A Biography of the Late Hakham Sassoon Khedourie.
A Study Evening and Memorial Ceremony
In conjunction with the Association of Jewish Academics from Iraq, a study evening was held on 14 April 1999 to mark the publication of the book by Shaul Hakham Sassoon A Leader and His Community: The Biography of the Late Hakham Sassoon Khedourie, together with a ceremony to memorialize his name and attended by the author's family and a large audience who filled the hall.
The evening was opened by Mr. Mordechai Ben-Porat, Chairman of the Center, who spoke about R. Sassoon Khedourie, the author's father, who served as the head of the Jewish community in Baghdad. Mr. Ben-Porat went on to address the significance of the book and its contribution to knowledge about one of the important links in the chain of leadership of the Jewish community in Iraq in recent generations. He thanked the author for his financial donation to the Center, for the purpose of memorializing the name of his father, Rabbi Sassoon Khedourie.
Dr. Zvi Yehuda, Director of the Babylonian Jewry Research Institute, added to the greetings, and praised the efforts of the author in locating documentary material,
chapters of memoirs, and information dispersed in various places, and assembling them in the book. He also treated the question of the attitude of the Muslims in Iraq to R. Sassoon Khedourie, particularly during the difficult period of the persecution of the community in 1949. It was then that the underground He-Halutz movement, whose members endured arrest and severe torture, organized a demonstration against the rabbi with the intention of forcing him to act, to ease the pressure of the authorities against the detainees. From articles in the journals of Iraqi nationalist circles of the time, it transpires that these circles, whose view was favored by the authorities, accused the rabbi precisely of cooperation with the Zionists, an enemy of the state. They did not consider him to be aiding the government in its actions against the members of the movement. The circles hostile to the Jews in Iraq had no interest in the strained relations within the community. They did not differentiate between the position of
the rabbi, who seemingly opposed action on behalf of the detainees from the community, and the position of the Zionists, who complained of "inaction" by the rabbi. The nationalists saw Rabbi Khedhourie and his leadership as involved in Zionist activity against Iraq and against the Iraqi people.
The keynote lecture of the evening was delivered by Prof. Shmuel Moreh, Chairman of the Academic Council of the Center, and Chairman of the Association for Jewish Academics from Iraq, the publisher of the book. He noted the importance of the book, and set out some of its contents in order to indicate its contribution to the clarification of important issues in the study of the history of Iraqi Jewry in the 20th century. Prof. Moreh described how he urged the author to engage in the collection of material for the book, and the importance he ascribed to the publication of a book of this kind.
The author's son, Mr. Zuhair Shaul Hakham Sassoon, and grandson of Rabbi Khedourie, spoke on behalf of the author, who was seated on the dais.
The following are extracts from his speech, which was delivered in Hebrew and Arabic. The first part was in Hebrew.
My dear father, Mr. Mordechai Ben-Porat, Prof. Shmuel Moreh, Dr. Zvi Yehuda, ladies and gentlemen, In the book, in whose honor we have gathered here today, there is a page with three pictures. In them my grandfather appears with King Faisal II, with Abd al-Karim Qasim, who killed the king, and with Abd al-Salam Arif, who murdered Qasim.
These pictures reflect more than anything the delicate and fragile connection between the ancient Jewish community and the government in Iraq, who did not always treat them kindly. This connection was characterized by a love-hate relationship on both sides.
For more than two thousand years this community knew ups and downs, and for half a century my grandfather was the community's spiritual and political head. Throughout his incumbency his house was open to all members of the community, and he would listen, advise, and help. He behaved and spoke with the simplest of the people as with the grandest.
I got to know him well – very well – especially at the end of the 1960s, and from him I learned some of life's wisdom, understanding, and nobility of spirit. My late grandfather, Rabbi Sassoon Khedhourie, was a leader of great stature.
At this point the speaker continued in Arabic.
Ladies and gentlemen, on the occasion of the appearance of my father's book, and at his request, I shall say a few words on his behalf.
My father has written two books. In the first, In the Hell of Saddam Husayn, 365 Days in Qasr al-Nihaya, he told the story of his suffering when he was held at the Qasr al-Nihaya for a whole year, tortured and degraded on a ridiculous charge, namely espionage for Israel. It was not to enforce silence on his father, as was written in certain books and journals. As for the second book, A Leader and His Community, this tells of the life of the late Rabbi Khedhourie.
R. Khedhourie served his community for a span of about 45 years; for eight of these he was a member of the Rabbinical Court, and then he was appointed President of the Court. For 37 years he was Hakham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) and head of the community.
His period of service for the community was replete with problems, persecutions, and tribulations, in comparison with the relatively quiet times when his predecessors held as the leaders of the community. Here I shall deal briefly with the period of my grandfather's incumbency as head of the community.
In the late 1920s a controversy arose within the community. There were those who opposed my late grandfather, and they fabricated accusations, and incited members of the community to demonstrate against him and to harm him in the synagogue, in the street, and in his office. Afterwards, it was decided to deprive him of the title Hakham. This decision, with the accusations leveled against him, was conveyed to various places in the world. The response of my late grandfather to this act did not contain a single harsh word against his accusers, in contrast to what they had done. After some time they admitted their error and apologized.
During the Farhud my grandfather went to meet those in authority in order to succor the arrested Jews and to ensure receipt of the bodies of the slain and their burial according to the religious tradition. He also visited the families of those killed to commiserate with them and to help them.
In 1960 the President of Iraq, Abd al-Karim Qasim, ordered the transfer of the old Jewish cemetery in Baghdad within a period of six months so that the "Qasim Tower" could be built on its land. My grandfather objected to this. He met Qasim and told him that the time allotted would not permit transfer of the hundreds of thousands of bodies to the new cemetery. Qasim's answer was that "the resourcefulness of men can uproot mountains", and on this the meeting ended. In 1968 the Ba'th party carried out a coup, taking over power in the state and beginning a black period that lasted several years.
During that period my late grandfather was in constant touch with those in power, and acted with them to free those arrested and to receive information about the fate of the missing. His house was always open to receive members of the community, to hear their complaints, and to aid them as much as possible during that grim period.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The factors that caused my father to write his book A Leader and His Community were:
a . To refute the charges leveled against my late grandfather, by presenting firm evidence and proof to rebut them.
b . To perpetuate the memory of my grandfather through an account of his activity and his generous qualities.
In his book, my father set forth the true rendering, free of calumny, of the life of my grandfather, of blessed memory, in the service of future generationsand for the benefit of history.
Finally, my father thanks the lecturers, Mr. Ben-Porat, and all who assisted him in the preparation of the book.