Heritage
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 in 1941. Violence was sweeping across Iraq’s capital, targeted at one group – the Jews. “A man came to the house, banging on the door […]
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 נִין חַשְׁמוֹנָאִים מִיָּד צָר כִּי בָהֶם הִכָּה : וְתִשְׂמַח בָּךְ אַתָּה מַלְכָּהּ בִּשְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה וְיָשִׁירוּ עַמָּךְ שִׁירוֹת וּזְמִירוֹת מִפָּז יְקָרוֹת : בְּהַדְלִיקָם אֶת הַנֵּרוֹת […]
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 homes 70 years ago. In international conflicts, history is more of a weapon than a field of study. That’s why the history of Palestinian Arab […]
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 children evoke the lost world of their forefathers are proving especially popular. By Joseph Croitoru Until around 70 years ago, Iraq was home to one […]
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 and Iraq — in the Saharane festival. The Saharane festival was historically celebrated around springtime and is similar to the Newroz festival, which has Zoroastrian origins and […]
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 Jewish Diasporas around the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, this Jewish community played a crucial economic role in the region, which served as the trading centre […]
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 troops can play in the preservation of culture, the director of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum said. Special Operations soldiers played a key role […]
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 people on a day to day basis and we’ll meet up occasionally,” said Aida Phelops of West Cork. Ms Phelops is a speaker on the […]
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 Jews left in Iraq? A: Current fellow Annie Greene answers: The history of Jews in Iraq is a very long one, going back to 597 BCE when Jews […]
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 Isaacs sailed with dozens of Iraqis and Britons from London all the way to her motherland in Mesopotamia. “The Wolf of Baghdad,” held at the SOAS […]
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, having left Iraq during the mass migration of Jews from Arab countries during the 1950s. Although their mother tongue is Arabic, these three Iraqi Jewish […]
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, 3 September 2018 Text size AAA It appears that the issue of Jews of Iraqi descent demanding back their nationality has taken a new turn […]
