A meeting of historic significance
of the founders of Ahiever

A meeting of historic significance of the founders of Ahiever, The Hebrew Book Distributor Group in Baghdad, was held at the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center on Tuesday, 27 July 1999.
Ahiever was the first group of pioneering youth in Iraq. It was founded at the end of 1929 by 14-year-old school students who were dissatisfied with life in the Diaspora.
The meeting was held under the auspices of Mr. George Elias, one of the

founders of the group and a member of the Executive Committee of the Center. Mr.

Elias spoke of the activity of the members of Ahiever. Greetings were also delivered by Mr. Mordechai Ben-Porat, Chairman of the Center, Mr. Yigal Loushi, its Managing Director, and Dr. Zvi Yehuda, Director of the Babylonian Jewry Research Institute.
Those present exchanged personal memories about the founding of the group and its development for about six years until its activity was interrupted because of political changes in Iraq. The members also spoke of the means and conditions of their emigration to Palestine in the 1930s and early 1940s, and also of their contribution to laying the foundations of the He-Halutz underground movement in Iraq in 1942.

The members also spoke of their involvement in the life of the Jewish settlement in pre-state Israel, and of their contribution to the establishment of the State in the making. For some, it was in the framework of the agricultural settlement, for others it was by joining the various defense bodies: the Hagana, the Notrim (Guards), the Palmah, the different stages of the Intelligence services, and the Israel Defense Forces.
This meeting was a moving experience for the members of the group, some of whom attended with their wives, and they were delighted by the interchange after decades of being out of touch.