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

 

Prof. Shmuel Moreh*: NAIM DANGOOR HONORED BY UK QUEEN WITH OBE ORDER
Mr.Naim Dangoor greeted Rabbi E. Bakshi-Doron in London Last June, on her 80th birthday, H.M. Queen Elizabeth II awarded the Order of the British Empire to our friend Dr. Naim Dangoor in recognition of his humanitarian and charitable services to the United Kingdom and to academic institutions in other countries. This was one of the significant events heralding the long established connection between the Jews from Iraq and the UK. Since the immigration of some Jews from Iraq during the Ottoman rule and their settlement in India and the Far East as far back as 1775, a number of influential Jewish families settled in the Far East and Great Britain and enjoyed the freedoms accorded to the citizens living under the liberal British rule. They excelled in business and acquired great wealth and influence. They published newspapers in Hebrew, English and in the Judeo-Arabic dialect and backed with marked generosity the Jewish educational institutions in Iraq and intervened on their behalf in cases of persecution. One of the first pioneers was Jacob Zemah Nessim who settled in Sorat and Bombay in 1775 followed by David Sassoon, head of the Sassoon family ( the Rothschilds of the East), who established himself in the same city. Some of David’s descendants settled in England and, like their progenitors, achieved great wealth, integrated in British society and befriended the kings and princes of the realm. Among such notables were the poet and Army Officer Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (1886-1957), the influential journalist Rachel Sassoon Beer who became editor of the Sunday Times and the Observer, Sir Philip Sassoon (1888-1939), the former Minister of Public Works in England, Edward Sheldon (Shamash) the former Minister in the Labor Government (1974), Derek Bihar the chairman of the Coal Council, and , last but not least, the Saatchi and the Dangoor families. While most of them achieved their high honors through commerce and politics, only a few were honored for their scholarly activities, such as Prof. Elie Kedourei CBE., FBA (1926-1992). The Dangoor family arrived from Baghdad went directly to London (1964) after some prosperous business activities in Iraq. Dr. Naim Dangoor (born, Baghdad, 17 April 1916) hails from a well known wealthy family of Rabbis and businessmen, a grand-son of the Chief Rabbi of Iraq, Hakham Bashi Ezra Reuben Dangoor (1848- 1930), who after serving as a Rabbi in Rangoon (1892) established in 1902 the "Dangoor Press" for religious and educational books in Hebrew and Arabic and served as Chief Rabbi over the period of 1923-1927. The Dangoor Press was developed and expanded by his son Eliahou Dangoor (1883-1976), father of Naim Dangoor, and became the publisher of all the text books of Iraq's Ministry of Education.  Naim studied at the Shammash School in Baghdad where all students were instructed to pass both the local government Baccalaureate and the English Matriculation Exams qualifying them to enter any university in England and many did. Being the grand-son of the Chief Rabbi, Naim acquired a profound knowledge of the Bible, the Talmud and Jewish history which he later demonstrated in his writings and meetings with religious and political leaders. In 1938 he attained his London University B. SC. Degree in Engineering and worked on the construction of one of the bridges in Baghdad. He graduated from the Iraqi Military College and became a Reserve Officer in 1939 together with 14 other Jewish students among 90 Muslim and Christian officers. After finishing the project of building the Bridge on the Tigris river he commenced his agricultural and industrial businesses and was awarded the agency of distributing Coca Cola and manufacturing its bottles in partnership with Ahmad Safwat Pasha, the son of the Royal Chamberlain . During those years he became fully acquainted with Muslim Iraqi mentality, manners and customs and proficient in reciting Islamic proverbs, jokes and songs. He befriended many important Iraqi personalities with many of whom he maintained contact after his settlement in London.. In 1947 he married his relative Renee who had been crowned with the exquisite title of “Miss Iraq”. Naim Dangoor belonged to the stream of Jewish intellectuals and businessmen of high standing who considered themselves patriotic Iraqis, arguing, like the former Chief Rabbi Sassoon Khedouri, that the salvation of the Jewish people can only be achieved with the coming of the Messiah. They stood apart from the other two streams to which the middle class of Jewish intellectuals belonged, i.e. the Communists and the Zionists, both operating as clandestine movements. Many members of the first stream preferred to stay in Iraq and continue their social and business life after the mass immigration to Israel of 1950-1951. Among the members of this group were the lawyer, poet and journalist Anwar Shaul and the economist, writer and scholar Meer Basri, a Dangoor relative. Naim, however, was lucky in that he left for London in 1964 just before the systematic persecution of Jews by the Ba'th Party, thus avoiding the confiscation of property, the humiliation and suffering endured by those who stayed behind. He refused to obey the Iraqi order to return to Iraq at the cost of losing two factories, several houses and a block of flats. He was amply rewarded with his life and the freedom of living in Great Britain. Naim soon established a successful real estate business coupled with communal activity. He sought to unite the Iraqi Jewish refugees under his leadership. When this writer visited London in the 1970's, after receiving his Ph.D. from London University in modern Arabic poetry, he found a rejuvenated Jewish Community united and forward looking under Naim’s leadership. His strong and charismatic personality, self-confidence, amiable character and generosity were at the core of his success as leader. His business acumen, especially in property development, soon made him one of the tycoons of finance and business in England. He maintained his business connections with Iraq and was careful not to build strong contacts with Israel and Zionist circles.  With the help of the Khlastchi and Basri families and others, he established the Iraqi Jewish Club in London, which became the hub of social and cultural activities for all Iraqi Jews living in London and overseas visitors. He did his best to help those who were in need of advice and support. The basis of Naim’s second step in his social and political activities was his conviction that his ancestors belonged to the family of the Exilarchs of Medieval Babylonian Jewry who ruled as the supreme leaders of Eastern Jewry from India to Spain. The Exilarch (Rosh ha-Galooth, Arabic: Ra's al-Jaloot), was respected by the Abbasid Caliphs up to the point that during high holidays the Calif received the Exilarch with a royal procession and stood up upon receiving him as a gesture of respect. According to historical records, the Caliphs used to receive the Exilarch with great reverence, calling him "Our Lord, the son of David", since David is considered a prophet and is greatly revered by the Muslims. Naim’s declaration in 1970 that he is the new Exilarch of the Oriental Jewish Diaspora raised both excitement and apprehension among Oriental Jewry. His claim for compensation for the destruction of Baghdad and the abolition of the post of the Exilarch by the Mongol in 1258 raised wide interest in many Jewish and Iraqi circles. His most ambitious demand, however, is directed at the new Iraqi Government to pay the Jews of Iraq $20 billion as compensation for the massacre of the 179 men, women and children and the enormous loss of property during the pro-Nazi coup d’etat in June 1-2, 1941 by the then chief of Staff  Rasheed Ali Al-Gaylani.  That notorious pogrom known as “the Farhud”(literally, “the looting”) caused immesurable pain and suffering and left an indelible blot in the collective memory of the Jewish Iraqi diaspora. As the new Exilarch, Mr. Dangoor regarded himself as the sole representative of all Jews from Arab countries outside Israel. He believes that Israel has the right to represent only the Jews from Arab countries living within its territory. At the meeting of the World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) Mr. Dangoor called upon the State Department in Washington to recognize him as the representative of the Jews from Arab countries. Later on he joined the WOJAC executive committee and was as vocal as the State of Israel in criticizing the Palestinian claim for compensation for their refugees.. The third stage of Naim’s communal activities was the establishment of his periodical “the Scribe", Journal of Babylonian Jewry, published in 1971 by the Exilarch's Foundation boasting 4,000 subscribers worldwide. This unique journal published the editor's aims, ideas and social and political activities. He portrayed his vision of the future of the Jewish people in their conflict with the Arabs. The Scribe was also a platform for the exchange of ideas concerning the unity of the Jews from Iraq in all parts of the world. Students of Jewish history and culture can find a plethora of articles on Iraqi history, Babylonian history, culture, religion, literature, poetry, proverbs, jokes, cooking recipes, customs, letters and memoirs about life in Baghdad, about Iraqi personalities and their attitude to Jews. Hundreds of unique photos of Jewish rabbis, institutions, personalities, manuscripts and Judaica were published and commented upon. Naim made his archive and valuable collection of photos and documents available to scholars and writers. The Photo albums included photos of receptions and meetings of Mr. Naim and his wife Rene with distinguished personalities such as H.M. Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, Charles, the Prince of Wales, U.S.A President and Mrs. George Bush, Naim is both daring and original in his articles and commentary. His ideas were unconventional and provocative. His experience during his life in Iraq in Muslim circles enabled him to express ideas which would appear very extreme to others. Some of his articles on political, religious and cultural issues contain open criticism of many Arab states, especially the Iraqi authorities. Although he was far from being a Zionist, he attacked the enemies of the Jewish people, such as the former Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husayni and his cooperation with the Nazis during the Holocaust. The deniers of Holocaust were also rebuked vehemently. Moreover, he criticized the claim of the Palestinian authorities for their insistence on the return of all the Palestinian refugees to their homes, without taking in consideration the Jewish refugees from Arab countries whose number exceed those of the Palestinian refugees. He takes the view that "The Palestinian refugees who fled Israel in 1948 can consist only of those who were actually living in Mandatory Palestine and left the country with the establishment of Israel. It can't include their children or spouses", an argument hardly appealing to the Arabs. However, logic and UN resolutions are one thing and the aims of states and militant organizations are another. Even Shabbetai Zevi realized that without an army his ideas would not be possible to implement. Dangoor has also condemned the action of AUT teachers against Israeli university Professors. He suggested that the post-Arafat Palestinians should open the Dome of the Rock to Jewish worshipers on the basis that it was built on the site of Solomon's temple and should, therefore, be regarded as the "Third Temple". By way of a response to Arafat’s argument that the "womb of the Palestinian women" is their most effective weapon against Israel, Dangoor initiated his project for encouraging birth rate among the Jewish women in Israel. Another of his philanthropic projects is his help to Jewish terror victims in Israel as a response to Saddam Hussein’s gift of $10,000 to the family of each suicide bomber. He also established his "Rice and Lentils" program to support the Israeli project of Hazon Yeshaya. Like many philanthropists among the Jews of Iraq, such as the Sassoons, the Daniels, the Kedouries, Frank Iny, Dr. David Sala, etc. whose support of Jewish education in Iraq helped many students to acquire higher education and to attain high scientific and financial positions, Dr. Naim Dangoor contributed generously to educational Institutions in the UK as a mark of his gratitude to the country that provided him and his family with education, protection, support and prosperous business.  In 1994 he contributed £1 million pounds to a group of universities and in 2004 provided scholarships for Sussex students.  He supported the Carmel College and other Jewish foundations in England, and donated one million Dollars to Bar-Ilan University in Israel for students' scholarships. Last but not least, he made £10 million available towards reviving Jewish life in Iraq.  This plan of re-creating the glory of the Babylonian Jewry in present Iraq is the dream of the moderate Iraqi intellectuals living in the West such as Khalid Qistaini (London), Dr. Rashid al-Khayoun , Abdul Kadir al-Janabi (Paris), Khalid al-Ma'ali (Cologne), Hamza al-Hasan, and many others. Some may consider this to be against Israel's interests fearing such a plan may weaken Israel and encourage other Jews from Arab countries to follow suit. Such initiative may also raise concern among the Muslims and Christians in Iraq. The question really is whether any Iraqi Jews would return to Iraq while the current vicious Sunni-Shi’ite mutual killings are raging and the Arabs-Kurdish antagonisms may yet spill into open warfare. Add to that the possibility that the returning Jews may be held as hostages to the radical religious and political insurgents. Apart from that, should the Shi'is in Iraq gain ascendancy, would they not join the Shi'i axis spreading from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hizb Allah in Lebanon, against the Sunni, oil rich Arab states? And what will happen in case the West fails to prevent Iran from acquiring its nuclear bomb?  Be that as it may, Dangoor’s initiative has galvanized the awareness of non-Zionist Jews in the West of the necessity to organize themselves, to publish their own journals, to record their history, memoirs, customs, proverbs and literature. Dr. Naim Dangoor’s vision for the Jews of Iraq and other Arab countries was crowned with the successful establishment in 2002 of the movement of "Justice for Jews from Arab Counties (JJAC)", a coalition of Jewish communal organizations operating under the auspices of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the American Sephardi Federation and the World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) in partnership with the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, B'nai Brith International, the Jewish Public Council for Public Affairs and the World Sephardic Congress. These organizations are trying to secure the rights of the Jews who were forced to flee their homes in Arab countries and place on the international political agenda the quest for truth and justice and, in so doing, contribute to a comprehensive Middle East peace. * Shmuel Moreh, Emeritus Professor of Oriental Studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Chairman and founder of the Association of Jewish Academics from Iraq in Israel (1980), Chairman of the Academic Council, The Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center, Or-Yehuda.
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