IJAO
(Iraqi Jewish Association of Ontario)
Providing services and meeting the social and religious needs of the Jewish community of Babylonian descent.
Iraq
Guest Lecture – Prof J Sassoon
Prof Joseph Sassoon will be discussing his latest book, “The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of a Dynasty” (Pantheon, October 22) The influential merchants of the nineteenth […]
Shlomo Hillel, Who Helped 120,000 Jews Flee Iraq, Dies at 97
Working undercover, he used bribes, fake visas and a network of smugglers to bring refugees to Israel in the late 1940s and early ’50s. By Clay Risen Feb. 21, 2021 Shlomo […]
From Iraq to exodus: the flight of a country’s Jewish community
by Holly Johnston ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Bertha Bekhor was 15 years old when a man knocked frantically at the door of her Baghdad home, on a warm June evening […]
ערוץ השיעורים והשירים של הרב דוד מנחם
. נוסח בבל, מקאם:שיגא יָהּ הַצֵּל יוֹנָה מְחַכָּה וְדִמְעָתָהּ לָךְ מְפַכָּה : וְתִשְׂמַח בָּךְ אַתָּה מַלְכָּהּ בִּשְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה הוֹדוּ לְגֵאֶה עַל גֵּאִים וְנוֹרָא עַל כָּל נוֹרָאִים : הִצִּיל אֶת […]
Don’t forget the Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim lands
by Jonathan S. Tobin Palestinians and their supporters not only erase the Jewish history of the land of Israel, but also of the Jews of Arab lands who lost their […]
New initiative seeks to remember ‘forgotten’ Jewish refugees from the Middle East
by Israel Kasnett More than that, an effort is underway to recognize centuries of contributions of Jews in the Middle East and North Africa, and to foster relations for the […]
Heritage
TJFF and IJAO Present
MA’ABAROT: THE ISRAELI TRANSIT CAMPS This is a must see movie! Watch it in your own Home – completely COVID-19 safe. Screening: Thursday Oct 29-Friday Oct 30 (TORONTO PREMIERE)Zoom Q&A: […]
Iraqi Judaism lives on in literary form
by Joseph Croitoru Translated from the German by Nina Coon Interest in the Iraqi-Jewish cultural heritage is growing – both in Israel and Iraq. Novels in which emigrants and their […]
The Jews of Kurdistan: How Kurdish Jews became Israeli
By Pinar Ulumaskan Every Sukkot, the Kurdish Jews of Israel gather to dance, eat delicious foods and share stories about their homeland — the historic Kurdistan, now divided between Turkey, Syria, Iran […]
Understanding the Indian Baghdadi Jews
The Jewish Museum tells the history of British Jews while also celebrating the larger Jewish community. One such community is the Baghdadi Jewish community of India. Originally from Iraq and […]
Army troops play key role in preserving Iraqi Jewish heritage
By Steve DeVaneAirborne & Special Operations Museum exhibit is on display through Sept. 22. An exhibit of material related to the Jewish community in Iraq shows the important role Army […]
Lost history: understanding the unseen story of Iraqi Jews
Hannah Harn learns about the history of the Jews of Iraq As of 2016, Ireland was home to fewer than 3,000 Jews. “In the region of Munster, we have about 95 […]
Baghdad
From Baghdad To Kokomo
Memoir Of A Young Man’s Odyssey To America by Albert Kudsizadeh A compelling account of growing up during the mid-twentieth century in the two oldest and once vibrant Jewish communities […]
City of London service is a tearful reminder of Iraqi massacre
Bevis Marks commemorates 50th anniversary of killing of Baghdad Jews As a spectacle in barbarity, it was hard to match, even by modern Middle East standards. On January 27 1969, […]
Ceremony Marks 50th Anniversary of Notorious Hanging of Baghdad Jews
by Benjamin Kerstein Iraqi Jews arriving at Lod Airport in Israel in 1951. Photo: Israel Government Press Office. The 50th anniversary of the public hanging of nine Iraqi Jews and […]
Iraq Still Honors This Jewish Star Known as the ‘Voice of Baghdad’
by: Eness Elias Salima Mourad, a singer who rose to fame in the early 1900s in Iraq – but remained there unlike many Jewish musicians – still strikes a chord […]
In Exile, Iraqi Jews Are Desperate To Reclaim Their Artifacts
by Talia Zax Shortly after the Iraqi Jewish Archive was found, Doris Hamburg, then director of preservation programs at the National Archives, and Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, then the National Archives’ […]
The Last Relics Of Iraq’s Jewish Past Are In America. Should They Be Returned?
by Talya Zax On a leafy parkway in the Jamaica section of Queens, there is a house that is no longer a house. It’s one of New York’s two Iraqi […]
Personal History
Iraqi Jew Creates New Life for Herself in America
by Ben Sales When arguing with her first grade teacher about the Arab-Israeli conflict, Ceen Gabbai didn’t realize she was taking a huge risk. It was around September of 2000, and […]
Here’s what it’s like to grow up as a Jew in Iraq
By Ben Sales NEW YORK (JTA) — When Ceen Gabbai argued with her first-grade teacher about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, she didn’t realize how big of a risk she was taking. […]
From Baghdad to Boston and Beyond”: A Memoir of an Iraqi Jew
“From Baghdad to Boston and Beyond”: A Memoir of an Iraqi Jew”. Amy Dane co-author of Dr. Jacob Shammash’s story of emigration from Baghdad in 1947, after the Farhud and […]
The Jew Who Helped Defeat Iraq’s pro-Nazi Regime
by Ofer Aderet Yoav Byron Kattan, who passed away last week, founded a Zionist underground in Iraq and served as a judge in Israel Yoav Byron Kattan, a retired judge […]
‘I’ve been sentenced to death’ – a farewell letter of an Iraqi Jew in 1969
By Zack Evans, Cassandra Gomes-Hochberg Sami Halali and his family were able to flee Iraq to Israel in 1971. Sami explained that the family hid the letter in their house […]
Israel
Iraqi Singer, Ismail Fadel to Majalla: “I am convinced that music is a way to bring communities together and push towards peace.”
By Amal Shehata The Iraqi community in Israel cares deeply for it heritage and many of its members organise Arabic concerts on a regular basis. When an Iraqi singing voice […]
Ending the Humiliation (Vic Rosenthal)
by Vic Rosenthal When the muhtasib or his agent comes to collect the jizya, he should stand the dhimmi in front of him, slap him on the side of the […]
Former Miss Iraq: Arab-Israeli conflict ‘deeply rooted’ in anti-Semitism
At UN Human Rights Council, Sarah Idan calls out Iraqi government for not backing her after she got death threats for joint photo with Miss Israel By TOI staff A […]
Israel said set to seek $250b compensation for Jews forced out of Arab countries
‘Time has come to correct historic injustice,’ minister says After 18 months of research, first claims being finalized for reported $35b from Tunisia, $15b from Libya, for assets Jews left […]
Why Have Transit Camps for Mizrahi Jews Been Written Out of Israeli History?
In 1951, a quarter of a million people were living in what was known as ma’abarot, 80 percent of them from Islamic lands. Most of the camps were dismantled by […]
How Iraqi Jews are Reclaiming their Cultural Legacy in Israel
By Pablo Jairo Tutillo Maldonado Last December, after Shabbat ended, I was walking near the Machane Yehuda, Jerusalem’s famous open-air market, when I saw people celebrating the beginning of […]
Canada
COVID-19 Protocols
After receiving direction from public health authorities and in accord with the Sephardic Kehilah Centre’s practice, we have restarted weekly Shabbat services.Efforts will be made to ensure we do not […]
Canada’s oldest Jewish congregation celebrates 250 years
By Janice Arnold, Staff Reporter From left, Rose Simon Schwartz, the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue’s co-ordinator of its 250th anniversary celebrations, shul president Edmond Elbaz and Rabbi Avi […]
Canadian Jewry in the era of ‘none is too many’
By Irving Abella [In honour of Canada’s 150th birthday, The CJN presents essays on 10 significant moments in Canadian Jewish history.] On May 15, 1939, 907 […]
The first Jews in Canada
By Allan Leviner When Canada first became a country, 150 years ago, there were slightly less than 1,200 Jews living here. But Jewish settlement in French, and then […]
Arabic has a Jewish dialect, and these women speak it
Public Radio International tells us the unlikely story of the near-death and cultural revival of Judeo-Arabic. Alina Simone tracked down three Judeo-Arabic speakers in Montreal. They arrived there decades […]
Leaving Iraq
interview with Asad Muallim A plane filled with Iraqi Jews photographed on arrival at Lod Airport in early 1951 (Credit: Teddy Brauner/GPO) B’nai Brith Canada spoke with our member, Asad […]
More
Some modern contributions to Iraq’s social and cultural spheres made by its Jewish community.
Iraqi Jews had a significant role in the country’s contemporary history until the infamous “Farhood”
The Tragic Demise of Iraqi Jewry
by Alyssa Dwek Until the 1950s, Iraq was home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, with a proud history spanning over 2,600 years. Today, fewer than […]
What Do You Know? Iraq’s Jewish History
March 25, 2019 In the series What Do You Know?, we feature scholars’ answers to questions about Jewish history and culture submitted by our readers. Q: An anonymous reader asks: Are there any […]
Young Iraqis re-encounter their Jewish compatriots
by Gilgamesh Nabeel After seven decades of alienation, Iraqi Jews use culture to build bridges with their non-Jewish countrymen and vice versa. Through Baghdadi folk songs and lullabies, British-born musician Carol […]
Jewish heritage survived ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq
Mosul’s Jewish quarter miraculously survived three years of occupation by the “Islamic State” terror group and the battle to evict it. Reporter Judit Neurink and photographer Eddy van Wessel went […]
Remembering Purim in Iraq; a Paradise of Parties and Pastries
Like visions of date palms laden with fruit, Purim in Iraq was paradise for children. “We were excused from school and over the two-day holiday, we’d attend six parties,” says […]
Zangula with Lemon Syrup
Ingredients For the syrup: 2 to 3 lemons 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) water 1 cup (200 grams) sugar For the dough and for frying: 1 1/8 teaspoons (1/2 package) active […]
A Lexicological Study of Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic in Iraqi Hebrew Novels
by Mohamed A. H. Ahmed ABSTRACT Sami Michael (b. Baghdad, 1926), Shimon Ballas (b. Baghdad, 1930) and Eli Amir (b. Baghdad, 1937) are three Iraqi Jewish authors who immigrated to Israel, […]
A Group of Young Iraqis Risk Imprisonment to Reconnect With Their Country’s Jewish Past
by: Eetta Prince-Gibson Seven decades after the mass Jewish exodus from Iraq, a group of intrepid Iraqis and Israelis are holding clandestine meetings and talks in a bid to rekindle […]
Back to the roots: Iraqi Jews want their citizenship reinstated
Youngsters sit in their classroom in Baghdad’s Jewish Frank Iny School, one of three Jewish school in the Iraqi capital, Feb. 6, 1969. (AP) Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, […]
Iraqis want their Jewish neighbors back
Months after a Shiite cleric who won the parliamentary elections in Iraq said Jews “are welcome,” an online poll on the matter suggests that Iraqis are ready to discuss the right of […]
