Friday, September 27, 1946

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle

Pepe Two

t.

The Jews of Iraq

By I. RENNAP

BAGHDAD, IRAQ, (WNS)
The .Jewish community in this
Arab state, is, next to the Pales.
tine Yishuv, the oldest in the
world. Jews number 150,000 in a
total population of 3,500,000. They
are one of a number of minority
groups, and only one third of the
total population of the country is
racially Arab.
Contrary to some reports, the
Jewish community in Iraq is not
an oppressed minority. Relations
between the Jews and their non-
Jewish neighbors is on the whole
very good. The Jewish community
is officially recognized by a royal
"Irada" (decree) and as a mina-
rity they have representatives in
the National Assembly.
Some anti-Jewish feeling has
arisen recently but this is entirely
due to outside Influences exerted
by the various powers who have
fought for economic control of
the country. The pogrom which
took place in 1941, for example,
came as a direct result of the
Nazi-instigated anti-British upris-
ing led by Rashid Alt Gallani and
in which the ex-Grand Mufti of
Jerusalem also had a hand. Dur-
ing the helVit of his power, Hit-
ler, like Kaiser Wilhelm, paraded
as Islam's "Protector" — against
Britain and her "Jewish-Zionist
agents." Britain, too, by using the
Zionist movement to frustrate
Arab independence aims in Pal-
estine, contributed to the develop.
ment of anti-Jewish feeling in
Iraq and other Arab states.
It is undoubtedly as a result of
these machinations that the Jews
of Iraq must now endure several
restrictions. These include a ban

Rosh Hashonah

Greetings and

Best Wishes

To All

on Zionist activity; a ban on He-
brew for other than religious
purposes; and certain travel re-
strictions. It Is reported, how-
ever, that these are the counter-
part of similar restrictions im-
posed on other minority groups
through the influence of tho Iraq
Government's British advisers.
A considerable section of the
Jewish population of Iraq has ap-
parently come to feel that Zion-
ism is the main cause of anti-
Jewish sentiment in the country.
As a result there was organized
last Aprit an Anti-Zionist League
drawing a large part of its sup-
port from Jewish youth who are
by and large influenced by radi.
cal trends. The League has taken
upon itself the job of interpret-
ing the present position of Jewry
to the Arab world. It stands op-
posed to official Zionist policy in
Palestine and sees the solution to
the Palestine problem in "a dem-
ocratic independent state guaran-
teeing full national rights to
Arabs and Jews." The League's
statement of policy also declares
that "tho Jewish question can
never be solved except when the
problems of the countries where
they live are solved." It does not
see mans immigration to Pales-
tine as the solution.
The aims of the Anti-Zionist
League can be summed up as:
(1) to counteract the widespread
propaganda in the Arab world
that all Jews are Zionists; afid
(2) to dissipate the widespread
notion among Jews in other parts
of the world that the Jews in all
Arab states suffer persecution and
oppression.

The greater part of the Jewish
population of Iraq, numbering
80,000, is to be found in Baghdad,
the capital. Baghdad Jews have
two representatives in the Na-
tional Assembly. Large numbers
are also settled in Basra and Mo-
sul. In the Kurdish districts of
the largeSt minority in the coun-
try) there are old established
Kirkuk and Erbil (the Kurds ara
communities of Jews maintaining
very cordial relations with their
Kurd neighbors.

Baghdad and Basra each has a
small wealthy group of Jews,

ROSH HASHONAH GREETINGS

largely engaged in commerce.
Some are also to be found in the
civil service and a few hold im-
portant jobs. Among the Govern-
ment positions held By Jews in
Baghdad are those of Accountant.
General in the Finance Ministry
and Inspector-General of Tele-
graphs. During the reign of King
Feisal I, Iraq had a Jewish Fin-
ance Minister.
The majority of Jews in Iraq,
however, are no better off econo-
mically than most of their non-
Jewish neighbors. They lead a
rather poor liTe and are engaged
mainly in small trade. As in al-
most every country the world
over, few Jews in this Arab state
have taken to the soil.
Iraq Jewry, in common with
Jewish communities everywhere,
has retained its Jewish Identity
and national character. It re-
mains bound together by reli-
gious, national and cultural ties,
despite the development of the
anti-Zionist movement.

ROSH HASHONAH
GREETINGS
TO ALL JEWRY!

•

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ROSH HASHONAH GREETINGS

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