Journal of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
No.16, Spring  2008


 

Ambassador Zvi Gabay, former Deputy Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem*:

WORLD ORGANIZATION OF IRAQI JEWRY

 

Damaged Books and documents found in the Mukhabarat of Baghdad

In the 1950's the descendants of the Jews, who had been exiled to Babylonia in the wake of the destruction of the First Temple, witnessed the demise of the ancient Jewish Diaspora in Iraq, after the expropriation of their properties and assets by the then Iraqi government. Now, following the collapse of the regime of the Iraqi Dictator, Saddam Hussein, the sad state of the remnants of what was once the glorious Iraqi Jewry has come to light.  This is certainly a unique historical saga.

The story of the Iraqi Jews, who returned to their historic homeland some two-thousand-six-hundred years after their forefathers' exile, turned into another chapter in the history of the Jewish people.

Although, no longer part of an identified community in the Diaspora, the spiritual heritage of the Iraqi Jewry, which played an important role in the preservation of the Jewish identity, is still very much alive. This heritage roots go back to the activities of the famous Yeshivas of Sura, Nehardea and Pumbedita and the codification of the Babylonian Talmud. It is this Jewish heritage which enabled the Babylonian Jewry to establish thriving communities throughout Babylonia and beyond, to live through prosperous times and survive the troubled times.

Most of the Jews of Iraq (137,000) left Iraq in the years 1950-1952, immigrated to Israel, but some also immigrated to the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and elsewhere. Wherever they went, they integrated and became well-established in their new homes. Nowadays, there are approximately 240,000 Jews of Iraqi origin living in Israel and about 40,000 in other countries. 

Today, the remnants of the community in Iraq, about 10 Jews, is about to disappear. There is a real danger that the Jewish community’s total disappearance will enable the Iraqi government to take over the communal properties and assets of the Iraqi Jewry.

 

Laura Kadorie girls school in ruins, 1980

In light of this situation, Mr. Mordechai Ben-Porat, Chairman of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center, together with Attorney Moshe Shahal, Mr. Arieh Shemesh - Vice-Chairman of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center, and the undersigned decided to bring about the establishment of a WORLD ORGANIZATION OF IRAQI JWERY. The aims of this organization were discussed at a number of meetings held in Israel, within the framework of the Executive Committee of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center, as well as in a number of sessions held outside of Israel, together with representatives and community leaders of New York, Los Angeles, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Sweden and France.

The organization would serve as the official representative of Jews of Iraqi origin in matters concerning the community as a whole.  It would promote the heritage of Babylonian Jewry, and submit an official claim to the community property in Iraq.  The organization would aim to preserve the Tombs of the Prophets Ezekiel, Ezra, Jonah, Daniel and Nahum and the Tomb of Joshua the High Priest.  It would also attempt to salvage the Registries of Marriage, Deaths and Properties, which are currently kept in the community’s offices in Baghdad as well as the Torah scrolls scattered in Synagogues, government offices, and community offices in Iraq and outside of Iraq, particularly in the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) in Washington DC.  Another important aim of this organization would be to locate the bodies of the Jews, who were executed during the regimes of Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr and Saddam Hussein, and grant them a proper Jewish burial.

 

 

Laura Kadorie girls school in Baghdad, 1920?

We have in our possession lists of the community’s assets in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities. As soon as a stable government is set up in Iraq and the security situation improves, the organization will up date the lists and present them to the governments of Iraq, the United States and Great Britain. Copies of the lists will also be submitted to international organizations.

During the preliminary discussions on the establishment of this organization, it was agreed to set up a General Assembly of one-hundred-and-twenty members, eighty of   which will represent the Iraqi community in Israel, and forty will represent the Jews of Iraqi origin living outside of Israel. The representation of Iraqi Jews outside of Israel will consist of twelve representatives from the United States (six from the East Coast and six from the West Coast), ten from England, six from Canada, two from Australia, two from India, two from Singapore, two from France, and one from the Netherlands, Sweden and Geneva. In addition, four representatives will be allocated to other communities of Jews of Iraqi origin living elsewhere. The General Assembly will meet in London or in Washington, elect an executive committee, and define the organization's tasks. It will also elect the organization’s President and Executive Manager, and decide upon an appropriate budget to fund the organization's activities.

At the moment the delegations from abroad and in Israel are being organized. The delegations will consist of prominent public figures, heads of Iraqi communities outside of Israel, and heads of non-profit organizations.

In the near future a steering committee consisting of representatives from Israel and abroad will meet in order to fix the date for convening the General Assembly and to determine its agenda. Before the convening of the first session of the General Assembly, a team of attorneys will prepare a draft constitution for the organization to be approved by the Assembly.  At this opportunity, we would like to express our gratitude to Mr. Stanley Orman, General Manager of the international organization "Justice for Jews from Arab Countries", who has assisted us greatly in our searches.

Jews of Iraqi origin around the world have responded very favorably to the idea of this organization. There is a consensus that it should be established as soon as possible, in order to promote unity, help preserve the glorious heritage of Iraqi-Babylonian Jewry, and save the considerable Jewish property left in Iraq.  I strongly urge all Jews of Iraqi origin to take part in this very important task of setting up the organization.  The recent end of the dictatorship of Sadam Hussein provides us with a unique opportunity, which should enable us to reclaim our rights to Jewish property and assets in Iraq as well as repossess artifacts and records of considerable historical value.  In order for this organization to be able to achieve its objective, the participation of the representatives in the organization and financial support of as many Jews of Iraqi origin are required.  Preserving the most influential Jewish Community in the world is historically important for our generation as well as the coming generations.

* Zvi Gabay is a member of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center’s Executive Committee, and in charge of Foreign Relations.