History of the Jews in Iraq

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Iraqi Jews

יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים
Seated in the centre: Sir Sassoon Eskell, first Minister of Finance of the Kingdom with King Faisal I immediately to his left. The tycoon Senator Menahem Saleh Daniel is seated on the far right of this shot.
Regions with significant populations
Israel	450,000[1][2]
Iraq	74–400 (2021)[3][4]
United States	15,000
United Kingdom	10,000
Languages
Hebrew Mesopotamian Arabic (Judeo-Iraqi Arabic Judeo-Aramaic)
Religion
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Kurdish Jews, Iranian Jews, Bukharian Jews, Mountain Jews, Georgian Jews, Mizrahi Jews

The history of the Jews in Iraq (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, Yehudim Bavlim, lit. 'Babylonian Jews'; Arabic: اليهود العراقيون, al-Yahūd al-ʿIrāqiyyūn) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BCE. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities.^[5][4]

The Jewish community in Mesopotamia, known in Jewish sources as "Babylonia", traces its origins to the early sixth century BCE, when a large number of Judeans from the defeated Kingdom of Judah were exiled to Babylon in several waves by the Neo-Babylonian Empire.^[6] A few decades later, some had returned to Judah, following the edict of Cyrus. During this time, the Temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt, significant changes in Jewish religious tradition were made, and the Judeans were led by individuals who had returned from Babylonia, such as Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah. Though not much is known about the community in Babylonia during the Second Temple and Mishnaic periods, scholars believe the community was still thriving at that time.^[6]

The Jewish community of Babylonia rose to prominence as the center of Jewish scholarship following the decline of the Jewish population in the Land of Israel in the 3rd century CE. Estimates often place the Babylonian Jewish population of the third to seventh centuries at around one million, making it the largest Jewish diaspora community of that period.^[7] The area became home to many important Talmudic yeshivas such as the Nehardea, Pumbedita and Sura Academies, and the Babylonian Talmud was compiled there.

The Mongol invasion and Islamic discrimination under the caliphates in the Middle Ages eventually led to the decline of the region's Jewish community.^[8] Under the Ottoman Empire, the Jews of Iraq fared better. The community established modern schools in the second half of the 19th century.^[9] Driven by persecution, which saw many of the leading Jewish families of Baghdad flee for India, and expanding trade with British colonies, the Jews of Iraq established a trading diaspora in Asia known as the Baghdadi Jews.^[10]

The Iraqi Jewish community formed a homogeneous group, maintaining communal Jewish identity, culture and traditions. The Jews in Iraq distinguished themselves by the way they spoke in their old Arabic dialect, Judeo-Arabic; the way they dressed; observation of Jewish rituals, for example, the Sabbath and holidays; and kashrut. In the 20th century, Iraqi Jews played an important role in the early days of Iraq's independence. According to Avi Shlaim, they were deeply integrated into the wider Iraqi society, culturally and linguistically.^[11] Jews held many positions in the Ministry of Finance, Public Accounting, Public Works, Communications, Post and Telegraph, Basra Port, Railways, and Customs, and the departments of the Ministry of Interior, Education, Health, Police, and Defense were not without them.

At the beginning of the 20th century Jews formed a notable presence in the country's main cities, including up to 40% in Baghdad and 25% in Basra.^[12] In 1941, the Farhud ("violent dispossession"), a major pogrom, occurred in Baghdad, in which 200 Jews or more were murdered. Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, persecution against Jews culminated in increased government oppression and cultural discrimination. The government, while maintaining a public policy of discrimination against Jews, simultaneously forbade Jews from emigrating to Israel out of concern for strengthening the nascent Israeli state. In 1950, the government reversed course and permitted Jews to emigrate in exchange for renouncing their citizenship. From 1950 to 1952, nearly the entire Iraqi Jewish population emptied out from Iraq to Israel through Operation Ezra and Nehemiah. Historians estimate that 120,000–130,000 Iraqi Jews (around 75% of the entire community) reached Israel.^[13][14]

In the early years, the Ba'ath Party had a dual approach toward Jews. On one hand, Jews were detained, imprisoned, tortured, and even executed on charges of spying for Israel. On the other hand, some government officials displayed personal sympathy and leniency toward them. Many Jews managed to convince the authorities to release detainees. The era of Abdul-Karim Qasim was generally considered better for Jews compared to the rule of Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. During this period, a significant number of Jews fled the country, causing a sharp decline in the Jewish population. Eventually, overt repression eased, and Jews were treated more fairly. When Saddam Hussein rose to power, he repealed many antisemitic laws and policies. Under his rule, the Jewish population continued to dwindle—not due to persecution but because travel restrictions were lifted. Many Jews took advantage of this freedom to travel between Iraq and foreign countries, a practice that became routine. Those who settled abroad during this time retained their Iraqi citizenship. Additionally, several Jews served in government roles during his regime.

The remainder of the Jewish population continued to dwindle in the ensuing decades; as of 2014, the total number of Jews living in Iraq numbered around 500, mostly in Baghdad and Kurdistan region. The religious and cultural traditions of Iraqi Jews are kept alive today in strong communities established by Iraqi Jews in Israel, especially in Or Yehuda, Givatayim and Kiryat Gat. According to government data as of 2014, there were 227,900 Jews of Iraqi descent in Israel, with other estimates as high as 600,000 Israelis having some Iraqi ancestry. Smaller communities upholding Iraqi Jewish traditions in the Jewish diaspora exist in the United Kingdom,^[15][16] Ireland,^[17] Australia,^[18] Singapore,^[19] Canada,^[20] and the United States.^{[21][22][1][2]}