MARCH 11 • 2021 | 9
At age 23, he posed as
Richard Armstrong, the
British representative of Near
Eastern Airlines, to negotiate
with the Iraqi government.
Throughout the meeting he
shifted in his seat, fearing he
might be recognized by his
cousin, the leader of the Jewish
community. (He wasn’t).
Shlomo Hillel published his
story in Operation Babylon.
ROOTS IN IRAQ
Shlomo was the youngest
of 11 children of an Iraqi-
Jewish merchant importing
goods from India, Japan and
Manchester. Iraqi Jews were
not generally Zionist, but
until the rise of pro-Nazi
feeling in the 1930s, there
was a small Zionist move-
ment, Achi-ever, where
Shlomo and his brothers
learned Hebrew.
In 1934, at age 11 on a
family visit to Palestine,
Shlomo insisted on remain-
ing with two elder brothers,
attending the prestigious
Herzliya Gymnasium in Tel
Aviv. Having lived through
the massacre of Assyrian
Christians in Iraq in 1933,
Shlomo’s father had a sense
of foreboding: “If they do this
to Iraqi Christians, what will
they do to Jews?” He moved
the rest of his family to Israel.
A founder of kibbutz
Ma’agan Michael, Shlomo
Hillel married Temima,
who came as a refugee from
Europe on the Patria. He
reluctantly embarked on a
political career, serving in
seven Knessets, becoming a
minister and Knesset speak-
er. He also served as Israeli
ambassador to several African
countries and was awarded
the Israel Prize in 1988. But
he was always modest about
his achievements.
AIDING ETHIOPIAN JEWS
Later Shlomo Hillel was
involved in the mass emigra-
tion of Jews from Ethiopia.
The wheel came full circle
when his son Ari fell in love
and married an Ethiopian girl.
When asked what he
thought of the match, Shlomo
said he was delighted. The
Jewish people were complet-
ing the “Ingathering of the
Exiles.”
Lyn Julius is a journalist and
co-founder of Harif, an association
of Jews from the Middle East and
North Africa in the UK. She is the
author of Uprooted: How 3,000
years of Jewish Civilization in the
Arab world vanished overnight.
continued from page 6
HAVING LIVED THROUGH
THE MASSACRE OF ASSYRIAN
CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ IN 1933,
SHLOMO’S FATHER HAD A SENSE
OF FOREBODING: “IF THEY DO
THIS TO IRAQI CHRISTIANS, WHAT
WILL THEY DO TO JEWS?”
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STORY
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