambers, Ed.

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d’être had disappeared. It was only when social issues were discussed, that new political groupings began to emerge.354 The first Parliament met in 1925. Ten general elections were held before the downfall of the monarchy in 1958. The more than 50 cabinets formed during the same period reflected the instability of the system. In 1929 Britain decided to end this stalemate and reconcile its interests with Iraq’s national aspirations. It notified Iraq that the mandate would be terminated in 1932, and a new treaty of independence was negotiated. The new treaty was signed in June 1930. It provided for the establishment of a “close alliance” between Britain and Iraq. This treaty, valid for 25 years, was to go into effect after Iraq joined the League of Nations.355 In the 1920s Iraq had a population of about three million inhabitants, extremely diverse in religion, race, provenience, origin and language; the new state faced serious problems in consolidation and defense of its about 120,000 square miles of territory.356 Whereas Egypt drew closer to France, Great Britain strengthened its position in the Persian Gulf and Iraq. Under the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), Turkey (the successor of the Ottoman Empire) gave up all claims to its former Arab provinces, including Iraq.

354

Encyclopedia Britanica online. Encyclopedia Britanica online, Richard L. Chambers, Ed. 356 Foster, p. 303 355

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Independency 1932 On October 3, 1932, Iraq was admitted to the League of Nations as an independent state. Internal dissension soon developed. Lack of leadership that the assassination of Bakr Sidqi (1890-1937) left, divided the army, while jealousy among leading army officers induced each faction to support a different set of civilian leaders. The army became virtually the deciding factor in cabinet changes, and the situation remained so until 1941. The Iraqi monarchy lasted from 1932 to 1958, when Iraq became a republic. After the foundation of Israel in 1948 Martial law was announced in 1948 in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, which in fact stopped normal political life. This was the end of democratic appearances in those countries; it crushed the democratic elements and wiped out their humble achievements.357 Under the new Iraqi constitution after independence in 1932, Jews enjoyed the same civil rights as all other Iraqis irrespective of religion or gender. The fact that Jews kept out of politics for generations made it easier to accept them as equals. But, some younger Jews of the intelligentsia put this attitude of the older generations in question; some joined political parties like the Communist Party. Others, especially from the less wealthy layer, joined in the mid forties Zionist movement, which were established by emissaries sent from ErezIsrael/Palestine; this movement grew with the UN resolution of 1947 about the establishment of a Jewish state in Erez-Israel/Palestine, and the foundation of Israel in 1948.358 Martial law was announced in 1948 in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, which in fact stopped the normal political life. This was the end of democratic appearances in those countries; it crushed the democratic elements and wiped out their humble achievements.359 Prominent families like the Sassoon’s (the Rothschilds of the east), Shamash’s, Haskail’s, Zuluf’s, Bekhor’s, Khedouri’s, and Salih’s, had subsidiary commercial houses in India, England, but also in Hong Kong and elsewhere. They were very prominent in the chambers of commerce, 43 percent -213 in number- of the members in the chambers were Jewish.360 The British administration created new employment opportunities for educated Jews, who were better qualified than others. Many became senior clerks also because they were trusted by the 357

Shiblac, p. 87-90. Shiblac, p. 79-80, 359 Shiblac, p. 87-90. 360 Shiblac, p. 47-48. 358

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British. So, the Jews were prominent in transport, banks, foreign companies, railways, the port of Basra, and petroleum companies.361

Before World War II With the introduction of Nazi propaganda and the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian British Mandate in the 1930s, the situation of the Jews in Iraq deteriorated. Despite reassuring and protestations of their loyalty to Iraq; the growing Iraqi Arab nationalist sentiment included Iraqi Jews as fellow Arabs - the Jews were increasingly subject to discrimination after the British mandate ceased in 1932, when Iraq was recognized by the UN general assembly as an independent state. Iraqi Jews played an important role in the early days of Iraq's independence. Anti-Jewish policies had been implemented since 1934, and the confidence of Jews was further shaken by the growing crisis in Palestine in 1936. Between 1936 and 1939 ten Jews were murdered and on eight occasions bombs were thrown on Jewish locations. Many Jews were dismissed from public service, quotas were set up in colleges and universities, Zionist activities were banned, and teaching of Jewish history and Hebrew in Jewish schools was forbidden. The Jews were blamed in being spies. As from 1933 on, one year after Iraq got its independence and had obliged itself to keep the rights of all minorities and give them full equality, anti Jewish measures started, on the official side by dismissals, restrictions for Jewish students, as well as by the people on the streets; Nazi Germany added its part to it. The anti-Jewish feelings got to its climax in 1941 during the Farhud, which caused Jewish youth to join the Zionist movement that was active under ground; another part joined the Communist party.362 Opposite to other Arab countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, Iraq did not receive immigration of European Jews around the event of World War II, except a handful that arrived almost by mistake.

361 362

Shiblac, p. 50. Saadoun, Article Meir, p. 17.

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Nazis in Iraq Between 1932 and 1941, the German embassy in Iraq, significantly supported anti Semitic and fascist movements. Intellectuals and army officers were invited to Germany as guests of the Nazi party. “Actually, since October 1932, when the British mandate seased, five military putsches took place in Iraq. Under Iraqi nationalists, the Nazi propaganda began to infiltrate the country, as Nazi Germany was anxious to expand its influence in the Arab world. Dr. Fritz Grobba, who resided in Iraq since 1932, began vigorously and systematically to disseminate hateful propaganda against Jews. The German embassy purchased the newspaper al-Alam alArabi - "The Arab world", which published, in addition to anti-Semitic propaganda, an Arabic translation of Hitler’s book Mein Kampf as well as the “Protocols of the elderly of Zion”, another anti-Semite publication, also translated to Arabic were published and Radio Berlin had begun broadcasting in Arabic language.363 In the forties, a pro Nazi regime ruled Iraq, and the end of one of the oldest Jewish communities out of Israel was foreseeable; another reason was the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. If at the beginning of the 20s Century there lived tenth of thousands Jews in Iraq, when I was born in 1950 we were only a few thousand.”364 An investigation conducted by the journalist Tony Rocca of the Sunday Times attributes the delay to a personal decision (to help the attacked Jews) by Cornwallis, the British Ambassador to Iraq, who failed to immediately carry out orders he received from the Foreign Office in London about the matter.365 Some of the victims of the Pogrom which are still alive (mainly in Israel) say that according to the opinion of historians which used protocols of the German army, correspondent of the ministry of the Nazi foreign affairs, records of the British intelligence, the Nazi radio station in Arabic and the fascist youth movement of Iraq, which stood in direct contact with Nazi Germany, the Germans started the hatred against the Jews in Iraq, as part of the Nazi plan to liquidate the Jews of the Middle East. Other historians disclaim a direct correlation between the developments in Iraq and Nazi Germany. Iraqi Jews claim that Nazi Germany stood

363

Ofer Aderet, Haaretz correspondence in Berlin, Haaretz, Mai 30. 2014. ‘Mein Kampf’ was written by Hitler and includes his anti-Semitic race theory about the total liquidation of the Jewish folk. The Protocols are an anti-Semitic publication, which was first published in Russia in the 1930th. 364 Linda Menuhin, by Kobi Ben-Simhon,Haaretz, February 28. 2014. 365 Sunday Times. May 12, 2014.

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behind those events, and that they should be approved as Shoa - holocaust victims, as the European Jews were.

World War II (1939-1945) Prime minister Nuri al-Saʿid (1888-1958), author of the 1930 treaty, was prime minister when war broke out. He believed that the Anglo-Iraqi alliance was the best guarantee for Iraqi security; he wanted Iraq to declare war on Germany, but his ministers did not agree. When Italy entered the war in 1940, he was unable to persuade the cabinet to break off diplomatic relations with Italy. Under the influence of pan-Arab leaders, public opinion in Iraq changed radically, becoming especially hostile to Britain. Pan-Arabs urged Iraqi leaders to free Syria and Palestine from France and Britain and achieve unity among Arab countries. Extremists advocated alliance with Germany as the first country that would foster independence and unity among Arabs. During 1940 and 1941, Iraqi officers were unwilling to cooperate with Britain, and the panArab leaders began secret negotiations with the Axis Powers.366 Britain sent more forces to Iraq. British contingents including Indian units entered Iraq from the Persian Gulf and from the Ḥabbaniyyah air base in April and May 1941; armed conflict with Iraqi forces followed. The hostilities lasted only 30 days, during which period a few Iraqi leaders including the regent, fled the country. By the end of May, the Iraqi army had capitulated. The return of the regent and moderate leaders through British intervention had far-reaching consequences; Britain was given what it demanded: the use of transportation and communication facilities especially for its army, and a declaration of war on the Axis Powers in January 1942.367 Opposite to other Arab countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, Iraq did not receive immigration of European Jews around the event of World War II.368

366

The Axis Powers were Germany, Italy and Japan. They goals were breaking the hegemony of plutocraticcapitalist Western powers and defending civilization from communism 367 Encyclopedia Britanica, “Iraq”. 368 Shiblac, p. 87

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Jewish emigration to Iraq around 1938 An Excurse The important geopolitcal region of the Middle East is present in modern history through the contribution of Turkey. The relatively large group of about 85 Austrian-Jewish-refugees which emigrated to Iraq and about 80 to Iran, stays at a large anonymous unfortunately. The Jewish pediatrician Dr. Richard Lederer, boren 1885 in Karlsbad, was head of the ‘Kinderambulatoriums IX’ – pediatric-hospital in Vienna and an associate professor for pediatrician-healing at the university of Vienna, had to leave Austria in 1938.369 In Iraq he became the personal pediatrician of young prince Faisal II. (1935–1958), the only son and heir of the Iraqi king Ghazi I. (1912–1939). He escaped Austria alone, without his family in 1939 to England, later he moved to Baghdad, where he worked also as a Professor at the Pediatric-Hospital of the Royal College of Medicine of Baghdad. In the spring of 1941 diagnosed Prof. Lederer a new, very aggressive and quick Form of children-Anemia.370 He died in the same year of an incurable skin-disease he was contaminated with during his work in the hospital in Iraq.371 „European cultural activities in Baghdad were practically nil, so we often invited each other to parties, where we held mock trials, debates and poetry readings or listened to recorded classical music. We formed a private club and called it ‘The Enemies of Baghdad Life’, these evenings often turning into parties with home-made food.“372

369

as many other Jews who lived in Austria and had to fear for their life there. Judith Bauer-Merinsky, Die Auswirkungen der Annexion Österreichs durch das Deutsche Reich auf die Medizinische Fakultät der Universität Wien im Jahre 1938, Phil. Diss Wien1981, S. 134. Eduard Seidler, Jüdische Kinderärzte 1933–1945 : entrechtet – geflohen – ermordet, Freiburg 2007. S. 480; Stadt- und Landesarchiv Wien (WStLA). 370 Richard Lederer, A new form of acute haemolytic anaemia. “Baghdad spring anaemia”. In: Transaction of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene 34 (1941) 5, S. 387–394. Unter: trstmh.oxfordjournals.org/content/34/5/387.abstract, 15.11.2013. Margit Franz, Heimo Halbrainer (Hg.), Going East – Going South. Österreichisches Exil in Asien und Afrika. Graz 2014, S. 19–43, hier S. 37. 371 Maria Hull (geb. Lederer), Leserbrief. In: AJR-Journal 11 (2011) 8. Unter: http://www.ajr.org.uk/journal/issue.Aug11/letters, 15.11.2013; siehe auch: Robert A. Shaw, Refugees in Far-away Places. In: AJR-Journal 10 (2010) 9, S. 5. Unter: http://www.ajr.org.uk/journalpdf/2010_september.pdf, 15.11.2013. 372 Reni Chapman (geb. Schüler), Leserbrief. In: AJR-Journal 10 (2011) 9. under: www.ajr.org.uk/journal/issue.Sep11/letters, 15.11.2013.

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The Farhud of 1941 - Pogrom of the Iraqi Jews Following the collapse of Rashid Ali's pro-Axis coup, the Baghdadi Jews suffered a terrible pogrom in 1941, known as the Farhud - pogrom / "violent dispossession". The pogrom was carried out on June 1–2, 1941 against the Jewish population of Baghdad. The Farhud took place during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot - Pentecost, particularly in Baghdad, but also, though in a debilitated manner, in other cities in Iraq.373 According to Iraqi government and British historical sources, violence started when a delegation of Jews arrived at Qasr al Zuhur - Palace of Flowers, for a meeting with the Regent Abdullah; they were attacked en route by an Iraqi Islamic mob. A civil disorder and violence swiftly spread to other districts, and got worse the next day when elements of the Iraqi police began joining in with the attacks upon the Jewish population. The riots occurred in a power vacuum following the collapse of the pro-Nazi government of Rashid Ali. The violence started after the defeat of Rashid Ali by the British, and was charged by allegations that Iraqi Jews had aided the British. According to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Sa'id (1888-1958), ”The Jews have always been a source of evil and harm to Iraq. They are spies. They have sold their property in Iraq, they have no land among us that they can cultivate. How therefore can they live? What will they do if they stay in Iraq? No, no my friend, it is better for us to be rid of them as long as we are able to do so.”374 Around 175-200 Jews were murdered and up to 2,000 were injured. Shops belonging to Jews were being set on fire and a synagogue was destroyed. According to “Yad va-Shem” – the Jewish-memorial-documentation-center in Jerusalem, 179 Jews were killed, more than 2,000 injured, and 50,000 were victims of robbery. Jewish property and 900 Jewish homes were destroyed. Damages to Jewish property were estimated at three million $ (which would be some 48 million in 2014). Zionist emissaries were sent from the Yishuv375 in Palestine to teach Iraqi Jews self-defense. Either way, the Farhud is broadly understood to mark the start of a process of politicization of the Iraqi Jews. In the direct aftermath of the Farhud, many joined the Iraqi Communist Party in order to protect themselves, especially Baghdad, yet the Jews did not want to leave the country and rather sought to fight for better conditions in Iraq. At the same time the Iraqi government,

373

The Farhud took place in all big cities of Iraq, but it was the most vehemently in Baghdad. Shimoni, pp. 194, 517. A. al-Arif, p. 893. 375 Yishuv: settlement. The Jewish minority in Palestine before the state of Israel was established in 1948.

374

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which had taken over after the Farhud, reassured the Iraqi Jewish community, and normal life soon returned to Baghdad. Sami Michael376, a witness to the Farhud, testifies: "Anti-Semite propaganda was broadcast routinely by the local radio and Radio-Berlin in Arabic. Various anti-Jewish slogans were written on walls on the way to school, such as ‘Hitler is killing the Jewish germs.’ Shops owned by Muslims had 'Muslim' written on them, so they would not be damaged in the case of anti-Jewish riots." “The Farhud was the only such event known to the Jews of Iraq, at least during their last hundred years of life there",377 wrote Hayyim Cohen. And Bashkin wrote: “It was probably the beginning of the end of the Jewish community of Iraq". Between 1941 and 1948 there were many excesses and riots against the Jews of Iraq (among other Islamic countries). Jews were dismissed from work especially in government posts, persecuted, hanged etc. The Jewish-Islamic symbiosis was a meaningful outstanding creative period, a long chapter in Jewish-Arab history, which came to an end.378

Post World War II Iraq379 During World War II, liberal and moderate Iraqi elements began to play an active role in politics. The entry of the United States and the Soviet Union into the war and their declarations in favor of democratic freedom greatly enhanced the position of the Iraqi democratic elements. The people endured shortages and regulations restricting personal liberty and the freedom of the press, trusting that the end of the war would bring the promised better way of life. The government paid no attention to the new spirit, and the wartime regulations and restrictions continued after the war. The regent, ʿAbd al-Ilah was gathering a meeting of the country’s leaders in 1945, which called for the formation of political parties

376

Sami Michael is a well-known Israeli author. Hayyim Cohen, The anti-Jewish Farhud. P. 2-17. 378 Lewis. The Jews of Islam. P. 170. 379 When the war was over in 1949, Israel, who has been allotted 57 percent of the country, occupied 77 percent. Of the 1,300 million Arabs, 900,000 had been displaced.379 Writes Shiblak, which not quite coordinates with the general knowledge of about 750,000 Palestinians, which either had been displaced or left out of their own. Less than 200,000 stayed. Writes Shiblac (p. 89). 377

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with a promise of full freedom for their activities and the launching of social and economic reforms. In 1948, Sayyid Salih Jabr (1896–1957), the first Shiʿite politician to become prime minister, went to London to negotiate a new treaty. He and Ernest Bevin, the British foreign secretary, quickly came to an agreement and signed a twenty-year treaty. An improvement of the 1930 treaty, this document sought an alliance on the basis of mutual interests. Both parties agreed to grant each other necessary facilities for defense purposes. Many Palestinian nationalists among them the extreme anti-Jewish, anti-British Haj Amin alHussainy (1893-1947), grand Mufti of Jerusalem, found refuge in Iraq after the ‘Big-ArabicRevolt’ in Erez-Israel/Palestine in 1936. The end of World War II was a turning point in Middle East politics; the Arab countries saw an opportunity to through out the British colonialists, and, last but not least because of Nazi-German propaganda, which found some support in stirring anti-Jewish feelings in Iraq, although there is no evidence that serious harm was done to the Jews during this period, except of the Farhud – breakdown of law and order in 1941, during which about 300 Jews were killed or injured, houses and stores were looted. Shiblac writes, that the main reason for this uprising were the suppressed anti-British feelings, which found its outlet against the Jews, a phenomena well known from other locations, as the Jews were always the weakest limb in the chain.380 Despite political instability, Iraq achieved material progress during the 1950s, thanks to two reasons; a new oil agreement that increased royalties and the establishment of the Development Board. In 1950 the government had created an independent Development Board, an agency immune from political pressures and responsible directly to the prime minister. The board had six executive members, three of whom had to be experts in some branch of the development program. The original oil agreement between the Iraqi government and the IPC had, until than, yielded relatively modest royalties, owing to certain technical limitations (such as the need for pipelines) and to war conditions. Some opposition leaders demanded that the oil industry be nationalized, but the Iraqi government and the IPC, forestalling any serious move for nationalization, agreed to negotiate on the basis of a fifty-fifty formula, to the mutual advantage of Iraq and the company. The new agreement was signed in 1952; it allowed Iraq to take part of its share of the profits in kind and to receive an increasing amount of royalties specifically agreed upon between the two parties. 380

Shiblac, p. 70-73.

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In 1952 a popular uprising flared, stirred by opposition leaders and carried out by students and extremists. The police was unable to control the mob, and the regent called on the army to maintain public order. The chief of the general staff governed the country under martial law for more than two months. Civilian rule was restored at the beginning of 1953, but there was no sign that the country’s older leaders were prepared to share authority with their opponents.381

The cold war As a result of the cold war (between the Western world and the USSR), the Russian supported some Arab countries; the ‘Baghdad pact’382 brought with it an anti-western position in diverse Arab countries. The Russian got in the first place very active in Egypt, but also in Syria and Iraq, firstly with the purpose to weaken the western countries ruling the region, Britain and France, secondly, in order to strengthen the Arabs against Israel, so they could theoretically win the next war against Israel and reestablish their pride and their position, which was very unsatisfactory for them even before the six-day-war of 1967; among this countries was also Iraq, officially as aid or loan. After the war of 1967 and the biggest Arab defeat, the Russian aid to Syria and Egypt continued in an unbelievable pace, including tanks, aircrafts, and experts, which strengthen the Russian position in the Middle East for the time.383 Later, Nassers Egypt threw them out and approached the West, the USA and Europe.

381

Encyclopedia Britanica online. “Baghdad pact” was formed in 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey and the United Kingdom. US pressure and promises for military and economic aid were a key to the pact, which was dissolved in 1979. Shimoni, p. 374. 383 Shimoni, pp. 374-380, 516-517. 382

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1948, the birth of the state of Israel When the UN general assembly voted for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine on November 29, 1947, the Iraqi government sent some hundred volunteers to Palestine in order to save Palestine from the Jews. The Iraqi Jews had to donate money for this purpose.384 After the Palestinian leader ‘Abd al-Kader al-Husseini was killed in action in the Jerusalem area in April 1948, riots broke out again, this time with the slogan ‘dead to the Jews’. The Iraqi government announced a state of emergency and started to plot and persecute the Jews in any possible way; the secret police started to put blames on them with no reason, leaving the country was forbidden.385 As the Iraqi troops left to fight in Palestine, especially the newspaper al-Yaqtha reported “a string of victories” from the front; the contribution of Iraq to the war efforts against Israel, were “nearly five thousand poorly equipped soldiers”. Once the truth about the deficiencies of the Arab armies was realized, the wrath was turned against the Jews. Calls for a boycott against the “domination imposed by the Jewish minority” were made. But, not all newspapers shared this view, writes Shiblac. Some eight thousand Palestinian refugees which came from Palestine in the 1930s were allowed to stay in Iraq in 1948. The Jewish refugees from Europe were partly settled in their homes.386 In 1948, the country was placed under martial law, and penalties towards Zionism got harder by the day. There lived around 150,000 Jews in Iraq at the time. The community was concentrated mostly in Baghdad; a smaller part lived in Basra. Court martial was used to intimidate wealthy Jews, they were as always in time of crisis again dismissed from civil service, quotas were placed on university positions, Jewish businesses were boycotted.387 Shafiq Ades, one of the most important anti-Zionist Jewish businessmen in the country, was arrested and executed by hanging on open street in front of his residence, for allegedly selling goods to Israel; it was shocking for the Jewish community.388 Like most Arab League states, Iraq forbade emigration of its Jews for the reason that they might go to Israel and strengthen the Zionist state. But, on the other hand, government oppression increased fueled by anti-Israeli propaganda; together with anti-Semitism it created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. 1948, the year of Israel's independence was a rough 384

Saadoun, Article Kazaz, p. 25. Saadoun, Article Kazaz, p. 25. 386 Shiblac, p. 88-90. 387 E. Black, p. 347. 388 Tripp, p. 123. 385

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year for the Jews of Iraq. Zionist activity was punishable by execution; the government passed a law making all Zionist activity punishable by execution, with a minimum sentence of seven years imprisonment. Quickly Jews were dismissed from all public occupations, export and import licenses were taken away from them, they were forbidden to engage in banking or foreign currency transactions, dismissed from the railways, the post office, the telegraph department and the Finance Ministry on the ground that they were suspected of "sabotage and treason," and they were charged on espionage for Israel and executed without trial. The Iraqi government suggested to oil companies operating in Iraq, that no Jewish employees be accepted. The Egyptian newspaper El-Ahram, estimated In October 1948, that as a result of arrests, trials and confiscations of property, the Iraqi treasury collected some 20 million dinars - the equivalent of 80 million U.S. $. The estimated numbers of Iraqi Jews varies. According to Israeli sources there were about 135.000 Jews in Iraq in 1948. According to other sources their number was 150,000.389 By the beginning of September 1948, some 450 Jews were arrested, put into jails and sentenced for periods between three and ten years. Another 150 waited for their trials out of jails. During September and October of the same year there were more than 700 additional Jews arrested as a result of a wave of terror.390 Shiblak writes that the Jews, the moment the state of Israel was established, left their countries to go mostly to Israel in “Successive waves”. He does not mention that they were often forced to leave the Arab countries after this event, or left because they realized that their is no future for them in the Arab world, which became hostile to them as Zionist. The other false fact is that most of them went to Israel. As far as known statistically, about half of them went to other countries, out of the Middel East. Even taking the estimations given be Shiblak, shows that not more than half a million Jews from Arab countries went to Israel after 1948, which makes about half of the one million estimated Jews that used to live there around Mai 1948.391 The Palestine problem had been the gathering issue that could unite the Iraqi population; sunni and shi’i, religious and secular, rich and poor. Iraq joined the Arab neighbors of Israel

389

Jewish virtual library. In 2008 there were only 10 left. See bibliography. Saadoun, Article Kazaz, p. 26. 391 Shiblac, p. 28-29. 390

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in the first Israeli-Arab war of May 1948; they fought with the Jordan Legion in the central front, and against the victory expectations they lost the war.392

The Jewish Exodus - ‘Operation Ezra & Nehemiah’ The well-established Jewish community of Iraq came under attack, and its position became increasingly untenable. In 1950/1951, the Iraqi government decided to allow Jews to leave the country if they wished, assuming that only a few thousands would leave. The government was surprised when the number arose to more than 100,000, almost the entire community. The withdrawal of the Jewish community left a large gap in the economy and the professions, in which Jewish expertise, and in the foreign contacts which Jews had contributed in a large scale to Iraqi society.393 In March 1950, the senate of law passed law Nr. 50/1, which deprived any Iraqi who left the country of his Iraqi nationality (the Jews were affected). The Jewish community welcomed the new law as it relieved the tension of the last two years. In 1951, laws 3/1951 and 5/1951 were passed, which froze all assets of Jews who applied for immigration to Israel.394 When in 1948 the state of Israel was founded, some young Jews started to occupy themselves with Zionism, as an alternative or a possible solution for their new situation as unwelcome foreigners. When five Arab countries lost the war against israel, the situation of the Jews became not only inconvenient but also dangerous and life threatening; the Iraqi Jews realized, that their time in Iraq was over, and in 1950-1951, registered for the ‘Aliya’ to Israel, for lack of another possibility to leave the country, and with the consequence of los of all their property as well as the Iraqi citizenship. Most of them, some 125.000 people were evacuated to Israel with an Israeli airlift395 within the ‘Ezra and Nehemia Operation’.396 Some thousands flew overland, via Persia to Israel. They were put, as most new comers to the new established country, into ‘Ma’abara’, a tent or wooden housing, they were discriminated by the Ashkenazi founder of the state; they were 392

Marr, p. 66-67. Marr, p. 67. 394 Shiblac, pp. 104-108, 118. 395 Israel together with the Jewish Agancy and the Joint 396 Weinstock 2008, p. 223-224, Masliyah 1989, p. 216-238, Rejwan 1985, p. 214-216, Zionist Lexicon, Ma’ariv 1981, Tel Aviv. 393

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expected to forget their ‘Inferior’ culture and tradition and become Israeli, which meant what the European Jews thought to be Israeli. They were called Mizrahim, Primitives, Orientals etc. and were discriminated in many ways, like getting a housing jobs and more. The length of life in the Ma’abara was, especially for Jews from Arab countries, outstretched up to five years, but about half of the newcomers from Iraq lived already by 1953 in one of the three big cities Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv especialy its neighbore city of Ramat Gan. After the mass immigration of 1950-1951, the Israeli government would neither agree to pay compensation to the Palestinians who left the country nor to compensate the Iraqi Jews, which were known for their wealth, for the lost of their properties in the event of mass emigration. All attempt on this question proceeded into nothingness.397 And soon, the Israeli government forgot its promise to the Iraqi Jews and did not occupy with this question any more. The Iraqi Jews in Israel were left alone in the “Maabarot” – interim camps erect out of cloth, wood and tin housing with as little rights as other Jews from the Arab countries. The Israeli government signed an agreement with the Iraqi government that all Jews that wish to leave for Israel will be able to do so; they had to leave all their possessions in Iraq and to relinquish their Iraqi citizenship; many Jews did so, but Israel slowed down the aliya under the pretence that Jews from east Europe were under a bigger danger and had to be brought to Israel first, which until today was not proven. As a result, about 65,000 Jews had to stay in Iraq without citizenship and with no rights; they did not have housing or food, and their numbers grew daily. In February 1951 the Iraqi government decided to allow direct flight from Baghdad to Tel Aviv. At the end of this operation, there were only 800 Jews, which wanted to stay in Basra. Until 1971 all were gone except for a smal, unknown number which live in Iraq until today.398 By 1949, the Iraqi Zionist underground was already well organized, and was smuggling Iraqi Jews out of the country illegally at a rate of 1,000 a month.399 About 10,000 Jews, mostly young people, fled Iraq between 1949 and 1951 on an I-legal basis by crossing the border to Iran, where they were gathered in a JOINT camp, from where they were soon airlifted to Israel.400 More Jews than expected by the Israeli and the Iraqi authorities registered for the Israeli opportunity to leave Iraq. Although it was not safe, about 85,000 Jews register. At the end, about 120,000 Jews left Iraq in 1950-51. 397

Shiblac, p. 115. Sagiv, p. 256-275, Encyclopedia Judaica volume 3, p. 204-205. 399 Simon, Laskier & Reguer 2013, p. 365 400 jewishvirtuallibrary, p. 6. 398

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In Israel Israel was initially reluctant to absorb so many immigrants.401 In March 1951 Israel eventually mounted an airlift called “Operation Ezra and Nehemiah,” to bring as many of the Iraqi Jews as possible to Israel; some 120,000-130,000402 Jews were airlifted to Israel either in direct flights or via Iran and Cyprus. Only 15,000 wanted to stay behind. The exodus was encouraged by continuing arrests, a series of bombings near synagogues and other Jewish centers, resulting in injuries and deaths. The Iraqi Jews left behind them considerable property; most of them found themselves in refugee camps in Israel known as Ma'abarot – Transit camps, before being given permanent housing after some years, as most new comers to Israel in those years of the big emigration of Jews to Israel from Europe and from the Arab countries. 120,000 Jews were brought from Iraq. Shlomo Hilel wrote: It was not necessary to convince Ben Gurion; he said: “bring them immediately, before they (the Arabs) will wake up”. He was afraid that the Arabs will realize their mistake, that by letting their Jews to come to Israel they strengthen the Zionist entity and might stop the Aliyah. I was ashamed to be from Iraq and did not speek Arab on the street in Israel. My parents were the victims of the nationalmonolithic-ideology of Israel not becoming a Middle-Eastern, Levantine country. Moshe Ben-Atar, Haaretz, Mai 30. 2014. Some 105,000 / 125,000 Jews left Iraq during the “Operation Ezra & Nehemia” which took place from May 1950 to July 1951. About 6,000 to 10,000 Jews stayed in the country, mostly notables and honorables; but, their condition, which at the beginning looked like it was improving, soon started deteriorating.

401

Hillel, 1987, p. 91. The numbers of Jews from Iraq are not registered in official documents; they varied by some 10% in different sources like Encyclopedia, biographies and history books; the numbers used in this publication include most important sources for the matter. 402

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Iraqi Jews, Zionism and Israel „Arab Jews presented some challenges for Zionist scholarship, precisely because their presence “messed up” its Enlightenment paradigm that had already figured the modern Jew as cleansed from its ‘Shtetl’ – small towns and villages of east Europe and Russia past. Central to Zionist thinking was the concept of Kibbutz Galuiot / the ingathering of the exiles.”403 „In order to be transformed into “New Jews” (later Israelis), the “Diasporic Jews” had to abandon their diasporic culture, which, in the case of Arab Jews meant abandoning Arabness and acquiescing in assimilationist modernization for their own Good.” It was meant as „its lethal binarisms of savagery versus civilization, tradition versus modernity, East versus West, and Arab versus Jew.“404 The Jews from Arab countries had a whole list of names in Israel, writes Shohat; among them Sephardim; non-Ashkenazi; Jews of Islam; Arabs; Middle Easterns, north Africans; African Jews; Third World Jews; Levantines; Mediteraneans; Maghrebinians; Bnei Edot Ha Mizrah (descendants of the Eastern communities); Blacks; Israel ha-Shniya (Second Israel); Mizrahiyim, or Mizrahim;“ This were historic, geografic and politic Standpoints.405 „Arab Jews, in my view, could never fully foresee what the impossibility of return to their countries of origin would mean. The permission to leave did not allow for a possible return. The expression of nostalgia for an Arab past became taboo (in Israel). The right of return for Palestinians has remained a central political issue, even a factor, while for Arab Jews, the idea of return became a murky issue even when limited to the discursive and cultural sphere. Yet, (...) such terms as aliya or immigration has to be reevaluated, since the questions of will, desire, and agency remain extremely complex, contingent, and ambivalent.“406 „The master narrative of unique Jewish victimization has been crucial for legitimizing an anomalous nationalist project of “ingathering of the exiles from the four corners of the globe.” Yet this narrative has also legitimized the engendering of displacements of peoples from such diverse geographies, languages, cultures, and histories - a project in which, in many ways, a state created a nation.“407 The cultural affinity that Arab Jews shared with Arab Muslims – which was in many respects stronger than that which they shared with European Jews - threatened the Zionist conception 403

Shohat 2003, p. 2. Shohat 2003, p. 50. 405 Shohat 2003, p. 66-67. 406 Shohat 2003, p. 66-67. 407 Shohat 2003, p. 68. 404

127

of a homogeneous nation modeled on the European nationalist definition of the nation-state. Arab Jews, for the first time in their history, faced the imposed dilemma of choosing between Jewishness and Arabness in a context that perpetuated the equation between Arabness, Middle Easterners, and Islam on the one hand and Jewishness, Europeaness, and Westerness on the other. Zionist discourse portrayed Levantine Jewish culture prior to Zionism as ‘static and passive and waiting for the impregnating infusion of European dynamism’. They were „Trapped between two nationalisms - Arab and Jewish.“408

British Statistics It was not easy to ascertain the number of Iraqi Jews. The British administration though made some estimations: *In 1920, about 58,000 Jews, other estimation goes up to 87,488 Jews at the same time. The Iraqi Jewish communities were among the wealthiest and most integrated and indigenous to the country of all Jewish communities in the Arab world. Their tradition, superstitions snd language were Arabic. “They played a major cultural, social, and economic role in the life of Mesopotamia and of modern Iraq alike.”409 Official Iraqi statistics of 1947 said that there were 118,000 Jews than.410 *By 1951, according to Israeli statistic, which covers about 90 percent of the Iraqi Jews (the other ten percent went elsewhere and had probably a higher proportion of educated people and rich merchants. They left Iraq later, mostly to other countries.

408

Shohat 2003, pp. 60, 63-65.

409

Shiblac, pp. 31, 34. Shiblac, p. 34-35.

410

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The original occupation of immigrants from Iraq in 1951-52, divided according to the different occupation fields:411 Professional and technical

1,018 men

272 women

Medicine

221

138

Education

365

130

Engineering

148

Administrative and clerical

3,383

64

Commerce

6,180

34

469

1

5.747

922

Building

299

2

Personal service

743

277

Transport Crafts and industry

In regard of this statistics, it looks absurd, that the Eurocentric Zionist in Israel viewed this Jews as “indigenous oriental’s”, “who are still on the same cultural level as the Arab fellahin”,412 which should be considered as a reserve work-force to be imported when required. The Israeli Zionists believed that the rising number of oriental Jews would affect the ‘Quality’ of the entire Jews in Erez-Israel/Palestine. The Jews of the Arab world were never represented in any international Zionist Congress since 1927; this applies especially to the Jews of Iraq and Egypt, which, although not Zionists at all, kept donating money to the Jewish community in Erez-Israel/Palestine.413 Many people of the Ashkenazi elite in Israel thought that this Jews will put Israel on a lower level than the Ashkenazim wanted it to be, because they came from the Arab world which was backward compare to Europe. Ben Gurion, the first Israeli Prime minister said they should stay in their countries and support Israel by donations, not by immigrating there. Only when it was clear that they could not stay in the Arab countries did Israel made steps to bring them to the country.

411

Shiblac, p. 51-52. Quoted by Bein, p. 97. 413 Shiblac, p. 59-63. 412

129

Iraqi Jewish immigration to Erez-Israel/Palestine during 1919-1948:414 1919-1923

171

1924-1931

3,290

1932-1938

2,927

1939-1945

1,532

1946-1948

65

Total

7,995

Iraqi Jews were well integrated in the Iraqi society. They were mainly Iraqi nationals, not like in other Arab countries like Egypt or Morocco, were more than half of the Jews had foreign nationalities, and enjoyed wealth and economic prominence well before European interests became significant; and, they were able to maintain this prominence until the time of the exodus, as no Iraqi government imposed restriction affecting Jewish businesses before 1948. Throughout the 1940s, when Syrian Jews left in their thousands, Iraqi Jews were buying land and other property, building schools and establishing new enterprises.415 The number of Iraqi Jews immigrating to Israel, on either legal or I-legal ways between 1948 and 1951, when the “Operation Ezra and Nehemia” took everybody that wanted to go to Israel, which made up the number of 123,264 Immigrants during 1950-1951.416 Beginning in April 1950, hand grenades started to explode especially in Baghdad.417 The authorities also found explosives, files, typewriters, presses, and membership lists hidden in synagogues or buried in private houses. The conclusion was that the aim was to force Jewish emigration, and to adverse propaganda against Iraq; about three hundred youth of the Zionist movement of Iraq received military training during this time by people who were sent from Israel were accused, but the Israeli officials never admitted responsibility for the bomb attacks.418 In the Israeli weekly magazine Ha’olam Haze of Mai 29, 1966, an information was released that the bombs in Baghdad were the responsibility of the Zionist movement under the decision taken on a high level in Tel Aviv; every time fears would abate, a new bomb shattered the feeling of security, and the prospect of staying in Iraq became gloomier.419 414

Shiblac, p. 63. Shiblac, p. 136-137. 416 Sicron, p. 22. 417 For more details, Haim, pp. 199-200. 418 Hillel and Cohen, who mentioned that Zionist leaflets were issued to encourage Jews to live Iraq. 419 Shiblac, pp. 151-155, 158-159. 415

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Until 1951 non-Muslims comprised about six percent of the Iraqi population; the Jews were the oldest and largest community of non Muslims in Iraq, their origin beginning with the Babylonian Exile in the sixth century BC. Most Jews lived in Baghdad, but there were communities also in Basra and in the Kurdish regions, often being prosperous and influential. Only after the establishment of the state of Israel in Mai 1948 their situation became untenable, until the big exodus to Israel known under the name ‘operation Ezra & Nehemia’ in 1950-51.420 The around five thousand Jews that stayed in Iraq after the mass emigration were the best established and highly integrated Jews. In 1963 the government put new restrictions upon the Jews, such as not allowing them to live the country, their possessions were confiscated and nationalized. The majority of them left Iraq in the 1960s and 1970s, mainly to Europe and the USA.421

420 421

Marr, p. 17-18. Shiblac, p. 163.

131

Later years in Iraq 1958, the Officers coup The Officers coup was brutal and violent, attended by cruelty of the mob, a fundamental difference to the Officers coup of Egypt. Most of the heads of the Hashemite dynasty and other leaders were murdered, the parliament was dismissed, and the officers announced a republic with a new constitution; Islam became the state religion; political parties were prohibited. The common denominator of the different organizations, which participated in the new regime was united in anti British, anti Western and anti Hashemite policy. Former politicians were sentenced to death and long prison terms. Iraq became more and more dependent on Russia under the military dictatorship of army officers without any attempts to create a real state interior or foreign policy. The item that brought this regime and its leader Kassem to the fall was the on going Kurd revolts.422

1963, military revolt The military revolt was again very cruel, according to the Iraqi tradition; thousands people of the ‘old regime’ were killed, and purge sentences ended mostly with death resolutions. Their aim was to get to an arrangement with the Kurds and to establish a federation with Egypt and Syria; both aims were not achieved. The Ba’ath party and the Nasserist wing could not cooperate. Soon, the Ba’ath followers were removed from the government, and the Nasserist with the nationalistic right wing devotees became the basis of the government.423

422 423

The Kurd revolts started in 1944 and went on for decades. Shimoni, p. 521-528. Shimoni, p. 528-531.

132

1967 war against Israel Iraq fought against Israel with which it does not even have a common border because It wanted to be part of the Arab world and to play a role as an important member of the whole Arab idea against Israel, which was for decades and is until this day, their almost only common issue. The situation of the Jews got even worth after the six-day-war of 1967, when there were only some three thousand Jews left in Iraq; some left the country on illegal routs as there were no legal possibilities to do so. Most of those who stayed in Iraq, between 3,000 and 6,000 Jews, left little by little mainly before and strait after the six-day-war in 1967. Many were arrested, of which some forty Jews were sentenced and killed, but mostly without a trail and on accusation of espionage for Israel. The UDSSR was the most important weapon supplier to Iraq, besides Egypt, Syrian, and Tunis.424

1968, a new revolt The defeat of 1967 urged the fermentation in Iraq, and in 1968 the regime was dismissed in a new officer revolt. The new leaders established a revolution council, which identify with the Ba’ath people, but its time in power was followed by unrest, persecutions and murder of thousands. The alliance between Russia and Iraq made the later more and more dependent on the Russian aid. In 1972, Iraq nationalized the Oil and annulated all existing agreements with western countries. The Kurdish problem along with Kurd revolts went on, because all proposed solutions were not satisfactory for the Kurds.425 According to pressure of foreign, western governments on Iraq, the Jews were given permission to live Iraq in 1971-72; most of them left the country to Israel, Britain and the USA.426

424

Shimoni, p. 374-375. Shimoni, p. 534-574. 426 Saadoun, Article Meir, p. 18, Article Kazaz, p. 28.

425

133

With the rise of the Ba'ath Party to power in 1963, restrictions were placed on the remaining Iraqi Jews. Sale of property was banned, and Jews had to carry yellow identity cards. After the 1967 Six-Day War, Jewish property was expropriated, bank accounts were frozen, Jews were dismissed from public posts, their businesses were closed, trading permits owned by Jews were cancelled, they were not allowed to use telephones, were placed under house arrest for extended periods of time, and were under constant surveillance and restricted to the cities. In late 1968, scores of Jews were jailed on charges of spying for Israel, culminating in the 1969 public hanging of 14 men, 9 of them Jews, who were possibly falsely accused of spying for Israel. Other suspected spies for Israel died under torture. After Baghdad Radio invited Iraqi citizens to "come and enjoy the feast", half a million people paraded and danced past the scaffolds where the men were hung. In the early 1970s, bowing to international pressure, the Iraqi government allowed most of the remaining Jews to emigrate.427 In 1997, the Jerusalem Post reported that in the past five years, some 75 Jews had fled Iraq, of whom about 20 moved to Israel and the rest mostly went to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Jewish Agency launched an effort to track down all of the remaining Iraqi Jews to present them with an opportunity to emigrate to Israel, and found a total of 34 Jews. Six chose to emigrate.428 The Nakhba of the Iraqi Jews took place from 1948 until the early 1970′s when the government in Baghdad allowed most of the remaining Jews to leave. In October 2006, Rabbi Emad Levy, the last Rabbi in Iraq, announced that he was leaving for Israel and compared his life to "living in a prison". He reported that most Iraqi Jews stay in their homes "out of fear of kidnapping or execution" due to sectarian violence.429 Present estimates (2014) of the Jewish population in Baghdad are five to eight Jews.430

427

Bard, Mitchell (2013). "The Jews of Iraq". Jewish Virtual Library. September 2013. Murphy, Verity (July 29, 2003). "Iraq Jews' spiritual move to Israel". BBC News, September 10, 2013. 429 Haaretz, By News Agencies. Oct. 4, 2006. 430 The Last Jews of Baghdad. David Van Biema, the Times, July 27, 2007; Mendes, Philip: THE FORGOTTEN REFUGEES: the causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries. Latrobe University, Presented at the 14 Jewish Studies Conference Melbourne March 2002; Baghdad Jews Have Become a Fearful Few, New York Times, By STEPHEN FARRELL, Published on June 1, 2008, and The Last Jews of Baghdad - TIME, By David Van Biema, July 27, 2007. 428

134

Time Table *1949 to 1951 - 104,000 Jews evacuated from Iraq (Operations Ezra and Nehemiah); another 20,000 smuggled out through Iran. The Jewish population of 150,000 in 1947 dwindled to a mere 6,000 after 1951. *1951 – Jews who emigrated had their property frozen and economic restrictions were placed on Jews who chose to remain in the country. *1952 – Jews prevented from emigrating. *1963 – The rise of the Ba’ath factions resulted in additional restrictions being placed on those Jews who remained in Iraq. Jews forced to carry yellow identity cards and sale of property was forbidden. *1967 (After the Six Days War) – many of 3,000 Jews who remained were arrested and dismissed from their jobs. More repressive measures were introduced, including the expropriation of Jewish property, freezing of Jews’ bank accounts, shutting of Jewish businesses, trading permits were cancelled, telephones were disconnected. Jews were placed under house arrest for long periods of time or restricted to cities. *1968 – Persecution at its worst. Scores of Jews were jailed allegedly for spying and eleven Jews sentenced to death in staged trials. *27th January 1969 – Fourteen men – eleven of them Jews were publicly hanged in Baghdad, others died of torture.431

Lost and confiscated assets Iraqi Jews left behind them extensive property, often located in the heart of Iraq's major cities. The Iraqi government froze and eventually seized the assets of all departing Jews, including those who had left officially in 1950-1951 with the Operation Ezra & Nehemiah. The Iraqi Government made Zionism and even Jews which did not belong to a Zionist organization to criminals and ordered the expulsion of Jews who refused to sign a statement of anti-Zionism.

431

Baghdad Jews Have Become a Fearful Few, New York Times, By STEPHEN FARRELL, Published on June 1, 2008, and The Last Jews of Baghdad - TIME, By David Van Biema, July 27, 2007. Miller, p. 34.

135

In 1952, emigration to Israel was again banned. In 1954 the authorities nationalized the Jewish Meir Elias Hospital, which was the most modern and largest in Iraq. The Iraqi government also expropriated from the Jewish community the Rima Kheduri Hospital, which treated eye diseases. A body representing the Jewish refugees, the World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) estimated in 2006, that Jewish property abandoned in Arab countries would be valued at more than $100 billion, later revising their estimate in 2007 to $300 billion. They also estimated Jewish-owned real-estate left behind in Arab lands at 100,000 square kilometers (four times the size of the state of Israel).

The Babylonian Amora’im The Amora’im were the wise man of the Jewish Law – the Halacha, which were active in Babylonia in the years 200 to 500 AD. The activity of the first Amora’im started in an important period for the history of Persia, which started to collaps, at the same time a new dynasty, the Sassanids started to rise in the region; in 224-226 they became the new ruler of the whole Persian empire. This caused the Babylonian Amora’im to rise their efforts of religious activity within the Babylonian Jewish community in order to immunize it from foreign influences and to keep its unity. The Amora’im felt responsibl for the future of the existence of Jewry not only in Babylon and Eretz-Israel, but the whole Jewry as such, in countries far away from of the borders of the Tigris and the Euphrat countries.432 The Babylonian Amora’im were an elite group, which formed the way of life and the everyday life forms of the Jewish people along their history.433 The Babylonian Talmud was used as a cornerstone for the Jewish people; later, the Jerusalem Talmud was added as well as the Midrash – homiletic interpretation of the Bible –the Geonim and the Amora’im literature. This sources are not very convinient for the historians work, than there are many chronological in-conviniences which no one is able to solve; there are also often themes which are obscure or abstruse as well from the language as from the matter

432

Beer, p. 7. Beer, p. 9.

433

136

points of view. We don’t have enough tools with which every case could be examined, except for very few and exceptional cases.434 Beer, Moshe. Bar-Ilan University Publishers, Ramat-Gan, Israel, 1974.

The Babylonian Jews Social and spiritual life It seams that as big the donation of the Babylonian community for the standards of the Jewish nation all along its history, so big is the measure of its deprivation within the wide historian research about the curriculum of the history of the folk of Israel from the beginning of the Israeli wisdom until the very last years. It shows not only in the small number of articles about the very special minority of Babylon from the beginning of the second temple – 70 AD – to the final date of the developing of the Talmud, but it puts in question the whole authority and importance of the Babylonian doctrine and its traditions.435

The Jews of Iraq in the Land of Israel From ancient to modern times The Jews of Babylon did not start to come to Israel after the establishment of the state of Israel, but many http://www.sparkasse.at/sgruppe/ years before. The motives for this Aliya were not economic difficulties or persecutions, but simply the desire and longing to Zion and the holly land; they left mostly very good life conditions and wealth and lived in the land of their fathers under enormous difficult circumstances. They soon got used to the new circumstances and contributed a lot in developing of our country in every possible aspect.436 Ben-Yaacob, Abraham. Copyright by Rubin Mass, Publisher, Jerusalem, 1980

434

Beer, p. 11. Gafni, p. 11. 436 Ben-Yaacob, preface. 435

137

The Jews of Kurdistan The name Ashur comes probably from Syria. The Hebrew text of Genesis 10:11 is somewhat ambiguous as to whether it was Asshur himself (as the 1611 Authorized Version says), or Nimrod (as in some other English translations) who, according to Biblical tradition, built the Assyrian cities of Nineveh, Resen, Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, since the name Asshur can refer to both the person and the country.(Genesis 10:8-12 AV, Genesis 10:8-12 ESV). In the 1st century Judeo-Roman historian Flavius Josephus gives following statement: "Ashur lived at the city of Nineveh (today within the borders of Iraq); he named his subjects Assyrians, who became the most fortunate nation” (Antiquities, i, vi, 4). Ashur was the son of Shem who was the son of Noah; he is sometimes compared with the figure of the deity Ashur, for whom a temple was dedicated in the early capital city of Aššur in ca. the 21st century BC. It is highly likely that the city and indeed the Assyrian nation and people, were named in honour of this deity. Samuel Shuckford; James Talboys Wheeler (1858), The sacred and profane history of the world connected, Vol.1, pp. 106–107. Walter Raleigh, History of the World p. 358-365. The Ashuris belong to the Semitic group of people or nations. The Assyrian king, while not being a god himself, was acknowledged as the chief servant of the chief god, Ashur. For the Assyrians who lived in Assur and the surrounding lands, this system was the norm. For the conquered peoples, however, it was novel, particularly to the people of smaller city-states. In time, Assur was promoted from being the local deity of Assur to the overlord of the vast Assyrian

domain,

which

spread

from

the Caucasus and

Armenia in

the

north

to Egypt, Nubia and Arabia in the south, and from Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean in the west to central Persia/Iran in the east. Ashur, the patron deity of the city of Assur from the Late Bronze Age, was in constant rivalry with the patron deity of Babylon, Marduk. Worship was conducted in his name throughout the lands dominated by the Assyrians. With the worship of Assur across much of the Fertile Crescent, the Assyrian king could command the loyalty of his fellow servants of Assur. Bertman, Stephen (2005). Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. New York: Oxford UP. p. 66.

138

Tha Ashurian diaspora began even before the Babylonian one. Shalman’ezer, the King of Ashur, conquered the Shomron aria in 856 BC and deported its Jews of Eretz Israel to Ashur, his kingdom. Old testament, Kings b, 17, 6. About 150 years later, Nebuchadnetzer deported the Jews of Jerusalem to his kingdom in Babylon, and so it happened that both this people became a large Jewish center which established itself tightly near and around the city of Babylon. They soon got inner-autonomy, which prevented them from mixing with the other people of the country; never the less, they were influenced from the antique tradition and culture of Babylon. After the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem by the Romans at 70 AD, the Jews started to build synagogues almost in every Jewish community. They achieved also many literary and spiritual accomplishments.437 In 538 BC, Coresh, king of Persia, conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to their countries, but very few of them made use of this offer. Most of them were already well established and lived in a wealthy Jewish community with inner-autonomy, within a liberal and supportive regime. Never the less, they always supported the community in Eretz Israel generously. 438 The city of Babylon became the capital of Alexander at about 331 BC after he conquered it, but after his death in 323 BC, Babylon lost its position. Most of its inhabitants left the place and within one generation it was totally ruined.439 The Parthian period started in Babylon at about 140 AD; it lasted for some four hundred years and stood very positive to the Jews, so their position in Babylon strengthened and became prominent. Many Jewish new-comers from Eretz Israel joined the Babylonian brothers after being kicked off the country by the Roman. The more the Yishuv in Eretz Israel thinned out, the bigger and more important became the Jewish center of Babylon until it became the spiritual center of Jewry of the whole world; it stood like this for the coming eight hundred years. Most of the new settlements like villages and cities were erected by this Jews.440 The name Kurdistan is only being hint in the Talmud, although it is geographically very close to the important Yeshivot Sura, Nehardea and Pumbedita. The city of Mosul is not even mentioned in the Talmud. The only Kurdish city which is mentioned in the Talmud is Arbil,

437

Yona, p. 43. Yona, p. 45-47.

438 439

440

Yona, p. 47. Yona, p. 48.

139

which is one of the most ancient cities in the world and which took the place of Ninveh after its destruction.441 At the end of the fifth and the beginning of the sixth centuries the Babylonian Talmud was secluded (completed?); it includes the whole “Tora she be-al-pe” – the oral law, the Halacha – Jewish rules, the legends and myths, law and justice, respect, moral, and ethics of faith, belief and opinions. The Babylonian Talmud is substantial larger than the Jerusalem Talmud and it became the most important book of Jewry for the folk of Israel.442 The Amora’im period ceased when the Talmud was signed; it spreaded upon 281 years. Afterwords, the Sevora’im period began. They were the people which explained the Talmud to the people.443 When the Muslims invaded Babylon, they changed its name to Iraq. For the Jews, which helped the Muslim to invade Babylon, it was the beginning of a good relationship between the two people.444 Both diasporas, the Babylonian and the Ashuri, invented a large Jewish center in the two places, which prevented them from mixing with the other population of the region. There is no exact statistics about the number of Jews in Kurdistan; it is being estimated that by 1950-51, 33,000 Jews lived in Kurdistan all together: In Iraqi Kurdistan:

some 16,000 – 18,000 Jews

In Iranian Kurdistan: some 10,000 Jews In Turkish Kurdistan: some 4,000 Jews In Syrian Kurdistan: some 800 – 1,000 Jews445 Yona, Mordechai. Kurdish Jewish Encyclopedia. Volume one. Mossad Bialik Publishers, Jerusalem, 2003

441 442 443 444 445

Yona, p. 48. Yona, p. 49. Svora’i: Hebrew, explain. Yona, p. 49. Yona, p. 49. Yona, p. 69.

140

The Social-cultural Development of the Iraqi Jews from 1830 until today “To my opinion, many of the falls established facts of the European Jewish researches, historians and sociologists, are based on two mistakes: First, to little knowledge about this Jewish minorities in the later generations; this is a result of the very little written material. Second, the usage of the same theories and methods used to research the development of the Jewish communities in Europe. The big different between this two societies, one in Christian Europe, the other in the Islamic world. It was secure, quite, and stable in the Arab world, against I-security, pogroms, deportations and anti-Semitism in Europe. And the tool with which the European Jews wanted to solve the problem in Europe, Zionism, brought to the destruction of the Jews of the Arab world.” The European Jews try, out of prejudices, to show that the Jews of the Arab world have only a folkloristic culture, opposite to their own which is a “rational culture”. But, the fact that this minority was a successful one in its original countries show, that its failure to reach a similar status or position in Israel is not their failure, but that of the Israeli society, especially the European Jews with their prejudices.446 With the Arab regime in Iraq at the beginning of the mandate, an Iraqi constitution was pronounced in 21 March 1925, in which among many passages stood that Islam is the official language of the country, but each minority is allowd to have its own schools teaching in their language, despite the fact that Arabic is the official language. In 1931, the government of Iraq brought out the law of the Jewish community. This was the end of the Haham Bashi ?? which meant separation of the religious from the secular law into two separate institutions.447 The Baghdady community was holding a huge and very modern system of schools: from Kindergarten to matriculation, two big and well equiped hospitals, beside the clinics in the schools. In each Jewish center there were Jewish schools. Both hospitals were nationalized in 1954; schools were used for Palestinians refugees; the Jews lost most of their property. The law of 21 March 1925 was changed in 1954, after the mass leaving of the Jews to Israel; it vanished completely only in 1963.448

446

Meir, p. vii-x. Meir, p. 4 448 Meir, p. 6447

141

Demography First, it is important to know that the Iraqi Jews were devided into two main groups: one in the center and south of the country, mostly concentrated in urban areas, Arabic spoken with a relative unique apearance. The second group is the Kurdish Jews of northern Iraq. This group spoke mostly Kurdish and Aramaic – which was spoken in Iraq during the Talmudic period and was the antique version of this language. They were concentrate mostly in vilage areas, many were peasants; their cloths were similar to that of the Kurdish native population. The number of Jews in Iraq diverted within the latest generations and went often up and down, mostly because of plagues, but also inner immigration. Baghdad was the only exception, as the number of Jews in the city increased permanently. In the twentieth century, the Jewish community of Iraq was the biggest in the Midle East, which means in the Arab countries, except for Eretz Israel.

Most Demographic data is based on estimations, and is concentrated on Baghdad: Year

Nr. Of Jews

1845

16,000

1880

40,000

1909

50,000

1920

50,000

official pool: 87,488

1947

90,000

official pool: 118,000 / 125,000

out of a population of 480,000 inhabitants. About 74 % lived in Baghdad and Basra in a 9:1 relation. About 22,5% lived in other cities Some 5,3% lived in rural areas, especialy in Kurdistan, Mosul and Irbil In 1949-1950, some 19,000 Jewish pupils studied in diverse institutions all over Iraq, a third were girls. Many studied in Jewish schools. After the big emigration to Israel in 1950-51, the number of Jews which stayed in the country was decimated into 12,000, all in the Arab areas; all the Jews from Kurdistan left for Israel. In 1958, the number of Jews which stayed in the country was decimated into 5,000; except for 300 in Basra and 80 in Ayub, all lived in Baghdad.

142

After the six day war of 1967 it kept going down in numbers. Today their number is estimated on some 5 Jews.449

University In 1949 the first faculty which could be called university was founded in Baghdad, but only in 1958, all faculties in Baghdad were gathered into the frame of a university with a few faculties. About five years later the real university – a campus, was built450

Iraqi Hahamim Rabbi Abd’alla Somech (1813-1889) 451 He was the first among the Jewish religious experts in Iraq in the 19th century. His writing concentrated on the “Halachic452 paragraphfs”. The importance of his oevre is manifested in his advanced ideas, which gave legitimacy to un-avoidable changments in the modern time. It applied to every day life like the railway, water supply, Gas illumination, telegraph etc.453

Haham Josef Haim (1835-1909) He was the greatest haham – wise person of Iraqi Jewry in the last generations. He was occupied especially with questions of education in all its aspects. His main issue was that nobody should learn for the learning itself but one have to have a goal like a future occupation etc. He also saw in the non-biblical, secular studies, an important demand or need in order to find ones way in the world in the future.454 449 450

Meir, p. 8-11.

Meir, p. 18. Haham – Hebrew: wise man. Hahamim: Plural. 452 Halacha: Hebrew, Jewish law ??? 453 Meir, p. 277-279. 454 Meir, p. 240-241. Haham Josef Haim, book of wisdom, first book, a + b. p. 233-244. 451

143

Rabbi Shimon Agassi ( 1851-1914) He also occupied himself with questions of education. He lived in a period of big changes in the life of the Baghdadi Jews, and he made his ideas public in ceremonial synagogue speaches. His greatest issue was skilled education for youth, but was against the Jewish educational methods which were brought by the European Jews and others, because they don’t care about the Jewish education.455

Other great Rabbis of Iraq were: Rabbi Joseph Hayim (1835-1909) He wrote many essays on religious questions and had big influence also outside Iraq, as many Rabbi’s from east and west appealed to him with questions on the Halacha.

Rabbi Shimon Agassi (1852-1914) was a student of Rabbi Somech and wrote also many essays on Jewish religious questions with his analytics – sociologic approach.

Rabbi Moshe Sheharbani (1881-1960) His writings were not published under his name; he wrote mostly books about the Hebrew language and its sources.456

455

Meir, p. 243-244. Meir, p. 279-281.

456

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Jewish writers Jewish writers wrote secular books mostly in Hebrew. Among them are: Shelomo Izak Hayim (1877-1948),Aharon Sasson Eliyahu Nahum (1877-1962), Shelomo Zalach Gabei (1896-1961), Ezra Hadad (1903-1972). There were also Jewish writers who wrote in Arabic; they also took an important place within the translators of European literature into Arabic because of their knowledge in foreign languages.457

Education The first Jew which finished academic studies in general was Sasson Jehezkel, which studied law at the university of Vienna and was the Jewish envoy to the Iraqi - Ottoman parliament and minister of finance in the first Iraqi governments during 1920 to 1925. The other known Jews finished their studies only at the beginning of the 20th century, mostly in Istanbul; they were medicine doctors and lawyers, but there is no statistics of how many students study at all or how many of them were Jews. In the years 1950 / 51, when most Iraqi Jews came to Israel, according to the Jewish agency which made some statistics, we know that this emigration group brought thousands of academics, many with a large experience in tele-comunication services and in trade. “It was the first time in history of emigration from the Arab countries, that the emigrants brought good education, knowledge and professional skills.”458 According to the same statistics, 121,541 Jews from Iraq came to Israel (out of a population of 130,000 people). 30,000 of them were family supporters according to their statement at the Lod airport. 6 % were academics, 15.8 % were clerks, 27.5% were traders. Many of the clerks or traders had an academic education, which they did not practice for one or another reason, which are

457

Meir, p. 281-283. Meir, p. 254-255; The Jewish agency: “16 years of absorption of new comers in Israel”, a text book for new comers in Israel, p. 633. 458

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unknown. The sume of academics came to some 1100 persons. About half of the Iraqi Jews, which left until 1974, finished gymnasium; another third finished universities. 459

Art and culture in the Jewish society of Iraq The character of the Jewish culture in Iraq was manifested mostly in Religion and folklore. Until the end of I world war, Jewish writers wrote mainly in Hebrew. In the interim time between the two world wars, two different arts existed, Arabic and Hebrew. Later, as a result of two reasons, the general education and the Arabisation, it changed into mainly Arabic. Most of the writers, which used Arabic did not write about Jewish subjects. The reason was first because their education was on the Arabic culture, and second because they wrote for the Iraqi population in general, not for the Jewish public.460 The Jewish writers had difficulties to satisfy their Arabic readers which were the bigger amount of readers according to their majority in the Iraqi society, so they try to write general stories with other than Jewish names, but were not always successful in trying to hide their Jewish origin and influence. The only Jewish writer which was very appreciated by all Iraqi critics, was Shalom Darwish, which succeeded in covering up his Jewish heritage. Another Jewish writers to be appreciated in Iraq are Anwar Shaul, Jacob Balbul. Beside them there were many other Jewish writers, which the Arabic critics don’t even mention. Beside them there were poets, playwrights, translators, journalists and more. 461

459 460 461

Meir, p. 257, 265. Meir, p. 275-276. Meir, p. 290-298.

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Jewish journalism in Iraq The Jews were rather Journalists than publishers. The first newspaper was published in Iraq in 1869; the first Jewish newspaper came out the same year, it apeared every two weeks until 1871. Both newspapers as well as others ceased to exist after a short time. In 1942, the Jewish underground organization started to publish some seven different newsorgans in Hebrew and Arabic. There were also some school newspapers.462

Theater and stage Theater was not a present genre of Art to be found in Iraq in general. Until 1951, there was not even one theater in Baghdad, half a million inhabitants at the time. There were though some groups which entertain audience in cafe houses etc. Jewish students had in some schools theater groups which performed in their schools only. The first Theatre performance took place in Baghdad in 1918, by the students of the Aliance school of Baghdad, it was “Hamlet”. There were some other theater activities of Jewish groups in the years to come, but there was not a real theater.463

Music There were not music-schools available. The Iraqi music in general was a local phenomenon, which never left the Iraqi borders. The Iraqi Jewish music was a general Iraqi music. They sang and performed “Arabic music”. Like the Jewish composers of Europe, did they write like the non Jewish composers of the lands they have lived in. so, one can say that the Jews occupied an important place within the Iraqi music, not Jewish-Iraqi music.464

462 463 464

Meir, p. 298-309.

Meir, p. 310-312. Cogman, p. 16, Meir, p. 319-322.

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Today, the cultural legacy of Jewish Arabia survives most tangibly in music. This evocative song, Ya Shayile El Gerre - recorded in the 1930s features the Jewish Iraqi singer Sett Salima Pasha, accompanied almost certainly by the Jewish Kuwaiti musicians Daoud Al-Kuwaiti (oud) and his brother Saleh (violin).

Other fields of the Art Dance: except for the Kurdistan Jews there was no real Jewish dance, but in nightclubs etc. the dancer came from social law level. Paining and Sculpturing: this field was also not developed in Iraq in general, and the ones who wanted to study it had to go abroad. The few painter, Jews as well as non Jews concentrated on landscape and portraits, because there was no tradition of other genres of painting.465 One of the very typical occupations except for work, was the sitting in Coffee houses, either Arabic stile where only men visited, or later on, from about the 1940s, European stile, like in the big cities of most European countries. Second in importance was visiting the movie houses. There were also a Picnic tradition during summer, mostly in “Bustanim”466 which people could hire for the day or for the whole summer. There were also some clubs, either only for man or such for members only; in this clubs people used to play chess, back-gammon, read newspapers etc. there were also events like balls, cardplaying, donation evenings etc. Women were aloud to this clubs. There were no Iraqi theaters, but sporadically groups from abroad. No concerts took place, not even such with Arab music. In the whole of Baghdad there exist two museums, one for antiquities and one for folklore, but they were poorly visited. There were eight movie houses in Baghdad, seven of them belong Jews. After the big emigration to Israel, four movie houses were owned by Jews, until 1967 (the six-day-war), when they were sold and their owners left the country467

465 466 467

Meir, p. 322-325. Bustan: Hebrew/Arabic. A private garden of fruit trees, wine etc., typical in the Middle East. Hebrew/English dictionary. Meir, pp. 330-333, 375.

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Jews in Iraqi economy

Comerce The economic status of the Iraqi Jews started to improve from about the middle of the 19th century, but with the independence of Iraq in 1932 it started to deteriorate. Most Jewish activity in the Iraqi economy took place in commerce and trade. Jews also played an important role in money business and in all Iraqi inner trade matters, mostly on the textile, haberdashery and house-hold artikles. One could see that the markets all over the country, not only in the centers were Jews lived, were mostly closed during Saturdays and Jewish holidays. The Jews also played an important role in import/export business, and often had sole agency of companies from abroad.468

Industry Industry was very backwords in Iraq in the middle of the 19th century. There were factories for the housing industry like bricks, Textile and shoe factories, wood industry, food and drink industry and some other small brunches like eis, sweets, soap etc. Jews were not an important part of industry or agronomy. Except for trade, Jews succeeded in other brunches like services in brunches like the building, supply, transportation, as well as in finance and economy, private and governmental, which gave an important amount of jobs to Jewish people. All this started to vanish after Iraq got its independency and started to identify with the Arab countries against the Jews. In 1934, two years after Iraq’s independency, most Jews were dismissed from their jobs in official offices like industry, transportation, the ministry of foreign affairs etc. yet, on the private sector of Finance and trade the Jews ruled the economy as before; two new Jewish banks were even established in that time. Many reach Arab families let the management and control of their businesses in Jewish hands because they trusted them more than they trusted their Muslim brothers.469 Like in all other 468 469

Meir, p. 345-350. Meir, pp. 353-364, 438, 446, 450-451.

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Arab countries, the Jews did not mix with politics, except a small minority which was active in the Kommunist party. Alisa: In the history of Zionism, the Zionist idea alone was never enough motivation for Jews to leave their countries an go to Israel. It was always bond with prosecution and discrimination which became unbareble, like in Europe after second WW and in the Arab world after the partition plan of Palestine.

British occupation With the British occupation of Iraq, large opportunities opened up for the Jews to participate in the social scale. The British authorities needed educated people and those with knowledge of languages to work for them in Iraq As in the other from them occupied country.the Jews were, in general, the most educated people among the Iraqi population, so they were the first ones whom the British authorities approached.470

470

Meir, p. 283-284.

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Conclusion Background & Talking Points The Issue On May 6, 2003, just days after the Coalition forces took over Baghdad, 16 American soldiers, entered the flooded building of Saddam Hussein’s Intelligence agency the Mukhabarat. In the basement, under four feet of water, they found tens of thousands of books, artifacts and documents belonging to the Jewish community of Iraq – materials that had been seized from synagogues, schools and other Jewish institutions. With limited treatment options in Baghdad, and with the agreement of the-then Iraqi Ministry of Culture, the materials were shipped to the United States for restoration and preservation. Since then, these materials have been freeze-dried, preserved and are being digitized under the custodianship of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, US soldiers rescued an invaluable archive of private and communal artifacts, Holy Scriptures, rare books and communal records relating to one of the most ancient Jewish communities in the world. This collection, which has become known as the “Iraqi Jewish Archive”, is an illustrated history of Iraqi Jewish patrimony, a 2,500 yearold uprooted community now scattered around the globe. The materials were badly damaged by water but were retrieved and brought to the US for restoration and preservation, with the caveat that they ultimately be returned to Iraq. The US is planning to return the Archive to Iraqi authorities, after June 2014. Now, some 10 years after its importation to the United States, and $3 million dollars of restoration funds provided by the US Government, the Iraqi Jewish archive is contested cultural property. Iraqi/Jewish communal organizations as well as Iraqi government officials are both staking opposing claims to these artifacts and records. The removal of these Jewish archives from Iraq was executed under the Immunities from Seizure Act, a law which allowed the conservation measures to take place while protecting the archives from possible seizure by claimants to both Iraqi assets and Jewish heritage. Although there is no Jewish community remaining in Iraq, under this Agreement, the US State Department is to ship the entire collection back to Iraq after two exhibitions of select documents in Washington DC and New York City.

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Periods of persecution – including state-sanctioned, legislative decrees enacted to deprive Jews of their human and civil rights – made life for Iraqi Jewry untenable. Mass displacement began in 1949. Today, it is reported that only five elderly Jews remain in Iraq. The longstanding, vibrant Jewish community of Iraq is now extinct, save for artifacts and archives which preserve this rich, cultural patrimony.

The Collection A Torah scroll fragment from Genesis – one of the 48 Torah scroll fragments found; with commentaries published in Venice by Giovanni di Gara in 1568; Brudo’s Birkat Avraham, which was published in Venice in 1696; Talmud from Vienna; the

mystical

and

a Megillat Esther of uncertain date; spiritual

Jewish

movement

A bible Abraham

a 1793 Babylonian

A Zohar from 1815 – a text for

known

as

“Kabbalah”;

Haggadah published in Baghdad and edited by the chief rabbi of Baghdad;

a 1902

a copy of Pirkei

Avot, or Ethics of the Fathers, published in Livorno, Italy in 1928 with commentary written with Hebrew letters but in Baghdadi-Judeo Arabic;

a luach (A lunar calendar in both

Hebrew and Arabic from the Jewish year 5732 (1972-1973) – one of the last examples of Hebrew printed items produced in Baghdad;

a printed collection of sermons by a rabbi

made in Germany in 1692; thousands of books printed in Vienna, Livorno, Jerusalem, Izmir, and Vilna; lists of male Jewish Iraqi citizens;

records and materials from Jewish schools in

Baghdad, including exam grades, financial records, applications for university admissions and other documents. The Agreement to return the Jewish archives to Iraq in 2014 was based on a flawed premise – that the collection constitutes ‘Iraqi national heritage’. In fact, it is the heritage and patrimony of the long and proud Jewish community that was ultimately displaced from Iraq. Contents within the archive, including items to be displayed in the National Archives and Registration Administration exhibit, was expropriated from private homes, schools and synagogues. It was never the property of the Iraqi Government. The Jewish community in Iraq is virtually extinct. Jews of Iraqi origin and their descendants now live outside Iraq in Israel, the U.S.A, Canada, and the UK.

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When there were Jews in Iraq, the Iraqi government persecuted and destroyed its Jewish community. From 140,000 in the 1940s the community has dwindled to five people today. Today, Jews of Iraqi origin and their descendants live outside Iraq in Israel, the U.S.A, Canada, and the UK. Iraqi officials have provided assurances to the State Department, as detailed in a letter from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “their desire to preserve all aspects of the country’s history, including the important role played by Iraq’s minority communities as well as evidence of repression and persecution by the previous regime, and make that history fully accessible to the Iraqi people and the world…. This contention is ludicrous. In reality, Iraq has done little to preserve the remnants of Jewish history in Iraq – on the contrary. There are an estimated 3oo unprotected Torah Scrolls, endanger of deterioration, stacked on the basement floors in the Iraq Museum of Baghdad. Nothing has been done by the Iraqi government to protect these precious scrolls. Moreover, there are verified reports that Jewish holy sites and Tombs are being defaced and even converted into mosques. The calamitous fate of one such site – the Tomb of Ezekiel – has been widely reported on. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj1p5vB80EY The US government must ensure that the Iraqi archive is returned to its rightful owners. In so doing, the US will establish a precedent whereby similar Jewish archives and materials currently in other Arab countries might similarly be returned to their Jewish owners. Chuck Schumer tries to block return of Jewish artifacts to Iraqi government “WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Schumer is trying to stop a State Department plan to return 2,700 ancient Jewish artifacts to Iraq. The artifacts — including 2,700 books and tens of thousands of documents — were stolen from Baghdad’s Jewish community by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.” By Dan Friedman, New York Daily News. October 23, 2013 This 1793 Babylonian Talmud was one of several sacred Jewish texts that was recovered from the basement of Saddam Hussein’s intelligence headquarters in 2003. The items were rescued and brought to the U.S. to be restored. Photo by U.S. National Archives The Jews of Iraq are one of the oldest civilizations in the world. For more than 2,500 years, they called the land in the heart of the Fertile Crescent their home. It’s where they celebrated

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births and where they mourned deaths. It’s where they worked, studied and prayed. It’s where some of their most important holy writings originated. Maurice Shohet, who fled Iraq in 1970 with his family, said that the secret police seized the material from the Jewish community to break its spirit. Shohet, who is now the president of the World Organization of Jews from Iraq, said that by the time of the confiscations, the Iraqi Jewish community had been decimated. Some were victims of executions and kidnappings; a number of them had just disappeared. “Every part of our history, our culture, our self-identity is there, and they should be returned to us.” Shohet, now 64, was not allowed to attend university because he was Jewish. He recalled that members of the intelligence were on constant watch from street corners. “We were (living) out of fear all the time.” So when the police came for the materials, the remaining Jewish community didn’t protest. Members of the intelligence took the material with no explanation. “It was just an act of antiJewish sentiment,” Shohet said. He says also that the archives show the accomplishments of the Jewish community in Iraq, a community who can trace their history back to the Babylonian exile 2,500 years ago. “All we have left is this treasure of our history that we couldn’t take with us,” he said. “Every part of our history, our culture, our self-identity is there, and they should be returned to us.” Other Jewish exiles say that the artifacts belong to them and that they were only given to the Hussein regime under duress. Michael Lavallee, a State Department spokesperson, wrote the News Hour in an email: “The reason they want it back is they will be blamed for submitting to America and world Jewry, which they cannot allow to happen, because that will bring shame and humiliation on them.” Members of congress have protested the collection’s planned return to Iraq. On Feb. 6, 2014, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution noting the original agreement was signed before understanding the complete history of the material.

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The Jews of Arabia Baghdad had been home to Jews since the 6th Century BC. Around the time of WW1, officials estimated the city's Jews to number between 55,000 and 80,000, in a total population of 200,000 - a proportion equal to or greater than that in centers of European Jewry such as Warsaw or Berlin. Today, fewer than 6 individuals remain in Iraq. The Jews have originated in the Middle East but they were long ago scattered far and wide to the Gulf, among other places. Few now remain, except in Iran. But a century ago, writes Matthew Teller, there was even a proposal to found a Jewish state at an oasis near Bahrain. It's well-known that Jews once lived all across Arabia. The Koran records Jewish tribes in and around Medina in the 7th Century, and the medieval traveller Benjamin of Tudela, who passed through in about 1170, describes sizeable Jewish populations throughout modern-day Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as well as on both shores of the Gulf - at Kish (Iran) and Qatif (Saudi Arabia). For a combination of reasons including economic migration, political pressure and outright persecution - notably after the State of Israel was declared in 1948 - almost all the Jewish communities of the Arab countries of the middle east dwindled to almost nothing in the 20th Century, like some 5 individuals in Iraq, some 100 individuals in Egypt atcetera. Two survive. In Iran it is estimated that about 25,000 Jews remain, while Bahrain has a tiny Jewish minority, comprising only a few families. Baghdad had been home to Jews since the 6th Century BC. Around the time of WW1, officials estimated the city's Jews to number between 55,000 and 80,000, in a total population of 200,000 - a proportion equal to or greater than that in centers of European Jewry such as Warsaw or Berlin. Today, fewer than 6 individuals remain in Iraq. The Jews have originated in the Middle East but they were long ago scattered far and wide to the Gulf, among other places. Few now remain, except in Iran. But a century ago, writes Matthew Teller, there was even a proposal to found a Jewish state at an oasis near Bahrain. It's well-known that Jews once lived all across Arabia. The Koran records Jewish tribes in and around Medina in the 7th Century, and the medieval traveller Benjamin of Tudela, who passed through in about 1170, describes sizeable Jewish populations throughout modern-day Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as well as on both shores of the Gulf - at Kish (Iran) and Qatif (Saudi Arabia).

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For a combination of reasons including economic migration, political pressure and outright persecution - notably after the State of Israel was declared in 1948 - almost all the Jewish communities of the Arab countries of the middle east dwindled to almost nothing in the 20th Century, like some 5 individuals in Iraq, some 100 individuals in Egypt atcetera. Two survive. In Iran it is estimated that about 25,000 Jews remain, while Bahrain has a tiny Jewish minority, comprising only a few families.

Famos Jews from Iraq Naim Dangoor Londoner Claims Ancient Jewish Title And A Fortune in Iraq Exilarchs Ruled Vast Domain From Time of Babylon And a British-Iraqi-Jew Naim Dangoor Wants It Back. The year was 1270. Seven centuries later, a Jew named Naim Dangoor, once a Baghdad merchant but now operating one of London's largest property companies, reestablished the office of Exilarch, naming himself to the position. The year was 1970. "Exactly 700 years," smiles Mr Dangoor. Mr Dangoor's grandfather was Iraq's chief rabbi; his father was reputedly the world's largest printer of books in Arabic. Padding about in a Sabbath robe of silver and crimson brocade, the 89-year-old is ... relentlessly [pushing] toward his goal: to re-establish the glory that was Iraqi Jewry ... He wants the $20 billion (£12 billion) he estimates Iraq's new leaders - whoever they may be - owe his people for the calamity that befell the world's oldest and wealthiest Jewish community when radical Arab nationalists began ruling Iraq after the second world war. British-Jew real estate tycoon Naim Dangoor declared himself Exilarch of the Babylonian Jews in 1970, after the position was vacant for 700 years. His initial demand is $20 billion that he estimates the Iraqi-Jews lost after WWII by leaving Iraq, mostly at the beginning of the 1950s. British-Jew Edwin Shuker, who is trying to form a Truth & Reconciliation Commission that would address the question of Iraqi reparations to Jews states that the claims of Dangoor are legitimate. Last week at the United Nations, a new organization, Jews for Justice from Arab Countries, was established to seek reparations for Jewish refugees and for centuries of Muslim racism. Abraham Sofer, himself an Iraqi-Jew, also states the claims of Iraqi Jews are legitimate: he

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notes that much of the real estate of Baghdad and central Iraq is really Jewish owned. The Israeli Ministry of Justice has set up the World Organization for Jews of Arab Countries (WOJAC) to collect reparations claims against all Arab countries: So far 25000 forms have been filed. At the Congregation ‘Kahal Joseph’ Synagogue in Los Angeles, a dozen families have filed claims; the claim of one family that fled Baghdad in 1967 is a 13 page listing of buildings, factories and plantations. The billionaire Zilkha family of Los Angeles and Houston are planning a lawsuit and claims ownership of much of the banking sector in the Middle East, including hundreds of banks in Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus and Beirut. Ezra Zilkha, president of Zilkha & Sons Inc., the family holding company, notes: "Whatever we can get now we'll take". In Baghdad, Muslims are becoming aware of the game that is afoot: One local newspaper, Al-Saah, has noted that ‘returning Jews’ are trying to seize Baghdad real estate. A sign on a factory bulletin board in Baghdad warns Muslims to "resist the temptation to sell anything to the Jews [lest] the money they make to be turned into bullets to be used against the Palestinians." Iraqis who endured Saddam's rule have contempt for the Jews and Kurds now clamouring for property after years of comfortable exile. During the second world war, Naim Dangoor turned Baghdad into a trading hub ... [but] suddenly, it all fell apart. With the birth of Israel in 1948, anti-Jewish riots swept the Arab world. In Iraq, regulations modelled on Nazi Germany's Nuremberg laws restricted the role of Jews in commerce. By 1952, most Iraqi Jews were in Israel ... Naim Dangoor stayed in Baghdad until 1964. While visiting London that year, he got word he should return immediately or have his property confiscated as a ‘denationalised Jew’. Fearing an even worse fate awaited him, he chose exile in England, where he prospered buying distressed real estate.471 Today, descendants of Iraq's Jews are scattered around the globe ... [But] few are packing their bags for Baghdad. And some worry that the spectre of an old man living in splendour here dunning war-ravaged Iraq for lost wealth will hardly improve Arab-Jewish relations. "He (Dangoor) definitely has the right to sit at the table," says Edwin Shuker, another Jewish exile in London who is working ... to establish a truth and reconciliation commission that might address reparations.

471

The Wall Street Journal Europe, June 30, 2003 pp. A1, A6.

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The UN, an organization called Justice for Jews from Arab Countries launched a campaign to present the legal grounds for redressing grievances of more than three quarters of a million Jewish refugees from all Arab lands ... Abraham Sofer (former chief counsel of Ronald Reagan's State Department), himself the son of a Baghdad-born Jew, says the claims of Iraqi Jews are legitimate ... but thinks bringing [them] to court won't be easy. None the less, thousands of Iraqi exiles have been filling out forms prepared by the World Organization for Jews of Arab Countries, to be compiled for a possible class-action suit. In a land beset by rivalries between Kurds and Arabs and between Shi’as and Sunnis, Jewish claims may seem beside the point. Yet until the 1950s, Jewish and Iraqi histories were entwined. In 597 BC, after King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Israel, captive Jews were exiled to Babylon. Decades later, Cyrus of Persia permitted their return to Jerusalem but few did, so prosperous had Babylon's Jews become. Recovering that lost property is likely to be tough ... One local newspaper, al-Saah, has speculated that "returning Jews" are behind the rise in Baghdad's real-estate prices since the fall of Saddam Hussein".472

Linda Menuhin Linda Menuhin was born in 1950 in Baghdad. “We had a good life, with many Armenian and Christian neighbors; my Father was a lawyer and definitely an Iraqi, most of his friends were Muslims. The families of both my parents left to Israel before I was born; my Mother wanted to leave, but my Father wanted to stay in Iraq despite the sanctions, which offended all range of life; Jews were caused in spying for Israel, sentenced and hanged in the main square of Baghdad, which became a real holiday for the Iraqi Muslims. My Fathers faith in the Iraqi law system was not undermined. (besides), the Family wrote from Israel, saying ‘don’t come’, because of the bad circumstances in the country. When in 1951 my father became the official registration curator for the Jewish property left behind, Israel moved farther.

472

By Joel Millman The Guardian – UK; http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,991997,00.html http://iraqijews.awarspace.com

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When the whole world condemned Iraq for hanging the Jews in the squares in 1968, the authorities promised they will give passports to the ones who want to leave; we were about 3,500 Jews by the time, but at the end they did not hold their promise. Jews started to leave on I-legal ways, via Persia to Israel. In December 1970, an opportunity to escape emerged, and I left with my brother. My Mother and sister arrived eight Month later, my Father died in Iraq; we had no contact to him and knew nothing about his were about. At the end, he vanished with some 22 other Jews; The Israeli establishments efforts were to little and started to late. Nobody talks about it; the voice of the families of this people was never heard. Arriving in Israel, I started to study Hebrew, later I became a Hebrew teacher in Arab schools. In 1976 I got a job as a narrator on the Israeli radio, in 1981 I started to work in the Arab language desk on Israeli TV; than, I became head of this desk. Afterwards I started my MA studies at Harvard, were I first met Arabs with whom I could communicate, it was grate. In 2003, with the American invasion into Iraq, I woke up and started my activities towards the story of the Iraqi Jews. I also started to work as a journalist for Arab and Israeli press. To my opinion, the recognition of the Jews from Arab countries as refugees is very important for the solution of the Israeli-Arab conflict, but it looks like this subject will again not be mentioned within the talks; there is a big community here (in Israel), which nobody considers its pain. The story of the Jews from Arab countries was never considered in the collective story of the state of Israel. We payed a heavy price for our being refugees, but we kept silent. It hurts.” Interview of Linda Menuhin, by Kobi Ben-Simhon, Haaretz, February 28. 2014.

Sami Michael Sami Michael is one of the most well known and most important Israeli writers. He wrote more than twenty book, most are fiction. “When we arrived in Israel, the reception was a bitter frustration. A gray group of gray clerks was our first view. Father paused on the edge of the air plane, than he started to descend the stairs with dignity... we all knew that he was hiding his bitter frustration only because of the importance of the moment (arriving in Israel). It was an impressive effort but with no expectations.

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Within five minutes, the new homeland succeeded to turn my father from a vigorous, energetic man at his best into a helpless old and humiliated wreck; and within seconds the man that used to be a honorable citizen in the Baghdad community was covered from his hair to his shoes in a white D.D.T. cloud.”473 “We thought,” said father, “we are coming – like to come back home. Jews among Jews. One folk. But it is not that way. Somebody is dividing us into two folks (Ashkenazim and Sephardim). Remember – in Iraq they (the Arabs) made troubles, but we were not inferior! Here nobody is penetrating Jews, thank god. But, before we even arrived – they fixed for us another status. A second class position...” “And it sores very much... anyhow, we are ‘second class!’”474

Robert Fattal “My parents, newly arrived Iraqi Jewish immigrants to Canada, sent me to Jewish school. Like most Hebrew day schools in North America we were basically taught the Ashkenazi Zionist worldview. Essentially, Ashkenazim built and founded the State of Israel, and that Sephardi Jews generally didn’t contribute very much to Judaic heritage or Israel. For all intents and purposes, we were made to feel that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, King Solomon and other biblical figures might have all hailed from the Levant, but their true descendants came to Israel by way of Eastern Europe and the Ashkenazi tradition. It is well known that Israel’s Ashkenazi leadership constantly downplayed the history and suffering that Arab Jewish immigrants went through. It is well documented that the new citizens were discriminated against when they settled in Israel. To the Ashkenazim, it was as if Arab Jews should have been thankful to leave their 2,600-year-old traditions for the tents of the Ma’abarot in Israel. It is a pity that many observant Middle Eastern Jews have adopted the symbols of a 200-yearold tradition over their own, much older ones. I have to ask, which tradition should the Jews of Israel wish to preserve? Eastern European attire and customs of the 1800s, Witnessing the black suits and furry hats, etc., or those of a rich, over 2,000-year-old Middle Eastern Jewish 473 474

Michael, p. 18-19. Michael, p. 25, 35.

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tradition? In fact, the massive exodus depleting the Arab world of its millennial Jewish character is blamed solely on the victims themselves, and Israel.” 12/04/2013 Montreal, Canada.

Ella Habiba Shohat “I am an Arab Jew. Or, more specifically, an Iraqi Israeli woman living, writing and teaching in the U.S. Most members of my family were born and raised in Baghdad, and now live in Iraq, Israel, the U.S., England, and Holland. When my grandmother first encountered Israeli society in the '50s, she was convinced that the people who looked, spoke and ate so differently--the European Jews--were actually European Christians. Jewishness for her generation was inextricably associated with Middle Easterness. My grandmother still lives in Israel and still communicates largely in Arabic. For Middle Easterners, the operating distinction had always been "Muslim," "Jew," and "Christian," not Arab versus Jew. The assumption was that "Arabness" referred to a common shared culture and language, albeit with religious differences. As an Arab Jew, I am often obliged to explain the "mysteries" of this oxymoronic entity. That we have spoken Arabic, not Yiddish; that for millennia our cultural creativity, secular and religious, had been largely articulated in Arabic; and that we never prayed in Yiddishaccented Hebrew prayers. Middle Eastern women similarly never wore wigs; their hair covers, if worn, consisted of different variations on regional clothing. If you go to our synagogues, in New York, Montreal, Paris or London, you'll be amazed to hear the winding quarter tones of our music which the uninitiated might imagine to be coming from a mosque. War, however, is the friend of binarisms, leaving little place for complex identities. ... For our families, who have lived in Mesopotamia since at least the Babylonian exile, who have been Arabized for millennia, and who were abruptly dislodged to Israel 45 years ago, to be suddenly forced to assume a homogenous European Jewish identity based on experiences in Russia, Poland and Germany, was an exercise in self devastation. To be an Arab Jew has been seen as a kind of logical paradox, even an ontological subversion. This binarism has led many

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Oriental Jews to a profound and visceral schizophrenia, since for the first time in our history Arabness and Jewishness have been imposed as antonyms. The Jewish experience in the Muslim world has often been portrayed as an unending nightmare of oppression and humiliation. Although I in no way want to idealize that experience--there were occasional tensions, discriminations, even violence--on the whole, we lived quite comfortably within Muslim societies. The same historical process that dispossessed Palestinians of their property, lands and national-political rights, was linked to the dispossession of Middle Eastern and North African Jews of their property, lands, and rootedness in Muslim countries. As refugees, or mass immigrants, we were forced to leave everything behind and give up our Iraqi passports. The same process also affected our uprootedness or ambiguous positioning within Israel itself, where we have been systematically discriminated against by institutions that deployed their energies and material to the consistent advantage of European Jews and to the consistent disadvantage of Oriental Jews. What for Ashkenazi immigrants from Russian and Poland was a social aliya (literally "ascent")

was

for

Oriental

Sephardic

Jews

in

fact

a

yerida

("descent").

Stripped of our history, we have been forced by our no-exit situation to repress our collective nostalgia, at least within the public sphere. ... Our cultural creativity in Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic is hardly studied in Israeli schools. Oriental-Sephardic peace movements, from the Black Panthers of the '70s to the new Keshet ("Rainbow" - coalition of Mizrahi groups in Israel) not only call for a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians, but also for the cultural, political, and economic integration of Israel/Palestine into the Middle East. And thus an end to the binarisms of war, an end to a simplistic charting of Middle Eastern identities.” Ella Habiba Shohat is Professor of Cultural Studies at New York University, and has taught, lectured and written extensively on issues having to do with Eurocentrism and Orientalism, as well as with postcolonial and transnational approaches to Cultural Studies. Since the 1980s she has developed critical approaches to the study of Arab Jews /Mizrahim/ Sephardim in Israel.

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Sasson Somekh Sasson Somekh was born in Baghdad in 1933. “In 1951, a Jew was for us an Iraqi Jew, someone who belongs to the Babylonian Jewish community and who speaks the distinctive Jewish-Arabic-Dialect particular for the Baghdadi and South-Iraqi Jews, which was different from other Arab dialects spoken in Baghdad; Hebrew and Aramaic words were part of this dialect. We were proud to belong to the two-river community, which existed more than 2000 years, which minted us in aspects like cloth, food, folklore and language.475 My parents were cousins, but they really loved each other. A marriage within the family was common at the time. My mother grew up in Basra in her uncle’s place as she lost both her parents in a very early age. She spoke English and French and was dressed in the very late European fashion. My father was born in Baghdad, and during his visit to Basra he met my mother and fell in love with her. He was well educated and worked for a British bank. We are three siblings. My mother never worked out of home, but she was the strong personality and my father involved her in any familiar-economic decision. Both studied in “Aliance” schools. My father died in Israel in 1956, my mother died in 1992. My family was never religious; we did not even celebrate the high Jewish holidays. I had very little knowledge about the bible or Jewish traditions. The process of secularity was sweeping in the 1940s in Baghdad, not last because of the upcoming of the communist party, which was joined by many Jewish youth. This fact is also mentioned in the books of Sami Michael, Eli Amir or Shimon Balas.476 I was never interested in politics. My family never considered to emigrate to another place than Israel although we would have had the possibility as some relatives lived elsewhere. Most our neighbors were Jews, but not exclusively. Some of my friends were Armenians and Muslims. I visited the school of Madame Adel that taught Arabic and English and was a mixed school for boys and girls. My secondary school was the “Shamash” school, 1946-1951. In 1910 Aharon Shohat wrote according to a request of the British consulate a report about the Jewish community of Baghdad. *Rich people, five percent. *Middle class, thirty percent. *Poor people, sixty percent. *Beggars, five percent. Yet, the number of 60 percent poor does

475 476

Somekh, Baghdad yesterday, p. 9-10. Somekh, Baghdad yesterday, p. 95-98. Sami Michael, Eli Amir and Shimon Balas are Israeli writers of Baghdadi origine.

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not seem realistic.”477 Farther he writes that he was aware of poor Jews but except for the maid and the laundry-woman he never met them. “The Farhud of 1941 did not touch my family, as we lived far away from the epicenter of the riots, but it was a trauma for all Baghdadi Jews. A short time after The Farhud life became normal again and the years 1942-1948 were very prosperous years for Iraq and for its Jewish community.478 I Arrived in Israel alone, my family was to follow me soon. “Sha’ar ha-Aliya” was our first home, later we came to a Maabara – interim housing; it was a conglomeration of mostly Badonim – homes made out of clothing with cracking floor and neighbors just a few Centimeter away. After have lived in decent houses in Iraq, it was a shock. As time passed by, frustration and bitterness took over-hand. It looked like in order to achieve something you need to speak Yiddish. Food was terrible, Ashkenazi food (as we realized later), health care was not sufficient. The ones who gave their money to smugglers lost everything they possessed and they never saw their money again. The status of many of the Iraqi Jews changed over night from middle class to poor.479 In 1952 I started my army service, than I had to help my family, so I could not subscribe for university. When the university of Tel Aviv was founded in 1957, I immediately subscribed. My PhD I made in Oxford about the literary oeuvre of Nagib Mahfuz (1911-2006), the great Egyptian writer. He was a great man, father and friend as well. In 1988 he received the Nobel Price for literature.480”

Naeim Giladi I was born in 1929, in Hillah, not far from the ancient site of Babylon. I was young, idealistic, and more than willing to put my life at risk for my convictions. It was 1947 and I wasn't quite 18 when the Iraqi authorities caught me for smuggling young Iraqi Jews like myself out of Iraq, into Iran, and then on to the Promised Land of the soon-to-be established Israel. I was an Iraqi Jew in the Zionist underground. My Iraqi jailers did everything they could to extract the names of my co-conspirators. ... Among other tortures my 477 478 479 480

Somekh, Baghdad yesterday, p. 75-76. Somekh, Baghdad yesterday, p. 104-105. Somekh, Call it dreaming, p. 13.17. Somekh, Call it dreaming, p. 36-37, 73, 97, 137200

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captors used pliers to remove my toenails. But I never once considered giving them the information they wanted. Later I made my way to the new state of Israel, arriving in May, 1950. My family had been part of Babylon right from the beginning; we were originally Haroons, a large and important family of the "Babylonian Diaspora." My ancestors had settled in Iraq more than 2,600 years ago-600 years before Christianity, and 1,200 years before Islam. Although Jews, like other minorities in what became Iraq, experienced periods of oppression and discrimination, their general trajectory over two and a-half millennia was upward. Under the late Ottoman rule, for example, Jewish social and religious institutions, schools, and medical facilities flourished without outside interference, and Jews were prominent in government and business. Our family had been treated well and had prospered, first as farmers with some 50,000 acres devoted to rice, dates and Arab horses. Then, with the Ottomans, we bought and purified gold that was shipped to Istanbul and turned into coinage. The Turks were responsible in fact for changing our name to reflect our occupation-we became Khalaschi, meaning "Makers of Pure." In Israel, I changed my name to Giladi. We Jews from Islamic lands did not leave our ancestral homes because of any natural enmity between Jews and Muslims. And we Arabs-I say Arab because that is the language my wife and I still speak at home-we Arabs on numerous occasions have sought peace with the State of the Jews. And finally, as a U.S. citizen and taxpayer, let me say that we Americans need to stop supporting racial discrimination in Israel.481 Part Interview.

Robert Nissim Rakowitz Exodus from the Babylonian Captivity: The Jews of Modern Iraq The “solving of the Eastern Question” during the twentieth century ended the existence of the oldest Jewish Diaspora community; modern political, social, and economic phenomenon marginalized a significant ethnic minority that resided in Iraq for over two millennia. Much of 481

http://www.nkusa.org/Historical_Documents/NaeimGiladi.cfm

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this breakdown of relations with the Muslim majority, and the further marginalization of the Iraqi Jewish community can be traced to several events after the turn of the century that occurred during the inter-war period and extending to the creation of Israel in 1948. A rise in Arab nationalism, Germanophilia, British colonialism, and more importantly the answering of the Palestine Question effectively marginalized, and subsequently lead to the expulsion of the Iraqi Jewish community. The Iraqi Jews were marginalized in part by religio-cultural differences in language, which were exacerbated by Jewish economic preeminence in international commerce, which had expanded since the European Capitulations in the 1800s. Furthermore, Jews were denied full cultural inclusion by their exclusion from the military, which served as a cultural and political force in the period of Iraqi state-formation. Coupled with Zionism's rise in Palestine, and Europe, and its regional impact, the Iraqi Jews became viewed as a fifth column and a Trojan horse of European and Zionist imperialism by the Iraqi Muslim majority. Tensions came to a head in the Farhud of June 1941, an anti-Jewish uprising, which followed a pro-Nazi coup lead by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani. The Farhud came to symbolize the breaking point for the Iraqi Jewish community; because of a disproportionately privileged socio-economic status that was based on a “different cultural” existence, and regional political factors, the Jews of Iraq had been rejected by their host society of two millennia.482International Journal of Group Tensions, March 1997, Volume 27, Issue 3, pp 177-191.

482

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1021904807925

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Israeli Authors of Iraqi origine: A part list Sami Michael Eli Amir Na’im Katan Shmuel Moreh Sasson Somekh Zvi Yehuda Shimon Balas Lev Hakak Herzl Hakak Balfour Hakak Amira Hess Roni SomekhAlmog Beher Yosi Alfi Yitzhak Bar-Moshe Samir Nakash* Shlomo el-Kudri Ariel Sabar Shosha Goren Reuven Snir (out of Israel): Mona Yihya Violet Shamash* Marina Benjamin Ella Habiba Shohat Sara Shiloh

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Arabische Welt - Arab World ISSN 2199-4013

1

Alisa Douer

Ägypten - die verlorene Heimat. Der Exodus aus Ägypten, 1947-1967 ISBN 978-3-8325-3731-9 43.00 EUR

2

Alisa Douer

Egypt - The Lost Homeland: Exodus from Egypt, 1947-1967. The History of the Jews in Egypt, 1540 BCE to 1967 CE ISBN 978-3-8325-4052-4 40.50 EUR

3

Alisa Douer

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Guilt on Both Sides ISBN 978-3-8325-4129-3

29.00 EUR

Alle erschienenen Bücher können unter der angegebenen ISBN-Nummer direkt online (http://www.logos-verlag.de) oder per Fax (030 - 42 85 10 92) beim Logos Verlag Berlin bestellt werden.

Iraq exists under its current name and within its current borders officially only since 1932. The region – which does not necessarily correspond with the current borders – had many names over the past millennia, such as Mesopotamia, Babylon, Assyria and more. Many minorities of race and religion lived there. The Jewish exile to Babylon began in 586 BC, following Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem. In Western historiography the Levant is also called the “Fertile Crescent” and is considered the “birthplace of human civilization”. It was also the birth place of the monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam, which were then spread across the world. Alisa Douer demonstrates the integrity and long history of the Jews in Iraq, which lasted for more than 2,600 years and included many contributions to the society as a whole. One should also note that they did not leave Iraq, their home country, voluntarily, but were forced to leave after the creation of Israel and the ArabIsraeli War in 1948, as about one million Jews in the rest of the Arab world. The Jewish community was a part of the Arab world that once was home to many ethnic and religious minorities, living predominantly in peaceful coexistence. The Jews of Iraq, like all Jews from Arab countries, were mostly Sephardic Jews, and as such, they faced discrimination and were forced to adapt to life in Israel and its majority, which were Ashkenazim – East and Middle European Jews. They did not match the Ashkenazi schema. In spite of this, the integration of the Jews of Iraq is a success story.

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ISSN 2199-4013