The Jews in Iraq do not exceed the fingers of the hand .. And 219 thousand in Israel have secured th

[size=52]The Jews in Iraq do not exceed the fingers of the hand .. And 219 thousand in Israel have secured their homes with well-known owners[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / AFP[/size]
[size=45]The departure of the Iraqi-Jewish doctor, Zafer Fuad al-Yahyu, left a deep impression on the Iraqis, not only because of his humanitarian stances with which he was known, but because the matter drew attention to the great decrease in the numbers of the members of this sect that inhabited Iraq for centuries, and today only four remain.[/size]
[size=45]Eliyahu, one of the most famous orthopedic doctors in Iraq and dubbed the "Doctor of the Poor", was buried in a cemetery for Jews in Sadr City, which is predominantly Shiite, east of Baghdad.[/size]
[size=45]The cemetery is devoid of visitors, except for a man in his fifties who oversees it.[/size]
[size=45]"I prayed for him when he was buried," said Eliyahu's sister, who preferred not to reveal her name, before his burial, adding, "His friends participated in the funeral ceremonies and prayed according to his religion." This daytime prayer is considered a rare event in Baghdad where only one synagogue is usable.[/size]
[size=45]Nevertheless, the Iraqi Jews are the oldest Jewish community in the world, as they arrived in the year 586 BC to Iraq, after the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple of Solomon I in Jerusalem, according to the biblical account.[/size]
[size=45]During the first decades of the last century, Jewish families formed an important component of Iraqi society. Iraqis still remember, for example, Sasson Hesqil, the first finance minister, the first Iraqi government formed during the British mandate and the first to lay the foundations of the financial system for Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the practice of their rituals, a source close to the Jewish community told Agence France-Presse, who also preferred not to reveal his identity, that it “is often held inside homes,” adding that Jews also suffer “when they visit government departments and they are treated poorly when it is known that they are Jews.” . Edwin Shukr, a Jew who was born in Iraq in 1955 and left for Britain at the age of sixteen, confirmed that "there are only four Jews who hold Iraqi citizenship and of Jewish parents" in Iraq, with the exception of the Kurdistan region. In the early forties of the last century, the Jews were subjected to a killing and looting of property in which more than a hundred people were killed. It was known as "Farhood". In 1948, the Zionist entity was established after a war with the Arab countries, including Iraq. As a result, most of the 150,000 Jews living in Iraq left this country, generally not voluntarily. Their personal documents were withdrawn from them and replaced with others for Jews only, which made them vulnerable to targeting when they were shown, prompting most of them to sign papers proving a "voluntary" desire to give up their nationality and property and leave the country. Shukr indicated that Iraqi law until now prohibits any retraction from giving up the nationality of an Iraqi Jew. By 1951, about 96% of Iraqi Jews had left the country, and many more joined them after that with the increase in immigration rates following public executions by hanging a number of merchants, most of them Jews, accused of spying for the Zionist entity in 1969, with the beginning of the taking over of the Zionist entity. Ba'ath power after a coup. And Iraqi law still includes the death penalty for those convicted of "promoting Zionism." By 1951, about 96% of Iraqi Jews had left the country, and many more joined them after that with the increase in immigration rates following public executions by hanging a number of merchants, most of them Jews, accused of spying for the Zionist entity in 1969, with the beginning of the taking over of the Zionist entity. Ba'ath power after a coup. And Iraqi law still includes the death penalty for those convicted of "promoting Zionism." By 1951, about 96% of Iraqi Jews had left the country, and many more joined them after that with the increase in immigration rates following public executions by hanging a number of merchants, most of them Jews, accused of spying for the Zionist entity in 1969, with the beginning of the taking over of the Zionist entity. Ba'ath power after a coup. And Iraqi law still includes the death penalty for those convicted of "promoting Zionism."[/size]
[size=45]Gradually and over the decades, the existence of this small community faded away, against the background of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), then the invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing economic blockade that continued until the invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. After this stage as well, the number of Jews continued to decrease amid Sectarian war and years of bloody violence.[/size]
[size=45]By 2009, there were only eight Iraqi Jews remaining in their country, according to a US diplomatic cable.[/size]
[size=45]Violence continued against the members of this sect, as gunmen threatened a jeweler, Fadl Fadl to continue his work and live in Iraq, to ​​emigrate away from his country, to be forced to leave. The same circumstances prompted Amer Musa Naseem, grandson of the famous author and economist Mir al-Basri (1911-2005) to leave Iraq in 2011.[/size]
[size=45]Naseem, 38, told Agence France-Presse that he had left in search of a "normal life" and marriage, because there were only two elderly women left in Baghdad from his sect.[/size]
[size=45]Six months ago, one of them, Six Marcel, who was known for her relentless defense of her sect, died.[/size]
[size=45]Then Dr. Eliyahu passed away on March 15th. On the other hand, official statistics indicate that there are 219,000 Jews of Iraqi origin in Israel, who make up the largest group of Jews descended from Asia.[/size]
[size=45]They left behind homes and temples that until 2003 were "in excellent condition with well-known owners," Shukr said. He pointed out that retrieving it "requires only one vote in Parliament" in order to return to Iraqi Jewish families all that they have lost. Today, however, in a country where corruption and mismanagement prevail, these properties are forgotten while their doors remain closed. However, the beneficiaries of the war, who seized the homes of Christians who fled after 2003, are preparing to seize the opportunity to seize the homes of Jews as well.[/size]
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