Nehardea Magazine

Journal of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
No.14, Autumn 2003

THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS

The Jews of Iraq from Zionism To Integration*
Dr. Zvi Yehuda, Director of the Research Institute

Today we are commemorating the golden jubilee of the Aliya from Iraq, and opening the deliberations of The Third International Congress for the Research of Babylonian Jewry. Fifty years ago when the "Ezra & Nehemya Campaign” was concluded, Iraqi Jews who arrived in Israel, dispossessed of all their worldly belongings and money, and who were thrown into the misery of living in the notorious tents and huts of the transit camps, are today the driving force behind all the activities in every field of the State of Israel.

Iraqi Jews registering for Aliya, Baghdad, 1950

Their Aliya and successful integration in Israel are the pinnacle of historical achievements, to which Iraqi Jews contributed for generations. These processes were nurtured by the glorious ancient heritage of Babylonian Jewry. Just as Babylonian Jewry was the leading community in restarting settlements in the Holy Land and building the Second Temple, so they did again by playing a leading and active part in founding the national Jewish entity in Eretz Yisrael and the building of the State of Israel.

They were the community who fulfilled Zionism in actual practice, and continued to lead in developing and strengthening Israel.

In order to withstand the challenge of their national missions, they were not content simply by joining the underground Zionist Movement or giving donations to its institutions. They operated both within the national institutions and independently to acquire land all over Eretz Yisrael, and worked hard for Aliya and the building of settlements.

These activities were already underway in the middle of the Nineteenth Century, when the families of Mani, Avisar and Yehuda immigrated. Long before the Zionist Movement was founded, these immigrants were not content to merge with the existing population and becomming integrated therein. They played a leading role in repossessing former Jewish land in Jerusalem and the Jewish settlement in Hebron. Since that period, the Jewish Aliya from Babylon never ceased, and the relations between Iraqi Jews and the Jews of Eretz Yisrael were strengthened. Iraqi Jews supported the existing Jewish population and established educational and social welfare institutions.

To Iraqi Jews, Eretz Yisrael was an actual reality, not just a vague vision. They prepared themselves for the day when they would permanently settle in Eretz Yisrael and take an active part in populating and developing it.

To them, the subject of Aliya was a central issue, which nurtured and supported their very existence and sustained the Zionist activities in Iraq. When the Zionist movement was founded, the activity and strength of the Zionist Organization waxed and waned with the fluctuation of Aliya to Eretz Yisrael.

To Iraqi Jews, the Aliya was an integral part of the traditional concept of Geula (redemption) and resolution of the problems which faced them on the establishment of Arab rule in Iraq following the First World War.

The aid extended by the national institutions and the Zionist World Organization to encourage Aliya and absorption was decisive in determining the nature of relations of Iraqi Jews with these establishments.

In the beginning of the 1920’s Iraqi Jews founded a Zionist organization licensed by the authorities, and started intensive activities to plan massive Aliya to Eretz Yisrael. They extended immense financial assistance for the national project and led wide organized activities to acquire lands in Eretz Yisrael, where they could settle and increase.

The importance of Aliya and its links to the Jewish tradition influenced Iraqi Jews in determining the nature of their relation to Eretz Yisrael. Iraqi Jews asked the Zionist Organization to guarantee the realization of the Jewish people right’s to the Holy Land. There was no doubt in their minds as to the ownership of the Jewish people on all of Eretz Yisrael, and rejected all attempts by Arabs to take over any Jewish territory. They were determined in their resolve.

Their view in this regard was firm, irrevocable and non-negotiable. It conforms with the current view today, that the deteriorating security situation has always been a result of the incorrect policy of the Zionist leadership, which has given Arabs the false hope that they maybe awarded a part of the land of Israel.

Had the national leadership in Israel taken a more determined and steadfast irrevocable stand, that all of the Holy land belongs to the Jewish people, Arabs would not have resorted to subversive practices against Jews. The insurrection of Palestinian Arabs is a direct result of their conviction that they could somehow take over parts of the Land of Israel. In the light of these basic beliefs, Iraqi Jews determined the nature of the relations with the Jewish organizations in Eretz Yisrael, the intensification of land reclamation, reinforcement of settlements and aid, by every means, the Aliya and absorption of immigrants. Iraqi Jews saw Zionism as a fulfilling movement whose purpose is to return the Jewish people to its historical fatherland and build thereon its own state. In their minds, this objective was so obvious and so realizable, that they resisted all political division within the Jewish Yishuv and saw no need to take any part in the framework of political and organizational processes in Eretz Yisrael. In their own guileless naivety, they believed that the institutions of the Zionist Movement and the Jewish leaders in Eretz Yisrael would do all they could to achieve these national objectives, whilst caring for the whole of the Jewish people East and West. Iraqi Jews dismissed as mere rumors the news of the spreading of intentional discrimination practiced against Oriental Jews by the National Establishment in Eretz Yisrael. They also could not believe the news that there lived in Eretz Yisrael some Jews who did not practice the Jewish religion.

In their expectation to realize their objectives, Iraqi Jews were bitterly disappointed by the national establishments, due to the latter’s failure in handling the Aliya, land acquisition, absorption and creation of settlements.

As a result, Iraqi Jews abandoned activities to realize their objectives within the framework of the Zionist Organization and the national establishments, and, instead, built their own individual organizations, which dealt with land acquisition, Aliya and building of settlements in Eretz Yisrael. Vast tracts of land, all over Eretz Yisrael, were acquired by Iraqi Jews independent of the national establishments and without their assistance, so that when Iraqi Jews entered Eretz Yisrael, some as tourists and others as illegal immigrants, they actually settled those lands without any assistance from the national institutions. This trend prevailed and increased during the 1940’s when the HeHalutz Underground Movement was founded in Iraq. Iraqi Jews took advantage of the willingness of these establishments to encourage Aliya from Iraq, in order to enlist Jews in the HeHalutz Movement in ever increasing numbers.

This organization grew so large and strong that at the end of the 1940’s it became a dominantly central factor in the community despite the fact that it operated as an underground movement in a country very hostile to Zionism, and was therefore subjected to harsh persecution. This movement enjoyed the underground loyalty of the majority of Iraqi Jews and was the principal factor that lead the community to forsake their native country in a massive Aliya to Eretz Yisrael. On arrival in Israel, Iraqi Jews were quickly able to integrate into Israeli society and economy.

When speaking of the successful integration of Iraqi Jews in Israel, we should remember that they arrived in Israel after having underwent a period of over a century, a process of modernization and urbanization. During all that time, the Jewish Community in Iraq established modern educational institutions and social welfare services and successfully absorbed the numerous Jews who immigrated from rural regions. Unlike other Jewish communities who preferred not to face and deal with problems of urbanization and who were content to leave it to the institutions of the State of Israel to deal with their social problems, Iraqi Jews immigrated to Israel as a young community, the majority of whose members were educated in modern schools and, in the framework of the community’s schools, received modern Jewish instruction by educators brought from Eretz Yisrael by the Jewish Community. Later, when it was banned, this education was nevertheless continued clandestinely by the HeHalutz Underground Movement. Even as the Iraqi authorities dispossessed the Jewish Community of its financial and cultural assets, it remained a powerful human force, which was always ready to assist Israel when the State was taking its first steps, immediately after the Aliya.

Not only did Iraqi Jews donate very large sums of money and means for the settlement and development of the national entity in Eretz Yisrael, they also took it upon themselves to take a leading and active part in strengthening the State of Israel and its development.

Thus they continued, as they do today, to realize the Zionist vision of their ancestors.

* Lecture presented in the opening session of The 3rd International Congress for Research of Babylonian Jewry

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THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
The Jews of Iraq from Zionism To Integration* Dr. Zvi Yehuda, Director of the Research Institute
Today we are commemorating the golden jubilee of the Aliya from Iraq, and opening the deliberations of The Third International Congress for the Research of Babylonian Jewry. Fifty years ago when the "Ezra & Nehemya Campaign” was concluded, Iraqi Jews who arrived in Israel, dispossessed of all their worldly belongings and money, and who were thrown into the misery of living in the notorious tents and huts of the transit camps, are today the driving force behind all the activities in every field of the State of Israel. Iraqi Jews registering for Aliya, Baghdad, 1950 Their Aliya and successful integration in Israel are the pinnacle of historical achievements, to which Iraqi Jews contributed for generations. These processes were nurtured by the glorious ancient heritage of Babylonian Jewry. Just as Babylonian Jewry was the leading community in restarting settlements in the Holy Land and building the Second Temple, so they did again by playing a leading and active part in founding the national Jewish entity in Eretz Yisrael and the building of the State of Israel. They were the community who fulfilled Zionism in actual practice, and continued to lead in developing and strengthening Israel. In order to withstand the challenge of their national missions, they were not content simply by joining the underground Zionist Movement or giving donations to its institutions. They operated both within the national institutions and independently to acquire land all over Eretz Yisrael, and worked hard for Aliya and the building of settlements. These activities were already underway in the middle of the Nineteenth Century, when the families of Mani, Avisar and Yehuda immigrated. Long before the Zionist Movement was founded, these immigrants were not content to merge with the existing population and becomming integrated therein. They played a leading role in repossessing former Jewish land in Jerusalem and the Jewish settlement in Hebron. Since that period, the Jewish Aliya from Babylon never ceased, and the relations between Iraqi Jews and the Jews of Eretz Yisrael were strengthened. Iraqi Jews supported the existing Jewish population and established educational and social welfare institutions. To Iraqi Jews, Eretz Yisrael was an actual reality, not just a vague vision. They prepared themselves for the day when they would permanently settle in Eretz Yisrael and take an active part in populating and developing it. To them, the subject of Aliya was a central issue, which nurtured and supported their very existence and sustained the Zionist activities in Iraq. When the Zionist movement was founded, the activity and strength of the Zionist Organization waxed and waned with the fluctuation of Aliya to Eretz Yisrael. To Iraqi Jews, the Aliya was an integral part of the traditional concept of Geula (redemption) and resolution of the problems which faced them on the establishment of Arab rule in Iraq following the First World War. The aid extended by the national institutions and the Zionist World Organization to encourage Aliya and absorption was decisive in determining the nature of relations of Iraqi Jews with these establishments. In the beginning of the 1920’s Iraqi Jews founded a Zionist organization licensed by the authorities, and started intensive activities to plan massive Aliya to Eretz Yisrael. They extended immense financial assistance for the national project and led wide organized activities to acquire lands in Eretz Yisrael, where they could settle and increase. The importance of Aliya and its links to the Jewish tradition influenced Iraqi Jews in determining the nature of their relation to Eretz Yisrael. Iraqi Jews asked the Zionist Organization to guarantee the realization of the Jewish people right’s to the Holy Land. There was no doubt in their minds as to the ownership of the Jewish people on all of Eretz Yisrael, and rejected all attempts by Arabs to take over any Jewish territory. They were determined in their resolve. Their view in this regard was firm, irrevocable and non-negotiable. It conforms with the current view today, that the deteriorating security situation has always been a result of the incorrect policy of the Zionist leadership, which has given Arabs the false hope that they maybe awarded a part of the land of Israel. Had the national leadership in Israel taken a more determined and steadfast irrevocable stand, that all of the Holy land belongs to the Jewish people, Arabs would not have resorted to subversive practices against Jews. The insurrection of Palestinian Arabs is a direct result of their conviction that they could somehow take over parts of the Land of Israel. In the light of these basic beliefs, Iraqi Jews determined the nature of the relations with the Jewish organizations in Eretz Yisrael, the intensification of land reclamation, reinforcement of settlements and aid, by every means, the Aliya and absorption of immigrants. Iraqi Jews saw Zionism as a fulfilling movement whose purpose is to return the Jewish people to its historical fatherland and build thereon its own state. In their minds, this objective was so obvious and so realizable, that they resisted all political division within the Jewish Yishuv and saw no need to take any part in the framework of political and organizational processes in Eretz Yisrael. In their own guileless naivety, they believed that the institutions of the Zionist Movement and the Jewish leaders in Eretz Yisrael would do all they could to achieve these national objectives, whilst caring for the whole of the Jewish people East and West. Iraqi Jews dismissed as mere rumors the news of the spreading of intentional discrimination practiced against Oriental Jews by the National Establishment in Eretz Yisrael. They also could not believe the news that there lived in Eretz Yisrael some Jews who did not practice the Jewish religion. In their expectation to realize their objectives, Iraqi Jews were bitterly disappointed by the national establishments, due to the latter’s failure in handling the Aliya, land acquisition, absorption and creation of settlements. As a result, Iraqi Jews abandoned activities to realize their objectives within the framework of the Zionist Organization and the national establishments, and, instead, built their own individual organizations, which dealt with land acquisition, Aliya and building of settlements in Eretz Yisrael. Vast tracts of land, all over Eretz Yisrael, were acquired by Iraqi Jews independent of the national establishments and without their assistance, so that when Iraqi Jews entered Eretz Yisrael, some as tourists and others as illegal immigrants, they actually settled those lands without any assistance from the national institutions. This trend prevailed and increased during the 1940’s when the HeHalutz Underground Movement was founded in Iraq. Iraqi Jews took advantage of the willingness of these establishments to encourage Aliya from Iraq, in order to enlist Jews in the HeHalutz Movement in ever increasing numbers. This organization grew so large and strong that at the end of the 1940’s it became a dominantly central factor in the community despite the fact that it operated as an underground movement in a country very hostile to Zionism, and was therefore subjected to harsh persecution. This movement enjoyed the underground loyalty of the majority of Iraqi Jews and was the principal factor that lead the community to forsake their native country in a massive Aliya to Eretz Yisrael. On arrival in Israel, Iraqi Jews were quickly able to integrate into Israeli society and economy. When speaking of the successful integration of Iraqi Jews in Israel, we should remember that they arrived in Israel after having underwent a period of over a century, a process of modernization and urbanization. During all that time, the Jewish Community in Iraq established modern educational institutions and social welfare services and successfully absorbed the numerous Jews who immigrated from rural regions. Unlike other Jewish communities who preferred not to face and deal with problems of urbanization and who were content to leave it to the institutions of the State of Israel to deal with their social problems, Iraqi Jews immigrated to Israel as a young community, the majority of whose members were educated in modern schools and, in the framework of the community’s schools, received modern Jewish instruction by educators brought from Eretz Yisrael by the Jewish Community. Later, when it was banned, this education was nevertheless continued clandestinely by the HeHalutz Underground Movement. Even as the Iraqi authorities dispossessed the Jewish Community of its financial and cultural assets, it remained a powerful human force, which was always ready to assist Israel when the State was taking its first steps, immediately after the Aliya. Not only did Iraqi Jews donate very large sums of money and means for the settlement and development of the national entity in Eretz Yisrael, they also took it upon themselves to take a leading and active part in strengthening the State of Israel and its development. Thus they continued, as they do today, to realize the Zionist vision of their ancestors. * Lecture presented in the opening session of The 3rd International Congress for Research of Babylonian Jewry
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