Iraqi Jews: A History of Mass Exodus

by Abbas Shiblak

The Jews of Iraq constituted one of the oldest and most deeply rooted Jewish communities in the world. But in the early 1950s most of them left for Israel, under circumstances that remain the subject of heated controversy.

Shiblak examines the critical years of the late 1940s – after the establishment of the state of Israel – when deep rifts began to appear in Iraqi society, and the sad sequence of events that finally led to the mass exodus of Jews in the 1950s. An honest, impartial and well-documented account of a formerly well-integrated and vibrant community, Iraqi Jews: A History of Mass Exodus is a landmark in the political and social history of the Middle East.

Abbas Shiblak is a Palestinian writer and academic. He is a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle East, Jewish

215 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Nadav David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides an extraordinary look, through a strong collection of primary texts, into the impacts of the creation of the state of Israel and the Zionist movement on the Iraqi Jewish community, one of the most integrated and historic Arab Jewish communities. The author provides a much needed look at the ways in which the US and Britain played a role in the displacement of Arab Jewish communities, which allowed for the dispossession of Palestinians. Here are some of the most interesting and important excerpts from the book:

""The AZL (antizionist league, a group of Iraqi Jews in the 40's) saw the lack of democracy in Arab countries as providing fertile ground for Zionism; the organization stressed the need to involve the Arab masses, and popular and democratic institutions, in the fight against British colonialism, which was held responsible for the 'founding of the Zionist enterprise in Palestine'.

The AZL foresaw the harm Zionism could do to the Jewish communities in the Arab and Muslim worlds. In a pamphlet issued in November 1945, the founding committee of the AZL warned that, in issuing the Balfour Deceleration, Britain and the Zionist movement had sought to 'divert the Arab struggle against the colonialists to one against the Jews and to create a rift that would enable them to go on exploiting the Arab people'."

Written by a US ambassador in the late 1940's: "The desire of the Jewish community to emigrate will be in great part induced or limited by the amount of aggressiveness which Israel may display in the future. To the degree that stability in Palestine and the Middle East is disturbed by israels pursuance of a policy of expansionism, the Iraqi Jews will suffer more disabilities: the community as a whole might eventually come to welcome the possibility of emigration. If Israel, however, pursued a policy of moderation, and agreed to a peace settlement considered not too unreasonable by the arabs, not more than a small portion of Iraqs Jewish community would want to emigrate to Palestine."

[Narmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellently researched with deep and precise analysis of Iraqi Jews' troubled history.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compact history. I didn't realize attacks were launched in Iraq, even on Jews by Jews, to encourage departure for Israel. Hoover's role is also not frequently discussed in histories of Zionism.

[Wasen · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much to say about this incredible book, wasn’t expecting such a well-researched and analytical thesis of Iraqi Jews. I thought it might be more anecdotal from what I had read about the author, so it was a very pleasant surprise at how much historical archives it delves into, especially with respects to the British foreign office documents.

And oh boy was it a hard book to read, especially whilst reading it knowing what we know now and how bad the situation is, they say hindsight is always twenty/twenty! But that's an even harder pill to swallow now.

The things I learnt from this analysis
- Humans always struggle to be analytical in a situation whilst it’s happening, and it takes a very special group of people willing to educate themselves and extradite themselves from their ignorance to understand what is happening.
- As much as we try to alter history and rewrite, the colonisers were obsessed with documenting what they thought and did. (This applies to many historical events).
- That when my parents used to say that Iraq was the original multi-cultural and multi religious country (that’s before the ‘’modern multi ethic west’’), that there is a lot of truth to that statement. (As documented by the British)
- That fear and division is the way to conquer people (same old story just different time).
- That anti-semitism was always a problem of European origin. (I didn’t know or believe this, having grown up in the west. I am ashamed to admit I believed the Zionists unequivocally. When they said the Arabs hated them who was I to question it).
- That Arab leaders (dictators) hated/hate their own people, so targeting a minority is not surprising. But what is, is the fear that was instilled, and the role Zionists played in that game.
- That classism always trumps everything! (Those in power will maintain the status quo at everyone’s expense).

Last but not least, that the tactics seem to never change, just the time and the people.

[Zanoob · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books that explain a very controversial period of Iraqi history
Well prepared and supported by a good deal of documents and numbers, with insightful look that deeply analyze the extremely mingled situations and persons
Highly recommended