http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/iraqijews/ en-us Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:01:15 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1884672/posts Eight Baghdad Jews who represent the remnants of that city's Jewish community are facing security threats so grave that they need to flee the country, the community's caretaker, Canon Andrew White, told The Jerusalem Post from London on Tuesday. Locals try to move wreckage from the scene of a massive car bomb attack in the Sadr City area of Baghdad. Photo: AP [file] According to White, who himself has fled from Baghdad due to terrorist threats, the situation has become dire for the 2,600-year-old community, which only 100 years ago made up a third of Baghdad's population. Ever since sectarian... The Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1884672/posts#comment Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:01:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1681980/posts In his worn sandals and gray spotted shirt 82-year-old Brahim -- one of the last Jews in Baghdad, perhaps the last -- seems tired but undaunted by the violence raging around him. "They came to take me away three years ago and wanted me to leave," said Brahim, explaining that well-wishers had wanted to evacuate him to safety in the chaos following the fall of Saddam Hussein. Old, but wiry and alert, Brahim remains determined to stay put. "Why should I leave? Why change? I always lived here. I do not want to shift," said Brahim, running a hand through... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1681980/posts#comment Fri, 11 Aug 2006 18:50:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1644528/posts 1 June 2006 65th Anniversary of the Baghdad anti-Jewish Pogrom Judeoscope Grand Mufti of Jerusalem inspecting Muslim Nazi trained troops 65 years ago on this day, Iraqi Arabs launched a Nazi-inspired two-day pogrom, the Farhud, which would anticipate the end of some 2,600 years of Jewish life in Iraq. In remembrance of this tragic event, Judeoscope presents “The forgotten Holocaust Pogrom” a short film produced by the International Sephardic Leadership Council documenting the Farhud and its exclusion from Holocaust scholarship and commemoration, as well as other relevant online articles and resources. The Farhud: The forgotten Holocaust Pogrom (Produced by the... Judeoscope http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1644528/posts#comment Tue, 6 Jun 2006 21:27:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1548027/posts A Jewish storyteller from Mosul plays the rababa, an ancient Bedouin instrument. "On the Tigris River: A Trip to North Iraq," read the large pink sign at the entrance to the sixth annual academic conference of the Mosul Jewry Heritage Center in Haifa. Indeed, Iraqi-Israeli Jews who were born in the now violence-plagued city of Mosul will make a trip to Iraq to "return to their roots" this spring. This trip, promises the sign, will include visits to the grave of Jonah the Prophet, in Mosul, the grave of Rabbi Nahum al-Kushi of Mt. Sinai, the cave of Abraham, and... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1548027/posts#comment Wed, 28 Dec 2005 13:18:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1490391/posts In two communiqués issued today al-Qaeda in Iraq claims responsibility for the murder of eighteen Jewish people in al-Mosul, when a suicide bombed detonated his car in the city’s agricultural section on an intelligence convoy, and announces the “harvest” revenge attacks for the Sunnis in Tal Afar between Wednesday, September 14, and yesterday, in areas south of Baghdad and in Abu Ghraib. The attacks include multiple explosives, suicide bombings, and firing of rockets on American and Iraqi targets. SITE http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1490391/posts#comment Sat, 24 Sep 2005 03:54:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1473884/posts Exclusive: Iraqi Jews to demand compensation for billions in lost assets The Iraqi community was among the largest in the Arab world. The Jerusalem Post Weds 8-31-2005 7:39 IST http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1473884/posts#comment Wed, 31 Aug 2005 04:53:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1451483/posts Baghdad, 27 July (AKI) - The first draft of the new Iraqi constitution will prevent Iraqi Jews, stripped of their nationality in the 1940s and 1950s, from re-obtaining it, Mundhir al-Fadl, an Iraqi MP and member of the constituent assembly's constitution commisssion, has told Adnkronos International (AKI). Al-Fadl, one of the commision members responsible for drafting the constitution's chapter on "rights and duties" explained that one paragraph of the draft says that "the Iraqi nationality is a right acquired by every Iraqi, which cannot be withheld for any reason and is the basis of his citizenship." "All those who have... Adnkronos International http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1451483/posts#comment Wed, 27 Jul 2005 13:36:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1395467/posts WASHINGTON - A damaged Torah, a centuries-old Bible and other rare documents important to Iraq's few remaining Jews were rescued from a flooded cellar in Baghdad, only to remain in limbo here. Their restoration, like so much else these days, awaits the emergence of a new Iraq. Historians at the National Archives, which preserves such priceless artifacts as the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, are examining the treasure trove of materials found in the basement of the headquarters for Saddam Hussein's secret police. The materials are in moderate to poor condition - they remained wet for several weeks after being... Cincinnati Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1395467/posts#comment Mon, 2 May 2005 23:37:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1352092/posts BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqis are complaining about their first weekend break, and some high schoolers even went to class Saturday to protest a decision introducing a second weekly day off that coincides with the Jewish Sabbath. It's not that the Iraqis do not want time off -- they just want the extra day moved to Thursday. ''We don't want Saturday! It's a Jewish holiday!'' students chanted as they marched in protest last week to the governor's office in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. A high schooler pulled out a hand grenade and started waving it, and police fired into... Chicago Sun-Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1352092/posts#comment Sun, 27 Feb 2005 15:25:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1332177/posts It was a long trip from Tel-Aviv to the Iraqi elections polling station in Amman. But Jacky Khugi, 37, was not deterred. He made it twice last week. "It was a real pain," he said. "I had to go once to register and again to vote." Khugi, an Israeli journalist working at Ma'ariv newspaper was born in Petach Tikvah to Iraqi-born parents. By Iraqi law that gave him the right to participate in the Iraqi elections and he had three reasons to take advantage of that. Not only did he want to write the one-of-a-kind story for his paper and... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1332177/posts#comment Sun, 30 Jan 2005 23:24:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1277904/posts Baghdad, June 22, 2004. Just days before the Coalition Provisional Authority is scheduled to return power to Iraqi control, four Iraqi Jews--two in their forties, two elderly--inconspicuously board a Royal Jordanian airplane to Amman. Their travel documents and $800 airline tickets suggest nothing out of the ordinary. But their journey is being closely monitored by HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), which for more than a century has been rescuing beleaguered Jews throughout the world. In Amman, two of the refugees transit directly to Israel where their families eagerly await them; the other two travel to an undisclosed country while... RJ Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1277904/posts#comment Fri, 12 Nov 2004 01:22:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1126623/posts Rachel Zelon, above, comforts fever-stricken Sasson in his 12 x 12-foot room in an Iraqi shelter. Below left, a recovered, happier Sasson on the plane to Israel. HIAS PHOTOs / JEFF LUTERBACH "I'm like you. I'm Jewish. I'm here to take you home." With those few, simple words, New Jersey resident Rachel Zelon came almost full circle on an arduous journey that had begun over three years before. In the sweltering June of 2003, and then again in July and November of that year, Zelon, blonde, petite and probably weighing no more than 100 pounds soaking wet, traveled to war-torn... Cleveland Jewish News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1126623/posts#comment Thu, 29 Apr 2004 14:06:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1123496/posts Kurdish leader says Israelis free to visit Baghdad, Iraq Press, April 20, 2004 – Iraqi Kurdish Jews who migrated to Israel are free to visit relatives in northern Iraq, a Kurdish leader said. In remarks published in Azzaman newspaper the leader said even Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would be welcome “in the streets of Iraqi Kurdistan” if he was of Kurdish origin. “Muslims and Jews in Iraq were connected through marriage … and those who visit Iraq are not Israeli only but Iraqi Jews,” Azzaman, Iraq’s most influential newspaper, quoted the Kurdish official as saying. The newspaper did not... iraqpress http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1123496/posts#comment Sat, 24 Apr 2004 01:25:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1088534/posts The Ash-Sharq newspaper of Qatar carried a report earlier this month of a Zionist settlement project - in northern Iraq. This follows a paranoid obsession fomented by the Iraqi press with alleged land purchases by Jews in the newly liberated Iraq, particularly by expelled Kurdish Jews. According to an Islamic fundamentalist website, the newspaper quoted "Turkoman sources" in northern Iraq who claimed that Israel has begun to take control of a 200 sq. km. area along the Syrian border and stretching to Iran. This objective, the newspaper's sources say, is to settle more than 150,000 Jews in the area that... Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1088534/posts#comment Mon, 1 Mar 2004 21:05:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1087306/posts BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 27 — For several weeks, members of the Iraqi Governing Council have been trying to decide whether they should allow tens of thousands of Iraqi Jews who fled the country in the 1950's and in later years to return. So far, the answer appears to be no. Late last year, the council approved proposed legislation that would have allowed thousands of Iraqis who fled or were expelled from the country to reclaim their Iraqi citizenship — unless they were Jewish, council members said. The proposal did not specifically mention Jews, they said, but it contained language that... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1087306/posts#comment Sat, 28 Feb 2004 14:14:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1048707/posts Prof. Sasson Somekh, the translator and researcher of Arabic literature, celebrated his 70th birthday Sunday at an event organized by Haifa's Beit Hagefen. The affair was held at the Al Diyar restaurant in the city's German Colony neighborhood. Somekh was toasted by friends, literary personalities, artists and academics, among them Ehud Manor, Eili Gorlitzky, Prof. Hanan Haber, Noam Semel, A.B. Yehoshua, Sami Michael, Prof. Nitza Ben Dov, Salim Jubran, Samih el Kassem and Ronny Somek. At his party, Somekh celebrated another event - the recent publication of his autobiography, "Baghdad Etmol" (Baghdad Yesterday), published by the Kibbutz Hameuhad Publishing House.... Ha'aertz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1048707/posts#comment Tue, 30 Dec 2003 15:28:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1046660/posts The Iraqi Governing Council is considering returning properties that were confiscated from departing Jews after the establishment of Israel, a senior source within the council told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. He said a 1951 law, which had deprived fleeing Iraqi Jews of their properties, is now under review. The aim of the revision is to restore the properties to their rightful owners. "We are determined to return all the properties that were taken from the Iraqi Jews and all the others," he said. In the meantime, he said he had assured representatives of Iraqi Jews who want to visit... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1046660/posts#comment Thu, 25 Dec 2003 23:06:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1043450/posts Justice Minister Yosef Lapid has urged that all material relating to Jewish property in Iraq and Iran be collected. The purpose would be a future Israeli claim over Jewish property left in those countries. Lapid yesterday met with representatives of Jews who had lived in Arab countries to discuss the issue. He criticized previous Israeli governments that had treated the Jews who immigrated to Israel from the Arab countries as "brothers who returned to their homeland." Lapid said: "At a time when the Palestinians turned into professional refugees, we gave up one of the best arguments that we have... This... Haaretz.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1043450/posts#comment Fri, 19 Dec 2003 14:30:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1040792/posts When they lived in Iraq under the fearful regime of dictator Saddam Hussein, members of the Shovar family hid their Judaism and didn't dare go to the local synagogue. Four months ago, as part of a secret mission jointly coordinated by the Jewish Agency and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), they made aliyah and arrived in Israel. Yesterday, when they heard the news of Saddam's capture by American troops, the former Iraqis literally jumped for joy. "Yes, yes, yes! He's been caught; he's been arrested," said family members, quoted in Yediot Aharonot. "What a wonderful day, what a happy... IsraelInsider http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1040792/posts#comment Mon, 15 Dec 2003 18:45:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1028616/posts BAGHDAD - When Imam Mahdi al-Jumeili of the small Hudheifa mosque in Baghdad's Shurti neighborhood met three American officers to resolve a dispute over soldiers entering the grounds of his mosque, his first question to them was "are any of you Jews"? When he was satisfied that none were, he allowed the meeting to proceed. Prior to the arrival of the Americans, he made his prejudices about them clear: "We are sure they came here to steal the country and protect Israel," he said, adding that "Judaism and Masonism are at war with Islam". These views are common in Iraq,... Asia Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1028616/posts#comment Tue, 25 Nov 2003 15:37:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1011446/posts BAGHDAD, October 30 (IslamOnline.net) - Archaeological antiquities dating back to the period of what is historically known as "Babylonian Captivity" or "Babylonian Exile" are currently facing a systematic plundering by Jews, said the Iraqi Al-Mustaqilla (Independent) newspaper Thursday, October 30. Quoting what it described as "reliable sources", the paper asserted that dozens of large trucks have been seen carrying away relics from Babylon, some 85 kilometers to the southwest of Baghdad. It added that the artifacts date back to the time of King Nebuchadnezzar, who sent his armies to occupy Palestine thousands of years ago and took thousands of Jews... Islam Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1011446/posts#comment Thu, 30 Oct 2003 18:16:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1003592/posts The Jews of Baghdad trace their presence in Iraq to the court of Nebuchadnezzar and ancient Babylon. But a history that spans 2600 years is unlikely to last another 20. The community that once boasted numerous synagogues and played a major role in the skilled trades have lost all hope. There are less than 20 Jews living in Baghdad, almost all to be found in the al-Bitawin district. Down from over 125,000 less than 60 years ago. End of an era Nidhal Salhi, the community's youngest member, is in her late forties. She could never marry as there were no... Al Jazeera http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1003592/posts#comment Sat, 18 Oct 2003 18:18:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1000811/posts Memories as old as Babylon, hopes and fears as new as the headlines out of Baghdad, all blend together in the living history of Iraq’s Jews. Eileen Khalastchy, 70, remembers falling asleep on the roof of her house near the Tigris River as a child in the 1950s, listening to “the sound of music and of people clapping; the sky was full of stars.” Now living in Britain, she longs to go back to Iraq, she says. Edwin Shuker, 48, member of the World Sephardic Congress, recalls living as if “we were in a big, virtual concentration camp” in Iraq... Frontpagemagazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1000811/posts#comment Tue, 14 Oct 2003 12:34:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/971447/posts The New Iraqi Press and the Jews By: Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli* The demise of Saddam Hussein's regime and the control it exerted over the media has unleashed an outburst of feelings of freedom reflected in a large number of dailies and weeklies which, for the first time in Iraq's modern history, are free, uncensored, and often highly imaginative. While some of the dailies are associated with the many burgeoning political parties and political movements which themselves are unprecedented in terms of their number and orientations, there are other dailies and weeklies which introduce themselves as politically independent. Unaccustomed to journalistic... Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/971447/posts#comment Wed, 27 Aug 2003 17:27:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/970542/posts Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 146 August 26, 2003 No.146 The New Iraqi Press and the JewsBy: Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli* The demise of Saddam Hussein's regime and the control it exerted over the media has unleashed an outburst of feelings of freedom reflected in a large number of dailies and weeklies which, for the first time in Iraq's modern history, are free, uncensored, and often highly imaginative. While some of the dailies are associated with the many burgeoning political parties and political movements which themselves are unprecedented in terms of their number and orientations, there are other dailies... MEMRI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/970542/posts#comment Tue, 26 Aug 2003 11:58:43 GMT