Events at the Center

Dear Friend, The Nehardea magazine appears in Hebrew twice a year, usually around the time of the Sukkot and Purim holidays. Thus we are able to pass on information to our friends and members of the many activities which have taken place at the Center over the half year period. The English version of the magazine comes out once a year and is distributed in the communities of Iraqi Jews all over the world. Indeed there have been many activities in which large numbers of our members have participated. At every gathering I meet members who are excited anew at what they have seen or heard. Yes, my friends the Center continues to succeed in inspiring a large number of people by presenting new material, researches and stories which warm the heart and bring back to us pleasant memories from the past. Friends who visit the Center often can attest to the changes and new ideas taking place at the museum and in other activities. This is confirmed by the large stack of mail received after the last issue of Nehardea as well as the invitations we receive for conferences to be held in the coming months.

I suggest that our friends follow the advertisements and participate in these events as they are being organized for you. Lately we have had the pleasure of welcoming an increased number of young people at the Center and participating in events. Our goal is to inspire the younger generation to be more interested in their heritage and will take a greater part in the activities of the Center.
I am always happy to receive suggestions, advice or any idea that will help see to it that our children and grandchildren will participate in events at the Center . We have a great deal of material that should be of interest to them and we are ready to prepare for them special programs in order to assure that their will be a generation to succeed us in following the Iraqi Jewish heritage. The Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center is a unique institution. It is a valuable asset that represents a source of pride to Jewry in general and the Jews of Iraq in particular. It should be maintained and developed for ourselves and for future generations.
The following are the major events that took place over the past six months:

In April, we participated in an exhibition of Peoples and Communities which was held in the Golden Canyon in Rishon Le-Zion.

Among the members of the Center there are thirty volunteers active in the Center. Responsible for and organizer of our volunteers is our friend Benny Heled. On April 4th there was a very moving gathering in which we expressed our gratitude to the volunteers and listened to their remarks and suggestions. At the end of the meeting, the volunteers received a cassette of the songs of the El-Keweite Brothers with a letter of appreciation for their work. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact the Center.

Mrs. Miriam Ben-Porat the State Comptrollen visited the Center on May 18 1995. She could not hide her deep impression of what she saw and heard. In the Visitors Book she wrote: "Heartfelt thanks for the breadth of knowledge. The visit opened my eyes and proved what a wealth of history we have and how important it is to leave this wealth living and dynamic and to show the generation what its roots are. May your work be blessed".

Identification with victims of the Holocaust: During an evening that was held in the Center at the initiative of Sammy Shamun, there was a meeting between a woman named Arella Goldschmidt, a holocaust survivor and members of the Tribus family, a Christian family that saved her when she was 10 months old. Mrs. Goldschmidt is the mother of three and lives in Shdemot Deborah in the North. The event began with excitement and happiness and ended with hugs and kisses and many tears. At the end of the evening, the 300 guests went out to the lawn of the Center and ate to their heart's content a supper of authentic Iraqi food catered by Soloman Catering.

A memorial evening for the late Naum Dula held on May 25, 1995. At this ceremony some 150 people participated including Mr. Yitzhak Buchobza the former mayor of Or Yehuda, the present mayor Mr. Shabi Tamir and many other public figures. All the speakers spoke of the many good deeds the deceased performed for the city. Our thanks to the Dula family and especially to Yaffa Dula, the widow who helped us a great deal in organizing this event. May she live to 120.

On June 5, 1995 a meeting of friends and an evening of study was held on the subject of "The educational activities in the Halutz movement in Iraq in the years 1942-1945". Participating were Dr. Esther Meir, Mordecai Bibi, Aliza Biron, Yoseff Meir and Shoshanna Arbeli-Almouzlino.

On June 29, 1995 a study day was held on "The Jews of Babylonia in Israel between the years 1850 and 1950". During the course of the evening a memorial was held for those killed in the massacre of 1941. The actor Aryeh Elias participated and spoke of the massacre.
A study evening on the subject of the young woman in the Halutz movement in Iraq was held on June 29, 1995. During the course of this evening, lectures were heard on the subject from Dr. Shaul Sehayik, Shulamith Gennosar, Noga Bechar, Hela Kargula and Shoshanna Amit.

On July 6, 1995 a meeting was held for graduates of the Shamash and Alliance schools. The meeting was meant to prepare for an international meeting to be held next year. During a discussion held among 15 of the graduates, it was decided to prepare a staff that will formalize ideas for holding the international gathering.
We discovered that this is a fantastic group of people and that it is very important to get them involved in the Center's activities.

"Men's Folk Songs": This is what we called the event held in the Soldiers House in Tel Aviv on July 27, 1995. Some 800 people participated during the four and a half hour program in which we experienced laughter and a great deal of pleasure. The evening was held in honor of the publication of Professor Avishur's book "Men's Folk Songs". Video cassets of the evening may be obtained including those suitable for playing on VCRs using the US method of recording.

As we do every year, the Center awarded cash prizes to two students, this year to Aviv Geva and Avner Shahar, students at the Ohel Shem school in Ramat Gan who wrote term papers on the Jews of Babylonia. The two received their prizes from the Managing Director of the Center Mr. Yigal Loushi who participated in their graduation ceremony at the school.
At the same event the award of the "Center's Shield" was presented to the teacher who directed the work of these students, Mr. Yitzhak Sharpzon who has been working on this project for many years in recognition of this work.

On July 10, 1995 the Center held a three day workshop for teachers in a joint program with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. The workshop included lectures by Professor Yitzhak Avishur, Dr. Zvi Yehuda, Idit Pinchas-Sharony and the instruction department headed by Ruth Atar.