ijao's Latest Posts
A Tragic Anniversary: The End of Jewish Life in Libya
by David Harris A classroom in a Benghazi synagogue before World War II. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. Fifty-one years ago this month, the world was transfixed by the Six Day […]
Iraq-born refugee could become first Arabic speaker to head Britain’s Jews
Baghdad-born candidate standing for presidency of UK’s most powerful Jewish group says more diverse representation is needed The most influential organisation representing British Jews could soon have its first leader […]
Urban Sephardic Culture in the Ottoman Empire
An overlooked golden age of Jewish culture flowered in the cities of Istanbul, Edirne, Salonica, Izmir, Aleppo, Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, and Alexandria—where almost no Jews live today The Ottoman state […]
Remember Baghdad coming to TJFF
REMEMBER BAGHDAD (feature) The attitude used to be “Jews, Muslims, Christians, we were all Iraqis.” For over 2500 years, Jews were an integral community in modern Iraq. However, over the […]
Tea with Iraqi Jews
Sol Basha A story-telling session over Iraqi tea with members of the last community of Jews to have lived in Baghdad peacefully. Descriptions of domestic spaces, accounts of escape, […]
Iraqi Jews, Al Jazeera and Theft
by Lyn Julius, author of UPROOTED: How 3,000 years of Jewish Civilisation in the Arab World Vanished Overnight After taking control of Baghdad from Saddam Hussein, US troops discovered what came to […]
The Baghdadi Jewish Dish that was Created in Mumbai and Kolkata
the taste was sour and sweet, a smooth, compelling aroma filled my mouth and nose, the texture was silky, a depth in it. i’d never tasted a chicken dish […]
In Queen Esther’s Time, Persia’s Baghdad Was the Center of the Jewish World
by Maria Bywater Happy Purim! To mark the occasion, I’m posting this piece about the Jews in one of the cities of Queen Esther’s Persian Empire: Baghdad. It’s an […]
Iraqi-Jewish archive triggers ‘traumatic memories’
A battle is ongoing over a collection of Iraqi Jewish heirlooms, as few agree on where it should be based. by Dalia Hatuqa Baltimore, United States – A […]
The Baghdadi Jews of India
By Joan G. Roland The Persian Gulf port of Basra began to serve as a trading center of the British East India Company in 1760, and it was from […]
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 […]
