Iraqi Jews in Israel, also known as the Bavlim (Hebrew for "Babylonians"), are immigrants and descendants of the immigrants of the Iraqi Jewish communities, who now reside in the State of Israel. During Ottoman rule, Iraqi Jews lived under the millet system, which differentiated Muslims from non-Muslims. As such, Iraqi Jews under Ottoman rule enjoyed fewer rights than their Muslim counterparts and were legally discriminated against, but were recognised minorities and granted political representation.
Between 1950 and 1951, an approximated 123,000 Iraqi Jews emigrated to Israel as a consequence of domestic and regional factors. Domestically, the rise of antisemitic policies and rhetoric within Iraq, and the numerous violent attacks against its Jewish community, created a highly precarious environment for Iraqi Jews, pushing many to view emigration to Israel as the only option for their safety. Regionally, tensions within Mandate Palestine, the State of Israel in 1948 and its expulsion of the Palestinians, and its push for Jewish immigration in the years following independence impacted Iraqi Jewish communities. The Iraqi Jewish immigrants lost the Iraqi citizenship, and their properties were confiscated by the Iraqi state. In Israel, Iraqi Jews became full citizens, but encountered numerous difficulties, including discrimination and economic precarity.
History of Iraqi Jewish Migration to Israel
The Jewish communities of Iraq held a religious connection to the Land of Israel, as is documented by archeological findings such as the Al-Yahudu Tablets from the sixth century BCE. However, most Iraqi Jews did not leave for Israel until 1949–51, and remained in the Ottoman provinces of Basra, Mosul, and Baghdad and later British Mandate and independent Iraq, where they had lived for centuries.
Jews of late 19th century Ottoman Iraq The Iraqi Jews maintained a positive relationship with the Ottomans in the 19th century, but did not enjoy the same rights as Muslims under the millet system. In 1865, the Jewish community founded the inaugural Jewish school in Iraq, known as al-Etihad School. Subsequently, in 1876, Manheim Danial was elected as the first Jew to the Ottoman Parliament. During the Ottoman period, Iraqi Jews were practicing their religious rituals alongside Iraqi Muslims and Christians and maintained a favourable relationship with other religious communities, engaging in the exchange of currency, gold, and silver. Additionally, some Jews profited from trade and marketing, serving as intermediary merchants between the East (India and China) and the West (Europe) via the al-Basra port on the Persian Gulf.
The Jewish population resided in several cities and towns in Iraq, including Mosul, Kirkuk, Al-Sulaymaniyah, Erbil, Baghdad, and Najaf. Furthermore, the Jewish population in Iraq exceeded that of the Christians, with 87,338 recorded in 1917, of which 50,000 were in Baghdad.
At the onset of World War I, Jews in Iraq faced significant challenges due to reports alleging their support for the United Kingdom in its conflict against the Ottomans. This condition persisted until the conclusion of the war in 1918, when the British troops entered Baghdad.
Emergence of Political Zionism
By the end of the 19th century, political Zionism entered the consciousness of the Jews of Iraq, leading to the emergence of Zionist activities in Iraq. In 1914, the first Zionist organisation was founded by Menashe Hakim, Maurice Fattal and Raphael Horesh under the name "Zionist Association of Baghdad", to promote the Zionist cause in Mesopotamia. The short-lived organisation collapsed in November of that year when the Ottoman Empire declared war on Britain.
The British Mandate of Iraq Upon the British occupation of Baghdad in March 1917, the Jewish community constituted the predominant demographic within the city's populace. The most recent Ottoman official yearbook for the Vilayet of Baghdad reported that the Jewish population was 80,000 out of a total population of 202,000. The relationship between the Jews and King Faisal I was robust; they organised a grand party in his honour upon his ascension to the throne of Iraq in 1921. The king resided at the Manheim Danial palace in Baghdad, and this close association persisted with his son, King Ghazi of Iraq, in 1935. In 1923, the newly established government of Iraq chose Sir Sassoon Eskell as the Minister of Finance, a post he will retain throughout the reign of King Faisal I in the subsequent administration.
During the British mandate period from 1922 to 1932, and until King Faisal's death in 1933, Jews were mostly permitted to pursue their economic, social, and educational development, engaging in politics only superficially. Despite the prevailing tranquilly, dissenting voices emerged, lamenting the Jews' perceived dominance in the economy, their mostly elevated social standing, and their significant over-representation in governmental positions. The initial indications of open sympathy and active support for the Zionist cause within their ranks were not exempt from criticism.
Furthermore, the Alliance Israélite Universelle played a crucial role in the lives of Iraqi Jews. Jews who studied at the institute were highly educated and were often proficient in French and English, which allowed them to access high positions in public service during the British Mandate.
Zionism in British Mandate Iraq The extend of Zionist in Iraq begun from 1920 when the first major Zionist organization was founded under the name "Jewish Literacy Society." It published a Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic journal called Yeshurun. Then on March 5, 1921, a branch of the Jewish Literary Society founded a separate Zionist association known as "The Mesopotamian Zionist Society." A revived "Zionist Association of Baghdad" would later merge with this Society in 1924.
In contrast to the elite class of Iraqi Jews who remained unattracted to Zionism, it received considerable support from poorer Jewish citizens who demonstrated their support in multiple public gatherings. These demonstrations led to condemnations by British officials and Arab authorities who warned against public activities. Until 1929, there was no official ban against their activities and Zionist organizations continued to exist discreetly. Alfred Mond's 1928 visit to Baghdad led to the first anti-Zionist demonstration in the city. Multiple Jews were injured in attacks related to the protests. There were other short lived Zionist organizations such as "Agudat Ahi'ever" (1929), "Histadrut ha-No-ar ha-Ivri" (1929), and "Maccabi" (1929–1930). Palestinian Jewish teachers were brought in to teach Hebrew and Jewish history. Some schools of the Alliance Israélite Universelle in Baghdad during this time organised Hebrew literary societies which promoted Zionism. After the 1929 riots, the Iraqi government began a campaign against Zionism. Palestinian Jewish teachers were expelled, and Iraqi Zionist leaders were arrested.
The Independent Kingdom of Iraq
The situation of Iraqi Jews became particularly unstable after the end of the British Mandate in 1932, particularly during the tenure of Prime Minister Nuri al-Said under King Ghazi of Iraq, who endorsed the Palestinian revolution against Israeli military factions. Following the death of King Ghazi of Iraq and the ascension of King Abd al-Ilah, various political and military movements emerged, with Iraqi groups supporting the Palestinian cause, which would ultimately impact the future of the Jewish community in Iraq.
Antisemitism and repression (1932–1945) In the years following independence from the British Mandate, the Iraqi government promoted policies and laws that targeted its Jewish population. Within this period, Arab nationalism became prevalent, in particular forms which considered Iraq a Muslim state, and thus excluded religious minorities. Antisemitic policies prevented Iraqi Jews from fully participating in the labour market through barring Jewish businesses from obtaining licenses, and prohibiting them from public service, the Jewish youth was prevented from entering professional training and thus becoming integrated in the Iraqi labour market. The Iraqi Independence Party, a right-wing Iraqi party that used antisemitic rhetoric, used the German Nazi Party as a model. It used its newspaper outlet to promote anti-Jewish views to the Iraqi public, with the support of the Iraqi government. Nazi rhetoric primarily influenced the Iraqi youth and the military, as well as a few public figures.
The Iraqi state press played a major role in the spread of antisemitic ideas through its publications. Its articles often perpetuated the antisemitic belief that the Iraqi Jewish merchant class controlled the Iraqi economy, and sent their revenues to the Zionist movement in Palestine to create a Jewish state and destroy the pan-Arab movement.
The arrest an imprisonment of prominent Iraqi Jewish businessmen on false charges, such as that of Shafiq Ades, became more prominent, who was ultimately publicly executed by hanging. This increased pressures on Jewish communities, and led to increase in arrests and targeting of Jewish businesses and institutions by government authorities. Quotas were placed in certain sectors, such as universities and high schools, limiting the number of Jews who could have access to higher education. Iraqi Jews, who had previously held high positions within the British Mandate of Iraq, were seen as allies of the British and barring Iraqi Muslims from state service. As such, Iraqi Jews were prevented from accessing education and dismissed from high-placed roles in government and administration.
In addition, the belief that Jewish communities in Iraq were tied to a Zionist network engendered a conflation of Zionism and Judaism, which fostered antisemitic rhetoric and policy. The 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine in particular was key to worsening the situation of Iraqi Jews. While previously some distinction was still made within Iraqi society between Jews and Zionism, the political upheaval in Mandate Palestine fostered a climate which increasingly conflated the two.
The Farhud (1941)
The Farhud crisis represented the final significant struggle against the Jews during a protracted period of unrest, which began in 1928 when unidentified individuals set fire to many houses, stores, and a synagogue in the Jewish quarter of Baghdad. In September 1933, King Faisal I died, and his son Ghazi ascended to the throne. King Ghazi of Iraq was a feeble ruler and a nationalist zealot, without the experience, innate sagacity, and statesmanship of his father. King Ghazi of Iraq supported the emerging Sunni nationalist forces and allowed them to engage in political activities. Two parallel developments appear to have undermined the position of the Jews at this time: the ascendance of the Nazis in Germany and the emergence of Iraq as a refuge for Arab nationalist activists from Syria and Palestine, who sought sanctuary in the first Arab nation to gain independence from British rule.