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Issue 59 - The Scribe - Journal of Babylonian Jewry
Israel has no r i g h t t o
appropriate the assets a nd
claims of Jews of Arab countries and must be prevented by
injunction or by appealing to
the United Nations from using
these as,sets to compensate the
Palestinians.
No. 59
The S C R I B E
JOURNAL
OF BABYLONIAN
PUBLISHED BY THE EXILARCH'S
oso.
Iraqi Jews in Iran
JEWRY
FOUNDATION
Book Reviews
- The Farhud retold
On our Mailing List
Lat~-~and historical photos
Where is the Middle East?
S E P T E M B E R 1993
Est. 1971
A H A P P Y N E W Y E A R 5754 T O A L L O U R R E A D E R S A N D FRIENDS
Emperor of the World
President Clinton's road to the W h i t e
House has b e e n paved with the remains
of broken empires
T h e Chinese E m p i r e came to an end
in 1911, and W W I brought the demisc
of the empires of G e r m a n y , AustriaHungary, the Ottomans, and Tsarist
Russia.
The casualties of W W l I w e r e the
empires of J a p a n , B r i t a i n , France.
Italy, H o l l a n d , B e l g i u m , Spain and
Portugal.
A t the Suez crisis of 1956, President
Eisenhower dealt a death blow to the
pretentions of Britain, France and
Israel to dictate the course of history.
Last, but not least, was t h e sudden
collapse of the Soviet E m p i r e two years
ago that left the U n i t e d States the sole
super power in t h e world.
Controlling, at o n e t i m e , 60 per cent
of m a n y of t h e world's resources,
America's weight was bound to be felt
in international affairs. H o v e r i n g between isolationism a n d involvement,
the United States was called upon twice
to put a n e n d to G e r m a n y ' s bid for
world domination. E a c h t i m e A m e r i c a
emerged stronger in world politics a n d
President
has come out the clear winner of W W l I .
Its planned star w a r programme gave Soviet rivalry its coup de grace.
As was demonstrated in t h e successful multi-national Desert
Storm operation to free Kuwait, A m e r i c a will increasingly direct
world affairs through t h e U n i t e d Nations Organisation, conveniently located as it is, in N e w Y o r k , appropriately m a n a g e d by a n
Arabian secretary-general married to a Jew.
by Naim Dangoor
President Clinton has to deal with
m a n y problems:
i The North-South divide in the world.
• T h e population explosion in the
Third World and the danger that the
South will march on t h e North.
t T h e bad distribution of wealth and
income everywhere.
• T h e threats of terrorism a n d Moslem
fundamentalism.
• G e r m a n y and Japan, who made hay
while the American sun was shining
in the post-war world, must be cut to
economic size. They should not be
offered p e r m a n e n t seats in t h e
Security Council for the t i m e being,
especially as t h e i r good b e h a v i o u r
m a y only be skin-deep.
• Racism must be condemned and
fought.
• Democracy must be applied discriminately. In countries divided by
race, colour, religion or language,
one-man, one-vote cannot apply;
51% of t h e vote must not take 100%
of the power; the interests of all
sections have to be equally safeguarded.
( 7tl i l t tLsy [ ; . 5 . l ' ; n i l m ~ y
Bill Clinton
T h e imperial crown of the world is
Clinton's for the taking. B u t to w e a r it
he needs wisdom. Youthful Clinton has the potential to acquire
m o r e wisdom. W h e n God asked King Solomon in a d r e a m w h a t he
w a n t e d most, the answer was: Wisdom. God replied, since you
asked only for wisdom and not for other things, I will give you
Wisdom as well as Power, W e a l t h a n d Honour.O
Middle East Confederation
A historic necessity
It appears t h a t neither side in the current Middle East peace
negotiations expect the talks to succeed, but each fide is posturing
to put t h e b l a m e on t h e other side for the failure.
The Arabs w e n t to Madrid in the hope t h a t Bush would deliver
Israel to them. S h a m i r w e n t to Madrid u n d e r pressure from B a k e r
and Bush in order'to qualify for the $10 billion loan guarantees.
Now, with t h e Clinton administration only willing to act as a n
"honest broker", t h e A r a b s are no longer interested. W i t h the first
billion dollars already sitting in t h e B a n k of Israel doing nothing,
Rabin no longer feels u n d e r pressure.
If the region was united u n d e r o n e u m b r e l l a it would have
welcomed Jewish i m m i g r a t i o n a n d the Zionists would not have
insisted on a separate state.
T h e talks do not deserve to succeed for the peace t h e y can bring
is precarious and dangerous.
W h a t peace will it be with Israel strategically w e a k e n e d a n d
forever vulnerable to Syrian guns and misfiles poised on the G o l a n
Heights a n d a i m e d at Israeli population centres?
W h a t peace will it b e with A r a r a t commuting between G a z a a n d
Nablus through a corridor across Israel and knocking on the gates
of Jerusalem to claim it as his capital?
by Naim Dangoor
W h a t peace will it be with Moslem fundamentalists all around
Israel a n d sworn to destroy it?
As I h a v e said for the last twenty years: P E A C E IS N O T
E N O U G H . T h e solution must be global for t h e r e can be no peace
in the region w h i l e Jews from A r a b lands are denied their rights in
their countries of origin; w h i l e 20 million Kurds cannot achieve
self-rule; w h i l e the fragmented region remains vulnerable to
threats from all sides a n d to the whims of its ruthless dictators;
while the huge arms expenditure is destabilising t h e region; while
the vast oil wealth goes entirely into A r a b pockets.
In this connection, it is e n c o u r a g i n g to note t h a t t h e Kurds are
a l r e a d y c l a i m i n g a t h i r d of Iraq's oil r e v e n u e ; a suitable
proportion of the w h o l e region's oil income should be allocated
to t h e Jews.
T h e solution which I offer is a confederation of independent
democratic states with a n e w capital in the centre of the Fertile
Crescent, on the banks of the Euphrates, bearing the n a m e of our
Patriarch A b r a h a m , t h e acknowledged father of the Middle East
for Jews and A r a b s alike.
President Clinton would do well to channel the Middle East talks
to this direction and m a k e it his crowning gloryO
Page 1
It was in the t u r n of the century w h e n
Iraq was still part of t h e O t t o m a n E m p i r e
and life was rather difficult in Baghdad,
that some young Jewish boys in their late
teens started leaving the country. This
move started to pick up m o m e n t u m mainly
during World W a r I w h e n the Turks h a d
started to arrest young m e n a n d w e r e
sending t h e m to the frontiers to fight, e v e n
though most had not e v e n h a d basic military training. For these boys the closest
safe h a v e n was to flee to Iran.
T h e y first passed t h e border town of
K h a n a g h i n and through Khosrovi came to
the town of K e r m a n s h a h always mispronounced "Karmashan", which h a d some
business potential t h e r e because of its
proximity to t h e border and because of it
being a frontier town with a Customs
House. Importers who ordered goods from
Iraq cleared t h e i r goods from this Customs
House. T h e commodities being imported
were such things as sugar, tea, silk, whitecloth sheeting a n d whatever could not be
easily found in Iran. T h e n e w arrivals
became Importers, Clearing Agents and
Brokers. Once these goods w e r e cleared
they would be despatched to H a m a d a n .
This was the next town w h e r e a n o t h e r
group of young Baghdadian boys h a d set
themselves up a n d h a d become organized
to sell a n d distribute goods to other provinces of Iran including Teheran.
This system was successfully carried out
for several decades until I r a n equipped
itself with the railways, a m a j o r achievem e n t of R e z a Shah. This moved t h e centre
of the business and trading from t h e above
place to T e h e r a n itself. H e r e , I should note
t h e r e was a further community of Iraqis
who had moved mostly from B a s r a in Iraq
to the southern towns of Iran (i.e. Ahwaz,
Abadan and " M o h a m a r a " better k n o w n as
Khoramshahr) between the years 191~,1918.
They became quite prosperous and successful in many different types of businesses.
In those days the K h u z ~ t a n province of
Iran was under the rule of Sheik Kazaal who
had a "government within a government".
The business and trading possibilities w e r e
better there and for this reason the Iraqi
Community g r e w in numbers in this territory. Some of you might recall t h a t Sheik
Khazaal was poisoned on a ship in a party
given in his honour by the g o v e r n m e n t and
died as a result of this incident. T h e facts
were never established•
Eventually, around the Second World
War, the Iraqis from Kermanshah, H a m a dan and Khuzestan moved to Teberan and
joined the Iraqi community there who were
already well established with big business
and representing various important European agencies.
T h e 1950's, '60's a n d '70's brought further newcomers from Iraq for reasons k n o w n
to us all. Some of t h e m came and settled in
Iran, whilst others continued to the U K ,
Israel, U S A and Canada.
Generally speaking, after the Second
World War, the Iraqi C o m m u n i t y in Iran
lived a very comfortable life. T h e oil boom
had brought prosperity to Irari. Those
living t h e r e w e r e involved in all sorts of
businesses and benefiting from t h e counPage 2
by Victoria Rabble
try's prosperity• The Iraqi Iranians w e r e
accepted and respected by the local Iranians and the government as a "peaceful
minority", who stuck to t h e i r roots, langu a g e and traditions. I shall come back to
this point later.
In N o v e m b e r 1949, over a dispute bet w e e n Iraq a n d Iran, t h e Iraqis despatched
several trucks loaded with Iranian Shiites
living in Iraq a n d placed t h e m on t h e I r a n /
Iraq border• T h e Iranian authorities
wanted to retaliate and revenge so they in
turn gave deportation notice to the Iraqis
in Iran. A l t h o u g h the deportation notice
was m e a n t to target Suni Iraqis, it in fact
included all the Iraqi Jews living in I r a n
who had to pack a n d leave the country
within 2 weeks. This affair was a terrifying
nightmare, bearing in m i n d the Iraqi political situation of t h e 1950's. T h e heads of t h e
community at that t i m e initiated m a n y high
level contacts and as a result, the governm e n t of Iran accepted to grant t h e elders
an Iranian Laisser Passer. T h e younger
ones i.e. those arcady based in Iran
(although they h a d at t h e age of 18
denounced t h e i r Iranian birth rights and
claimed t h e i r parents' nationality "Iraqi")
worked it out in different means a n d
eventually we all became Iranians!
For some reason t h e r e was no possibility
of using t h e i r original family n a m e s as it
was already t a k e n by Iranians. This" also
was solved by adding a suffix to the
surname to 'Persianize' it, such as adding
" Z a d e h " , "Pour", "Far", "Nejad", etc
which all m e a n t " B e n " or "the son of".
T h e irony of it all is t h a t in Iran w e w e r e
referred to as "the Arabs" and h e r e in
London, N e w Y o r k , and Los Angeles they
call us "the Iranians"!
R e t u r n i n g to t h e " A l i a " of the young
Iraqi boys who came to Iran during t h e
t u r n of the century a n d those who followed
later, as usual they strictly kept their Iraqi
traditions, food a n d way of life, including
Ila
going to the extent of bringing all their
luxury needs from "Orosdiback" (The
Harrods of Baghdad).
T h e boys who fled the Turkish a r m y did
not return to Baghdad until after 1918 and
if a marriage was to take place it was
almost always by proxy.
As children we used to h e a r funny and
w h a t now could be classified as ridiculous
stories, such as parents showing a beautiful
sister instead of her "not so pretty" one
a n d at the wedding ceremony the proxy
would switch the girls at the last minute
a n d wed the not so attractive one. (Can
you imagine this happening today?!). A t
this point the family of the groom would
not permit themselves to argue that the
bride had in fact been switched. It was
"Eibb'" to argue !!.
T h e next generation born in Iran from
t h e above parents w e r e properly educated.
T h e y w e r e mostly sent to Baghdad or w e n t
to the local Alliance schools or w e r e
tutored at home. T h e i r parents never
accepted t h a t they w e r e in fact Iranians,
believing all the time t h a t their stay in Iran
was temporary. The spoken language at
h o m e was of course Arabic, the studies
French and later English. T h e Persian
language was only to communicate and
talk to the servants. T h e funny part is,
w h e n the children used to go to Baghdad to
follow their studies, they used to be called
" A j a m " there. This word speaks for itself.
T h e r e is another interesting episode
which I would like to mention here. W h e n
t h e Iraqi Jews fled Rashid-Ali in 1941,
some families came to Iran through Kermanshah. This was a very bad time just
before the Allies had entered fran and there
were turnouts that there would be a pogrom
soon, to massacre the Jews. Ironically, the
Iraqi Consulate located in K e r m a n s h a h
offered shelter to the Iraqi Jews there and
let t h e m stay within the Consulate Compound for some 2 weeks until the danger
was over. We were joined by those who
i
,
•
•
,~
[
This picture was taken in 1925 at the AIHance School of Hanmdan on the wedding of Flora Chitayat of
Hamadan and Ezra Zelkha of Baghdad, who relates to the family Menashy Abraham Haim which
moved to Hamadan 100 years ago.
Front row (L to R): Sulman Gahttan, Salim Shohet, l-lar~m l-Ioresh, Heskel Abraham Hahn, Yonsef
Ozer, Edward Mattalon, Khedhouri Menashy, Anwar A Menashy, Abraham Menashy, Menashe
Muallem, Y a m u b Danud, Molla Menahem, Khedlmtwi Horesh, Sulnmn Melt, Yeshak Denture, Eliahou
Melt, Daoud Churpaya.
Middle row: GurJi Masri, Daoud Masri, Ezra Aboodi, Georgette Ezra Aboodi, Bride Flora Chitayat,
Bridegroom Ezra Zelkha, Saltm Ezra, Ezra Abraham Haim, ...... , Y ~ h a k Shalom.
Back row: Albert I Shalom, Albert Salman Meir, Bertha K Hofesh, Edward Ezra, Reouben Muallem's
son, Louise Mattaton, ...... , Victoria I Shalom . . . . . , Violette Heskel, Edward A Menashy, Heshmat
Ezra, Victor Heskel, Natm Chitayat, ..... , Daoud EzraO
had fled Rashid-Ali who also stayed in the
Iraqi Consulate. Fortunately, no pogrom
took place.
The last 30-40 years of the Iraqis in Iran
were without a doubt the very best years of
this community. The issue of the studies
for the young had become much easier.
There were more possibilities to provide
our children as good a private education as
could be had anywhere in the world. There
was the Iraqi Jewish school, the American
Community school, the Lycre Franc~ais,
also other French, German, British and
Iranian schools all providing top education.
For two generations most of the Iraqi
students were educated either in the American Community school or the Iraqi school
of Teheran. For higher education and
University studies they were generally sent
abroad. The majority went to the USA.
The Iranian government of the time
accepted these students as normal Iranian
students and gave them the same benefits
as those of returning Moslem Iranian
students. The only obligation of the returning graduate student was that he should
have a recognized University degree and
had to do his military service by serving
only six months, and this, as an Officer in
the Iranian army. Some of our boys of
course obliged. Unfortunately a few of the
boys who happened to be serving at the
end of I978 were stuck as a result of the
revolution but fortunately were dismissed
and exempt by the Ayatollah who at that
time believed Iran did not even need an
army! It was luckily before the Iran-Iraq
wart
Before the recent Iranian Revolution the
Iraqi community in Iran numbered some
6,000 people. I repeat, these were indeed
the best years of our lives! The biggest
pleasure however that gave us all a sense of
satisfaction and security was the excellent
relationship which existed between Iraq
and Israel, at very high levels and could
simply not have been better. Iran was of
course a very lucrative market for Israel
and the understanding between the two
countries was at all levels and on many
sensitive regional matters. Yom Ha-atzmaout used to be celebrated annually at
the Embassy of Israel in the heart of the
Capital and every year several main Central Teheran streets would be closed to the
public to facilitate the coming and going of
the guests which included ministers, MP's,
Ambassadors, High ranking Military Officers, VIP's and last but not least the
representative of the SHAH. It was simply
too good to be true! Maybe I should be
saying it was too good to last.
I would like to mention that the Israel
Embassy in Iran was of course closed down
in 1978. The name of the building changed
to Embassy of Palestine (PLO) and Ave
"Kakh" meaning Palace where the Embassy was located is now called "Palestine
Avenue".
With the coming of the Iranian revolution the "Haflla'" certainly came to an
abrupt and unhappy ending.
Some families liquidated and moved out
in time but many did not succeed, each for
his own reason and circumstance. Many
had to eventually leave behind their assets,
most of which had been confiscated by the
revolutionary government of the Ayatol-
lah. Unfortunately and sadly there were
some casualties. They will of course always
be remembered by their families and
friends. They shall always be missed
amongst this community.
The Iranian/Iraqi community was very
dose and inter-locked. It was friendly,
more like a large family than simply friends
in a community. Although the usual material structure existed socially, generally
they were one large family and shared in
each other's happiness and sorrow. There
were several social clubs, where various
circles of friends met and socialized. To
mention a few, The French club, the
Imperial country club, the American club
and were always welcomed both by the
foreign residents in Iran and the local
Iranians themselves.
The photo enclosed shows the community of Hamadan in 1925. Regretfully, we do
not have other such photographs at hand.
We would appreciate receiving any photos
which show the different communities, if
available.
Victoria Rabble (Rabipour) ( m a i d e n
name Dellal) born in Kermanshah, married in Teheran and presently living in
London along with her familyO
Notes from Abraham Ben-Jacob's Hebrew book: Babylonian J~ws in the Diaspora
The anti-Jewish policy of Bnghdad's Turkish governor Daud Pasha (1817-1831)obligedmany Jews to
leave Iraq for other countries, induding Persia.
The Jews of Persia used to direct their religious enquiries to the Baghdad Rahbinate.
After 1850 many Persian Jews came to Iraq to escape persecntb~ in their country.
With the opening of Persia to European trade many Iraqi Jews went there to trade.
At the end of WWII there were 300 Iraqi Jews in I-lamadan - prominent among them: Gurji and
Saleh MasH, Selman Shiri, Dahnd Shlomo Dahud, Salim Iny, Salim Shobet, Khedhouri Yosef
Shahmoon, Yosef Abraham Hayim. Yishaq Dennoos, Menashe Muallem, Dahnd Mcohi, Almron
Jeddaa. They all helped the needy and supported the Jewish school there.
Around 1930 when Teheran became an important trading centre, Iraqi Jews there began to grow
from 600 to around 3000 in 1948. Among the wealthy families were Lawl, Mashal, Slmul Nathan, GurJi
Obadiah, Heskel Koekoo, Abraham Nawi, Gur]i Shasld, Rahamim Namurdi, Belbul, III~'I~.
Iraqi Jews in Persia eaustttuled a community by themselves. They married amon8 themselves and
ke~ to their Baghdadian tradition in all religious and legal matters. Melt Abdulin built a schod.
In 1949 leaq~s Regent Abdul nab, accempanted by Fadl~ Jamali, visited Teheran, and secretly
arranged with the Iranian authorities to expel the Iraqi Jews who in November of that year were given
15 days to leave Ira~ and return to leaq. The Iseat41 Government requested Washington to intervene
and the order was rescinded.
Selim Dangoor, who lived in Teheran at the time, writes from Stockholm that on the Regent's visit to
Teker the Iraqi Jewish community there presented him with two valuable carpets. Thus when the
exlmlsion order came they wrote to the Regent appealing to him to intercede on their behalf.
Shlomo Hillel writes frmn Jerusalem: 'qa June 1949, 33 Jewish refugees who ~et'e fles~g Iraq were
caught at the Persian frontier. The Regent who was on a visit to Teheran at the time asked the Iranian
authorities to return the refugees to Iraq where they would have been severt4y lmalshed and tortured.
In fact, the Iranian minister of foreign affairs issued an expulsion order, but we managed in the end to
keep the refugees in lran"O
".
,!,
"
'
~ t
,
~,
Empress Farah Diba admires thc flower arrangement of I,oui~ ('hitayatO
Teheran, May 194/
- Engageu~nt
picture of Renq~e
and Naim I)angoor
taken at his brother
Salim's villa outside
the capitalO
Page 3
B()()KS
The Farhud retold
The Golden Carpet
which includes The Silver Crescent
b y Somerset d e C h a i r
Reviewed by Naim Dangoor
W e recently came across this book which
was published in I944 by F a b e r and Faber,
London. In it the author, an A r m y Intelligence Officer and an MP, relates British
A r m y operations in Iraq during the second
world war.
• The interesting part of the book is his
reference to the farhud of 1/2 J u n e 1941 in
which hundreds of Jews w e r e massacred
and thousands of homes and businesses
w e r e looted, and which m a r k e d the beginning of the end of the 2500-year-old Jewish
presence in the L a n d of t h e Rivers.
D u r i n g the M o n t h of Rashid Ali's revolt
of M a y 1941 and the ensuing fighting
between the Iraqi and British armies which
the author calls the Thirty D a y W a r , t h e
British ambassador, Sir Kinahan Cornwallis,
and his staff w e r e trapped inside the
Baghdad Embassy.
On 29 May, Rashid A l l and his governm e n t fled the country, and his forces
surrendered unconditionally to the British
who, however, stayed outside the capital
for a few days. Somerset • de Chair, the
author of the book, was staying at the
embassy during the anti-Jewish riots in
Baghdad.
O v e r a g a m e of bridge Sir K i n a h a n told
him t h a t 2,000 people, mostly Jews, w e r e
believed to h a v e b e e n killed in t h e o n e
night looting. A l t h o u g h t h e actual figure
turned out to be much less, t h e estimate of
"2,000 people, mostly Jews, killed" has an
important significance. T h e riots did not
surprise the embassy and w e r e probably
abetted by its secret agents.
T h e figure reported to t h e ambassador
of 2,000 killed appears to h a v e been a n
acceptable p u n i s h m e n t to inflict on our
innocent community by withholding, for
whatever reason, law a n d order from the
Capital.
D e Chair's interpreter, who had assumed
the n a m e of "Reading" and was thought to
be a Palestinian A r a b , but was in fact an
Iraqi Jew, asked h i m earlier, " W h y do our
troops not go into Baghdad? T h e r e will be
many people killed if our troops do not
enter".
D e Chair writes, "This was my own view
and the ways of the Foreign office w e r e
beyond my comprehension. From the h o u r
of the Cease Fire their word h a d prevailed.
Having fought our way, step by step, to t h e
threshold of Baghdad, w e m u s t now cool
our heels outside. It would, apparently, be
lowering to t h e dignity of our ally, the
Regent, if he w e r e seen to be supported on
arrival by British bayonets". (p.118).
This is not the w h o l e story. T h e r e was no
need for British troops to enter Baghdad.
The local administration and police were
quite capable and willing to enforce law and
order but they were not allowed to act, even
to fire shots in the air to disperse the rioters.
Page 4
On the morning after t h e farhud, the
Governor of Baghdad, K h a l e d Pasha AIZahawi, whose m o t h e r was Jewish, came
to our house in Alwiya and complained
bitterly to m y father t h a t t h e C o m m i t t e e of
Public Safety, consisting of the capital's
Governor, M a y o r a n d H e a d of Police,
which was formed after the flight of Rashid
A l l , had b e e n in touch with the Embassy,
the R e g e n t and N u r i Said for permission to
disperse the rioters and maintain law and
order, but they w e r e refused permission. •
T h e riots w e r e staged on purpose, and
the rioters w e r e given free r e i n so t h a t the
anti-British extremists would let off steam
and forget t h e defeat of their uprising.
This was a pattern that was to be
repeated following the capture by British
forces of m a n y towns of the Middle East in
the first years of W W l I .
Hitler's holocaust was yet to come.
Captain Shaul Shemtob-Reading, MBE,
who was on the military intelligence at the
Headquarters of the British A r m y advancing from Jordan towards Iraq to crush the
regime of Rashid All, has now b e e n able to
b r e a k his silence a n d write:
E a r l y in M a y I was entrusted by the
A r m y C o m m a n d to deliver an urgent
message to the Royal Family in Baghdad;
hostilities had since commenced a n d continued u p to the end of t h e month, A t the
Iraq/Transjordan frontier I borrowed one
of N a i r n Overland cars with its driver and
proceeded at midnight to Baghdad.
I entered Baghdad area by passing
through K a d h i m a i n and arrived at the
Royal Palace Qasr A1 Rehab.
The Lord C h a m b e r l a i n ushered m e into
the presence of the Q u e e n M o t h e r and the
young K i n g Faisal. T h e Regent, A b d u l
Ilah, was not present. H e had escaped
from t h e Palace disguised as a w o m a n and
gone into hiding.
The Q u e e n M o t h e r ~was in a distressed
state over the safety of h e r son and I gave
her the message t h a t the British A r m y , as
well as a group of the H a s h e m i t e a r m y of
E m i r Abdallah u n d e r Glubb Pasha, w e r e
advancing to restore order.
D u r i n g the army's advance, we w e r e
continously bombed a n d strafed by Mussolini's fighter bombers and G e r m a n planes
specially painted with Iraqi insignia, also
with sporadic shelling, i was in the advance
party and at one point we m e t a n Iraqi
officer with a white flag of surrender acting
on the orders of his c o m m a n d i n g officer,
who came out of hiding shouting "sahib
dakhilak'" (I a m at your mercy) because h e
was afraid h e and his contingent would be
killed on sight.
This senior c o m m a n d e r was later used to
good purpose by giving false information
deliberately spread by our u n i t to the effect
that there are m a n y tanks in our column
advancing on Baghdad.
O n arriving n e a r H a b b a n i y a , at which
point the w h o l e Iraqi army h a d retreated
and disappeared and Rashid All and his
ministers escaped to Iran, the Regent,
A b d u l Ilah, accompanied by Dawood
Pasha E1 H a i d a r i arrived at the British
Headquarters to see the G O C . T h e Chief
of t h e military intelligence, R e g i m e n t a l
Commanders and myself w e r e present
w h e n the R e g e n t thanked the British
G o v e r n m e n t for saving the situation A N D
requested t h a t the British A r m y e n t e r
Baghdad to stop the riots and the massacres taking place.
T h e G O C replied that he was well aware
of the serious situation, but acting on strict
orders from London, was unable to enter
BaghdadO
Jews and Arabs
Their Contact Through the Ages
b y Professor S D Goitein
Published by Schocken Books, N e w York,
263pp, $14
Professor Goitein fully explores the social and intellectual contact between Jews
and A r a b s since their beginnings 3000
years ago.
This well-written book first published in
1955, touches on m a n y subjects of historical and contemporary importance: the
m y t h of the so-called Semitic races; the
Jewish tradition in Islam; the legal position
of Jews u n d e r Arabic Islam; the rise of
Jewish philosophy u n d e r Islamic influence;
Jewish and Islamic mysticism and poetry,
law and ritualO
The Jews of Arab Lands
in Modern Times
b y N o r m a n A Stillman
Published in 1991 by
T h e Jewish Publication Society,
Philadelphia, 604pp
The author continues the saga he so
eloquently began in his first volume, The
Jews of Arab Lands, up to the dramatic
events of the twentieth century. It focuses
on the forces, events and personalities that
over the past 150 years have shaped the
Jewish communities of the A r a b world,
changing the relations between Jews and
Arabs m o r e radically than anything since
the rise of Islam nearly 1,400 years agoO
Genesis and the Big Bang
b y Gerald L Schroeder, P h . D
Published by Bantam Books, Fifth Avenue,
N e w York 10103, t86pp; including Index
Reviewed by Deborah Shaya
It is a most fantastic account of the
Creation of the Universe, proving that the
findings of modern science in fact comple
m e n t and reiterate the teachings of our
ancient and Holy Bible. The end result for
the reader, whether sceptic or believer, Jew
or Christian, has a totally fresh understanding of our Universe and one's personal
genesis as well.
The author has given many lectures on
this topic in London and around the worldQ
The Periodical Publication of Congregation Bene Naharayim Volume 1 referred to
The Scribe and said that it is published in
London by the Iraqi Jewish Community.
In fact, The Scribe is published by The
Exilarch's Foundation, which was established by Naim Dangoor in 1970 and endowed
by him. He is also the main writer and
Editor of the Journal, which is sent free and
post-free to all readersS
Minyan
- 10 J e w i s h L i v e s i n
20 Centuries of History
by Chalm Raphael
Review by Simon Dangoor (aged 10)
The book is about 10 Jewish m e n and
w o m e n who played important roles in the
lives of the Jewish people. C h a i m Raphael
explains each one very well giving the dates
they w e r e born and w h e n they died. O n the
side of ¢'eery page t h e r e are a few words in
connection with the text. T h e t e n people
are set out in this order: K i n g David,
P,abbi Hillel Maimonides, D o n a Cracia
Nasi, Menasseh ben Israel, Glueckel of
H o m e h , the Vilna G a o n , Sir Moses Montefiore, E m m a Lazarus and finally C h a i m
Weizmann. C h a i m R a p h a e l writes about
their famous deeds a n d about books or
literature they wrote. T h e first group,
Sephardim, concentrated on books a n d
explanations, a n d the second group, m a i n ly Ashkenazim, helped to bring Israel
together.
The book is very interesting and I
recommend it for reading. T h e pictures
have an interesting design. E v e n though it
is more t h a n 20 centuries ago. It is a good
bookO
1001 Baghdad Proverbs
by Moshe H a k h a m
This is a collection of Iraqi-Jewish
popular sayings p r i n t e d in A r a b i c with a
transliteration in H e b r e w characters (for
those who can't read Arabic, but still speak
it) together with a H e b r e w translation and
full explanation of each proverb. It consists
of over 300 pages and was recently published in Tel Aviv.
The book is obtainable from the author
Moshe H a k h a m , 34 H e r z l Street, H a d e r a
38421, Israel, who is considering preparing
an English version (a version and not a
translation of the book)O
No Moslem World
Durir~g the 10-year Lebanese civil w a r
the Christian countries of E u r o p e did not
lift a finger to help the Maronite Christians. T h e Pope did not utter a word in
support of that Catholic community. O n e
diplomat explained at the t i m e that in
politics t h e r e is no such thing as a Christian
world.
Similarly, in the present situation in
Bosnia when the Moslems h a v e been
subjected to all forms of aggression, the
Moslem countries looked the o t h e r way
and did not offer any help to their co-religionists, which has been strongly criticised
by the U N Secretary-General. O n e may
conclude that again, t h e r e is no such thing
as a Moslem world.
However, the Moslem fundamentalists
want to change all that by aggression and
terror against their neighbours, and by
working to subdue the third world, a n d
eventually the rest of the world.
Fortunately, this is not the case a m o n g
world Jewry - especially after the Holocaust. A t the first sign of trouble, Jewish
organisations extend a helping h a n d to
Jews in difficulty and, if necessary, lift
them out of their predicament to safety.
This, perhaps, is because we have become
so few, and extinction is now our m a i n
threatQ
On our mailing list
Mrs Gladys Douek, Paris
David Zmiri, Kiron, Israel
Emile Abdulezer, Cheshire
Albert Benezra, Geneva
Mr & Mrs S Gouty, Los Angeles
Mrs Clair Isaacs, Harrow
Solomon Zeloof, Tennesse
David Zelkha, London
Gideon Melt, London
G Elyahou, London
Dr Norman Sehayik, New York
Dr Semi Sehayik, Florida
Dr Roni Sehayik, Florida
Meir Fattal, Los Angeles
Dr & Mrs Jacob Gabbay, Ft Lauderdale
Mrs Lily lny, Tel Aviv
Mrs Rochelle Carrady, Toronto
Mrs Leonie Mahlab, Israel
Rabbi Bassous, London
Mrs I Kent, London
Alex Sassoon, Pittsburg
Mrs Rachel Miller, London
Mrs Florrie Scott, London
Mrs Rachel Judah, London
Miss Haddad, London
Mrs Hazel Ferner, Edgware
Eli Avrahampour, London
Mrs Dorothy Somekh, New York
Mrs Susan Somekh Zeigler, New York
Mrs Mozy Cohen, London
Edward Somekh, Ramat Efal, Israel
R Albert, London
Mrs Addle Ganik, Czechoslovakia
Mrs Stetla Mattuck, Vancouver
Mrs Regina Arieh, Tel Aviv
Mrs Lily Dabora, Tel Aviv
Simon Sorer, New York
Moseh Tweg, New York
Zvi Onbay, Jerusalem
Mrs Florence Kaufmann, London
Mrs Naima Saleh, Palm Beach
Toby Fine, Denver
Gideon Setinger, Herzelia
Mrs S Stolermaa~ Surrey
Meyer Jonah, Los Angeles
Mrs Daisy Akerib, Manchester
Mrs Yvette Dabby, Beverly Hills
Mrs Ruby Samaels, Santa Mortice
Tamara Sofair-Fisch, New Jersey
Mrs L Kohen, London
Rachamim, Tel Aviv
Mrs Henrietta Reifler, Seattle
Ronald Rietti, Amsterdam
Mrs Violet Kattan, Montreal
S Holliday, Bamet
Benjamin Rietti, Brooktyn
M Shamash, Stanmore
Mrs Zelma David, Ramat Gan
Mrs Florence Meyer, London
Mrs Helen Einy, London
Mervyn Kersh, London
Moshe Nissim, Jerusalem
M Cohen, London
Mr & Mrs Y Salman, London
Mrs Flower Silliman, New Jersey
Mrs B Moshy, London
Saeed Hardoon, New York
Joseph Jangana, New York
•Mr & Mrs E Simon, Jerusalem
S Haddad, Searington, N.Y,
S Haddad, Rego Park, N.Y.
David Mena, Knesset, Jerusalem
Mrs Bertha Nissan, Rego Park, N.Y.
Mrs Carmela Goldberg, Dallas
Mrs R Toby, Perth, Australia
Mrs Rachel Don, California
Dr Rite & Allan Esser, Toronto
Dean Andromidas, Wiesbaden
Albert Shberoo, Israel
Edward Menashy, London
S Sehayek, Ramat Gan
F Moses, Ilford
Mrs S Shamash, Stanmore
Mrs Rosemary Bunting, Devon
Baghdad Proverbs
from S a l i m K a b b a z a
El shebann ma yedri bdard e!jouan.
O n e whose stomach is full does not feel
the pangs of t h e hungry.
(The idea is that a strong rich person
does not appreciate the troubles of the
w e a k and needy).
k__,
Lemhebb emsamih
~-If you love a person, you forgive his
mistakes.
( O n e m a y readily forgive a loved one,
but not somebody elsel).
Eldeek elfas.eeh rain elbaidha yeseeh.
A n eloquent rooster crows as soon as it
is hatched.
(This saying means t h a t a clever, wise
and/or good boy/girl will demonstrate
these qualities at a very early age).
It is better to have a reputation of being
rich than of being poer.
(Since a poor person can only expect to
be looked down upon without any other
advantage, he would be better off to let
people think h e is rich. A t least he will
enjoy m o r e respect!).
D h a l f ~ t e g h l ~ qawi.
Two w e a k persons can overcome a
strong one.
(The joint efforts of two persons may
overcome considerable difficulties and solve
difficult problems. Similarly, a great task
involving too much work for one person may
be achieved through such cooperation).
I
Qirsh elabyadh yenfim beyom elaswad,
A white piastre is useful on a black day.
(This is the equivalent of the saying that
one should save for a rainy day).
All asfour ma yemli jeder.
A thousand sparrows do not fill a pot.
(This is said w h e n one gets too little
compared with one's needs. It reminds me
of another saying):
Elshaq kbeegh wil ghe'eaa zghayghi.
T h e hole (tear) is big and the patch is too
smallO
T h a n k you heartily for your continued
dispatch of The Scribe to me. It keeps me
in touch with my rootsO
Mount Waverley,
Australia
Edward J Khamara
Mrs Violet Khedouri, Los Angeles
Miss Debra Ezekiel, Miami
Ezra Shina, National City, Calif.
Judge Leonard Gerber, LondonO
Page 5
F r o m H a h a m Dr Solomon G a o n
Yeshiva University, New Y o r k
The Scribe is a really important paper and
it is always a pleasure to receive it. It is the
only paper that gives us history of the Iraqi
community as well as its present sitoationO
From the Ambassador to Nepal:
I am shortly due to complete m y t e r m of
duty and am returning to Jerusalem. T h e
culmination of my term was the recent State
Visit of the Prime Minister of Nepal to
Israel. I hope you will continue to send m e
The Scribe to m y address in J e r n s a l e m O
Kathmandu, Nepal
Shiomo Dayan
From 1he Ambassador to the United States:
In reply to your letter on the peace talks
and the claims of Jews of A r a b countries, I
can assure you t h a t all issues pertaining to
the Arab-Israel conflict and to A r a b Jewish relations will be given its proper
place in our negotiating a g e n d a .
Washington, D.C.
ltamar Rabinovlch
Scribe: It appears t h a t Israel intends to use
Jewish claims only to offset Palestinian
claimsO
J e w i s h r e f u g e e claims
I have read with g r e a t interest t h e article
published in the latest issue of The Scribe
entitled: " T h e Claims of t h e Jewish Refugees from A r a b Countries".
A l l o w m e to note t h a t the question of
claims by Jewish descendants of A r a b
countries has not and will not b e discussed
in the course of negotiations with representatives of A r a b countries; n o condition to
this effect was ever imposed, since our
government cannot be bothered w i t h such
trifles. Matters would be different if t h e r e
were m o r e Knesset m e m b e r s representing
Jews from A r a b countries.
T h ~ Israeli g o v e r n m e n t could h a v e done
the necessary m i n i m u m at the t i m e of t h e
great aliya of 1951; it could h a v e provided
Iraqi Jews with a m i n i m a l housing fit for
humans o n account of t h e properties a n d
funds left behind by fleeing local A r a b s
and confiscated by our government.
H o w can we possibly forget those days,
w h e n we came to Israel penniless, looking
for shelter h e r e , yet we had to spend our
first night h e r e u n d e r the o p e n sky, without
even a tent...
G i v e n this state of affairs, w h y should
Rabin's g o v e r n m e n t bother about the
rights of Iraqi Jews, who are exposed h e r e
to ethnic discrimination: witness the recent
statements of R a b b i schach and Mrs Shulamit AloniO
Ramat Gan
Esther Mercado
I have b e e n receiving The Scribe for
several years a n d look forward to each
copy. In your J u n e issue I saw a letter from
my cousin, E z e Bashi, w h o m I lost contact
with for 25 years, a n d i m m e d i a t e l y wrote
to him. W h a t a wonderful service you are
doing in getting families i n touch w i t h one
another.
Please put m y daughter Mrs A Samuels
on your mailing listO
Noranda, Western Australia
E Moses
Page 6
In t h a n k i n g you for t h e J u n e issue of The
Scribe, as excellent as always, m a y I single
out particularly the letter from Jack H
Zeloof, N e w Jersey, in which he points out
correctly t h a t the broad use of the t e r m
"Sephardi" can be a misnomer insofar as it
obscures t h e Babylonian origin of m a n y
Jews given this n a m e . I h a d this very point
in m i n d w h e n I published m y history of socalled Sephardi Jews in 1985 u n d e r the title
The Road from Babylon: T h e Story of
Sephardi a n d Oriental Jews. I organised
t h e story to show t h a t "everything" started
in Babylon a n d that, in particular, t h e
glories of t h e "golden ages" of Spanish and
Portuguese Jews h a d originated as a n
offshoot of this great Jewish civitisation.
The book was well received u n d e r this
title, bat I was told that w h e n a reprint was
planned in 1991 to coincide with t h e
Sephardi Centenary, it would be clearer if I
gave it the title The Sephardi Story, which I
did. T h e body of the book is identical with
the 1985 version. It was published in
Britain by V a l l e n t i n e Mitchell (in hardcover and paperback) a n d in the U S A by
the B'nai B'rith Book Service, 1640 Rhode
Island A v e n u e , N . W . , Washington, D . C .
200361
London NW3
C h a i m Raphael, CBE
When did you last see your father?
by W F Yeames - W a l k e r A rt G a l l e r y
It is perhaps not a m e r e coincidence t h a t
the founders of the t h r e e monotheistic
A b r a h a m i c religions did not k n o w t h e i r
fathers - Moses, because h e was brought
up in Pharaoh's palace a n d m a y not h a v e
had much or any contact with his father
A m r a m ; Jesus, because his m o t h e r bore
h i m before her m a r r i a g e to Joseph was
consummated; a n d M o h a m m e d , because
his father died before h e was born.
This m a y h a v e given these outstanding
leaders a n independent outlook a n d a
broader perspectiveO
Eureka! (I found it)
For years I was wondering w h y t h e Jews
h a v e so m a n y enemie's and why so m a n y
people h a t e t h e m . Some attribute this
hatred to a n inherited "smart g e n e " while
others b l a m e the Jews themselves for their
high financial standard. I found the " r e a l
reason" w h e n I recently read a passage in
the Bible, which also explains the insistence of the L i k u d Party not to give up a n y
part of our land, t h e so-called occupied
territories:
"Those who h a t e m e without reason
are m o r e t h a n t h e hairs of my head;
they o u t n u m b e r m y hairs, those who
accuse m e falsely.
H o w can I give back w h a t I h a v e not
stolen?" (Psalms 6 9 : 4 ) 0
Great Neck, NY
Albert K h a b b a z a MD
Mistaken Identity
T h e w r i t e r of t h e p o e m Another If...
which a p p e a r e d i n our last issue was
erroneously described as having just returned from his h o n e y m o o n in Hawaii,
w h e n in fact it was written by a much
senior person.
Freddy Sopher ( t h e younger) received
letters and telephone calls from his relatives and friends congratulating h i m on his
efforts a n d was r e p r i m a n d e d by his new
bride for not disclosing his poetic side to
her. She did not quite believe h i m when he
denied h e w r o t e poetry.
N e w F r e d Sopher (the elder) has written
as follows:
~Thank you for publishing Use... and
Another If... I noticed however t h a t you
inserted below m y n a m e 'Just back from
his h o n e y m o o n in Hawaii'. M y wife and I
celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary a
couple of months ago and she is wondering
with w h o m I h a d gone to Hawaii for a
'honeymoon'I! In addition, friends and
relatives are asking why they w e r e not
invited to t h e 'wedding'!! Please set the
record right".
London N W 4
Fred Sopher
(Commander I.N. Retired)
Scribe: If... w e can t a k e such incidents i n
good h u m o u r , t h e n life would go
smoother. W e wonder why t h e Muses have
t a k e n so long in visiting our 'Kipling'O
L o y a Family in Baghdad
I find your journal a n interesting and
informative publication w h e r e Jews from
Iraqi origin get to share heritage and
memories. Good luck and keep up the
good work.
A m o n g the welt k n o w n business people
in Iraq w e r e M u r a d a n d Saleh M L o y a
(Al-wayya). T h e y w e r e the owners of
A m e r i c a n Watch Company. Their large
store was located on Al-rashid Street, n e a r
w h a t was known as " B a i t Lynch". T h e two
brothers established their business in the
early 1930's. T h e y w e r e the suppliers to the
Royal Palace a n d the government. As a
matter of fact, they supplied the first radio
to King Ghazi. They also supplied the very
famous clock to Baghdad Radio Station.
T h e striking of t h e clock was a n indication
of news t i m e and was later recorded and
used for several decades! T h e y were the
sole importers of the popular American
" W a l t h a m " watches and the G e r m a n
" M a u t h " clocks. T h e i r business was also
with J a p a n a n d Switzerland. They had a
branch at " H a b a n i y a h " , w h e r e the British
troop's w e r e based. T h e m a n a g e r of the
branch was M e i r Dallal, who currently
lives in R a m a t - G a n .
T h e business suffered a m a j o r setback
because their m a i n imports w e r e from
countries t h a t w e r e deeply involved in war.
As a result of t h a t and the deterioration of
the Jewish situation in l r a q in general,
after t h e existence of the State of Israel,
they closed their business.
T h e two brothers w e r e private and
always kept a low profile, but they were
very well respected d u e to the high quality
of service they h a d provided to their
customers. M u r a d died in Israel in 1978,
while Saleh died in Baghdad in 1 9 6 9 0
Toronto, Canada
R Loya, CGA
..........................
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
....
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .............
. . . . .
.
March 1909 -Aboutlie Clan, Baghdad.
, .
P h o t o g r a p h P a r i ~ i e n n e B a g h d a d C o u r t e s y Mr~ R e l l ~ e Elk~tb~r
Left to right:
Back row: Sasso~ Slitoa; Haron Somekh; Khedhourl Abraham Somekh; Abraham Somekh; Moshe Somekh; Yosef Bdbul; Ezra Bellm|; Yacub Bdlml; H~skd Elkabir.
Second row: .... ; ..... ; Regina Belbul; Farha Belbul; Satin3Aboudi (child); Sion Ab0odt; Heskd Murad; Yusef Murad; Shaul Murnd; Abraham Elkabir; Saleh Elkabir;
Elkabir family servant.
Sitting: Murod familynanny; Saiha Belbul; Lulu Shina; Serah Somekh; Farha Almudi; Chahla Murod; Farha Murad; Mudi Elkabtr; H u l a s Elkabir; Aziza Elkab~.
Front: .... ; .... ; NaimaAbraham Somekh; Yusef Elkabir; Salmon Elkabir~
In his recent interview with TIME
magazine, Iran's President Rafsanjani
said, "The world should a d o p t a position
that would allow Paiestinians to r e t u r n to
their h o m e l a n d a n d create a system in
which people can live freely together".
Since w h e n h a v e t h e Iranians become
the protectors and defenders of t h e Arabs?
My advice to Rafsanjani is t h a t he guide
and teagh the Shi'ite a n d Sunni Moslems to
live together in southern Iraq.
As for his generosity to create a Jewish
state w i t h i n U S borders, it is f a r b e t t e r for
all parties not to t h r e a t e n t h e existence of
Israel. which stands on less t h a n one-"
quarter of t h e original Palestine.
T h e declared objective of Rafsanlani's
followers is to a n n i h i l a t e Israel. If Rafsanjani seeks peaceful co-existence with the
West, h e should first show goodwill towards his neighbours a n d t h e region in
general, including IsraelO
London
George H_aye
(A version of the above letter appeared in
TIME magazine).
W e acknowledge with thanks receipt of
voluntary a n d generous contributions
from:
Mrs S Sapriel, H a r r o w
Mrs Nour Davis, Queensland, Australia
M r & M r s K Bekhor, Melbourne
Mr & M r s Fred Kooby, New York
(in m e m o r y of t h e i r parents R o s a & Sion
Kooby and Marcelle & . A b r a h a m Nawy)
M r & Mrs E z r a M e i r , Cary, N.C., USA
M r Rudolph Masry, New York
M r Meyer Jonah, Los Angeles
M r M Ephraim, Watford
Mr Charles Sassoon, White Plains, N . Y . ~
r
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A reader in V i e n n a praises The Scribe and
those involved in producing i t O
I h a v e recently come across a copy of
The Scribe at my aunt's house a n d was
fascinated by the stories you publish. As
my parents are no longer alive a n d my
circle of Iraqi relations has grown smaller
in recent years, I find it heartwarming a n d
touching to r e a d about times and places
long g o n e O
Montreal
Charles Chttay.at
In 1945 P r i m e Minister Churchill,
according to his official biographer D r
Martin Gilbert, tried to promote the idea
of a Middle Fast "Federation of Independent States" in which a n independent
Jewish State would form a n integral part.
H a v i n g sponsored two symposiums on
M . E . confederation at Oxford University
in recent years, I tried to i n t e r e s t D r
Gilbert in organising another symposium to
revive Churchill's idea, His reply: "It may
well be that Churchill's idea of a federation
of independent states will be a way forward
for t h e current Middle East peace conference. Certainly a symposium would be
worthwhile. Whilst I hope you will forgive
m e if I decline your exceptionally kind
offer to put together a symposium myself, I
would gladly participate in such a venue. I
am busy trying to complete a six-volume
set of Churchill's w a r papers, which is
proving a n up-hill (though fascinating)
task. B u t it leaves no t i m e for conferences.
(It does h a v e a constant Middle East
dimension!)'O
N.E.D.
W h i l e on a n excursion with other pensioners of Barclays B a n k , I was reading
your journal in the bus w h e n one of my
colleagues glanced over my shoulder a n d
impatiently asked m e to lend it to him to
read for a few minutes. This I did with
great pleasure, knowing the satisfaction
t h a t I and m a n y of your readers have had
as subscribers. Please kindly add m y colleague to y o u r mailing listO
K i r y a t Ono, Israel
Heskel Soffair
Page 7
Judaism and free will
Judaism shot itself in the foot by saying
that God gave us free will, to choose
between good and evil, which makes us
responsible and punishable for our actions
and, at the same time, saying that God
knows our thoughts.
These are contradictory statements. If
God knows what we are going to do, then
we have no choice; our actions are predetermined and we cannot be held responsible
for them.
The rabbis try to explain, by saying: All
is in the power of Heaven, except the fear
of Heaven. But that doesn't seem to solve
the problem.
By contrast, Islam has no such difficulty.
It simply says Allah is aware of all that we
do, and leaves our thoughts and decisions
to ourselves. GOd gave us free will and is
not interested in our thoughts.
The gift and responsibility of free will is
emphasised in the powerful and timeless
exhortation of Deut 30:19: I have set
before thee life and death, the blessing and
the curse, therefore choose life.
The choice is oursQ
Regarding calendar reform; when I was
Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
in Baghdad, we received from the League
of Nations a proposal to reform the calendar by having 13 months of 4 weeks plus an
extra day or two at the end of the year.
The government rejected this plan and
our Ministry wrote to say that this was
contrary to the Islamic religionO
London
Meer S B a s h
Received:
Shirim - a collection of 45 exquisite
Hebrew poems by D r Lilian Dabby-Joury;
Ramat GanO
Thank you for your contribution to
Goshen, our bulletin of Egyptian Jewry.
Our foremost aim is to reach the standard o f The Scribe, which is interesting,
well ~a'itten and presented, and which we
enjoy reading and keep all issues in our
records. K o l Ha K a v o d O
Israel Federation of
Avner Assael
Egyptian Jews
Haifa
President
Akram and Salda Chitayat, President
and First Lady of Congregation Bene
Naharayim, New York, were honoured at
the annual fund-raising dinner of Midrash
Ben Ish Hal.
The photograph shows Hakham Ya'aqob
Menasseh presenting them with an award
for their community workO
Page 8
l, lln
v an
- a congregational quorum
by Aaron Aaron, Founder President of New South Wales Association of Sephardim, Sydney
and its Sephardi synagogues. Author of The Sephardim o f Australia and N e w Zealand
In our community, the first question one
asks - when he comes to the Synagogue to
pray, either in the morning or evening, is
"have we a minyan?".
Usually, the congregation is waiting for
the tenth man to complete the quorum for
divine services.
As the worshippers anxiously await for
the tenth man - they keep asking why not
nine men to complete a congregational
quorum - minyan?
To answer this question I went through a
number of books and I give below what our
sages and rabbis had to say on this matter.
In order to understand the significance
of the tenth man, one has to know what
constitutes a congregation - the answer is a
minimum of ten adult Jews. (An adult Jew
is any male who has passed his thirteenth
birthday) to be present to hold a religious
service or to proclaim the holiness of God
and his Kinship. In the absence of a
minyan, no public worship may take place.
Sources of Ruling
The origin of this ruling is traced to
various biblical sources.
For instance, our forefather - Abraham's
plea to God to save Sodom if at least ten
righteous men were found there (Gen.
18:32).
In Ruth one notices Boaz seeking out
ten elders of Bethlehem (Ruth 4:2) and
Psalms (68:27).
It is interesting to note that in the
question of spies, the word Edah (congregation) is also applied to the ten spies who
in the days of Moses rendered a negative
report on the land of Canaan. Hence it was
established that the "congregation of G-d"
consists of at least ten men - The talmud
explains that if ten men pray together the
Divine Presence is with them (Ber 6a).
In Psalms (82:1), number ten was derived
from the verse which reads: G-d standeth
in the congregation o£ G-d.
The Jewish philosopher Philo Judaeus of
Alexandria (25 BCE to 45 CE) said that
ten was decided upon because it is the most
perfect number. (The basis of the decimal
system. N.E.D.)
The Zohar speaks of the TEN SEFIROT.
It is interesting to note that in the Geonic
Period, the definition of the minyan was not
as rigid - In M A S S E K H E T SOFERIM
(10:8) - a late Geonic work reads " A
minyan is required for the recitation of
certain prayers - but", it is added "our
sages in Palestine recite these prayers in
the presence of seven . . . and some say
even in the presence of six". The practice
of the Palestinians did not prevail, however, the rule of Babylon Jewry was adopted
everywhere - a full quorum of ten men has
been required for public prayers.
Throughout the centuries, congregations
in small towns or villages often found
themselves shy of one person to complete a
minyan. Many innovations were introduced in an attempt to solve this problem.
For instance - some of our sages discussed
whether one may include in the congregational minyan - a "boy" under thirteen
years of age, when only one person is
lacking for a quorum.
In Tosafot - it is said there is a custom
that considers a minor holding a Humash
(Bible) as comparable to the tenth adult
male Jew. To this custom Rabbenu Tam
(France 1100-1171), grandson of Rashi,
scoffs at such a procedure and calls it a
"foolish custom" (Minhag Shetul).
Agree to I)isagr~.
To add to his opinion, R Tam goes on to
say - that he would count as the tenth man
a boy without resorting to such devices.
Consequently Rashi in o n e of his responsa
(Teshuvot Rashi No. 277), condemns those
communities who consider a minyan and
read from the Torah - when there are
actually only nine men and a boy present.
(The boy is given a Sepher Torah to hold).
Rema (Isserles- Moshe Ben Israel 15301572) - the Great Polish Rabbi of the
Ashkenazi Community, the author of the
Mappan (an addition to the Shulhan
Arukh of Caro) whose ruling and custom
were accepted as binding on the Ashkenazi
Jewry goes on to say:
"That some congregations have the custom - when a minyan is lacking - of
utilising nine adult male Jews plus a minor
holding a Humash (Bible) (Orech Cbayyim
55:4). In Mishna Berurah (55:24) many
sages disagree with this custom.
It is very interesting to note that the
Sephardim accept the more stringent ruling, due to the fact that the Cabbalistic
tradition was a central feature of all the
great latter-day Sephardic authorities - the
Halachot of Ben Ish Hal (Hacham Yosef
Hayyim) - speaks of the Laws of Kaddish in the following vein:
I f there were ten men present when the
Z'miroth and Shirath Ha-yam o f Shaharith
o f A s h r e o f Minhah were being recited, but
s o m e left before kaddish - one may not
recite kaddish i f ten men are not present even though it is an obligatory part o f the
prayer (Shulhan Aruch o f Raz. 2L Chapter
5 8 N o . 4).
Amidah repitition
The ruling of the law of Amidah during
the repitition of the Amidah is as follows:
If there are tess than nine people answering " A m e n " to the berachoth of the
Shaliah Sibbur, his berachoth are considered as ff they are Levattalah (void).
The "Olath Tamid" cites Rebbenu
Yonah that, if there are not ten people
paying attention to what the Shaliah Sibbur
is saying, his berachoth are also Levattalah.
In the repetition of the Amidah - if it is
noticed that there is no more than a bare
minyan and one realises that some of those
present would not pay attention to the
prayers so to answer Amen ot the Berachoth
- in such circumstances the Shaliah Sibbur
should pray the first three Berachoth aloud
while the rest of the congregation pray with
him quietly, word by word. (Halachot Ben lsh H a i ) O
I am interested to receive your journal
concerning the heritage, culture and history of the Baghdadian Jewry.
I was born in Baghdad in 1920, educated
and qualified as M.D. I have held a post as
chief of an Eye Department in various
hospitals in Israel teaching ophthalmology
to young doctors. I am now retired and
work on a consultative basisO
Haifa
Dr l-Iayim Ben-M~he
With the establishing of printing presses
by Baghdad Jews in 1855, prayer books
began to be produced locally. In addition,
short biblical stories in Judeo-Arabic with
H e b r e w characters w e r e published, such as
Joseph and his brothers, H a n n a and h e r
seven sons, etc.
Below is reproduced "The Story of the
Fishes" kindly supplied by Rabbi A b r a h a m
Gubbay, in which the various kinds of fish
in the rivers of Ira(I, such as t h e Bunni,
Bizz, Shabbout a n d Gtan proclaim t h e i r
merits a n d qualities a n d vie with each
other.
Rose Petal
Mrs R e n 6 e E l k a b i r relates t h a t in 1923 h e r m o t h e r took her to enrol h e r in Mrs Stout's
n e w l y opened A m e r i c a n school. T h e Headmistress came back with a glass of water full to
the b r i m a n d placed it on the table to signify t h a t the school was full and t h e r e was no place
for young R e n r e .
T h e r e u p o n t h e m o t h e r took a p e t a l from a rose she was carrying a n d put it on top of the
w a t e r without spilling it. T h e Headmistress was so pleased with this gesture t h a t she
decided to accept Ren~.e in t h e school, and from t h e n on she became known as the rose
petal.
R e n r e got m a r r i e d t h r e e years later. H e r s was t h e first wedding in Baghdad with
bridesmaids (see picture)O
Right to left: Abraham and Ren~ Elkabir; her sister Marguerite; Flora Somekh; Blanche Murad.
In front: MareeBe Sion Shelomo; Khatoun H EzraO
Genealogy
!
.=
I have known you a n d y o u r family for a
very long t i m e , including y o u r late grandfather Rabbi E z r a D a n g o o r of blessed
memory who gave m y shehita semikha
w h e n I was about 14 years old.
You h a v e surpassed all except perhaps
your late grandfather. Koll hakabod y o u r
n a m e is known all over t h e world. K e e p it
.oO
White Plains, NY
Charles Sas~oon
I h a v e b e e n delighted by the wonderful
response from y o u r readers who h a v e
written to m e a b o u t t h e i r f a m i l y histories
following m y recent publication of t h e 1917
Manchester petition. I h a v e received letters f r o m all over t h e world, including
Canada, the U S A , France, Israel, Australia,
as well as t h e U K . It has shown t h a t t h e r e
i s a great interest in genealogy a n d a wealth
of knowledge existing amongst the older
generation. I w o u l d encourage y o u r readers to t h i n k of m a k i n g a p e r m a n e n t record
of their family histories and pedigrees
before the i n f o r m a t i o n is lost. It seems to
m e t h a t The Scribe could form a n excellent
focal point for t h e collection a n d publication of such m a t e f i a l O
London W l
L y d i a Collins
Greetings. E a c h t i m e I am in M o n t r e a l
visiting m y parents I always ask m y father
for t h e latest issue of The Scribe. So last
t i m e h e simply said " W h y don't you get
y o u r own copy?" Please send m e m y very
own copy.
T h e last book I published is called The
Stones That Speak, in photographs a n d
words, which evokes 200 years of Jewish
life i n French C a n a d a O
Paris
E d w a r d Hillel
Please accept my appreciation for the
wonderful job you are doing. I enjoy The
Scribe very much and read it from the first
to t h e very last w o r d O
Los Angeles
Meyer Jonah
M a n y thanks for your nice service a n d
the wonderful information about our past.
It's just like a n encyclopaedia,
I started having The Scribe from No. 52.
Can I please h a v e issues No's 1-517
Manila, Philippines
David Shamoon
A dear friend just gave m e a copy of The
Scribe. W h a t a thoroughly enjoyable issue.
It gave m e great memories of our days in
Baghdad. Please put my n a m e on your
m a i l i n g listO
New York
Rudolph A Masry
Overheard:
Viscount Tonypandy, former Speaker of
the House of Commons, saying at the
House of Lords: Everything in this House
is red, except t h e members. Everything in
the House of Commons is green - including the m e m b e r s ! O
Overheard in the synagogue:
T h e Sephardim pray and the Iraqis payO
Poetry for the countryside;
prose for the t o w n O
Page 9
Where is the Middle East?
by Naim Dangoor
W h e n m y wife and I w e r e i n Paris on a
continuation of our h o n e y m o o n i n A p r i l
1948, I put a n advertisement in the classified
column of the A m e r i c a n Herald Tribune
for a French cook to t a k e back to the
Middle East. O n e reply said, " D e a r Sir, I
know w h e r e the Middle West is, but can
you please tell m e which part of A m e r i c a is
the Middle East?"
The t e r m "Middle East" was first coined
around 1900 an_d c a m e increasingly into use
after t h e d i s m e m b e r m e n t of t h e O t t o m a n
Empire at t h e e n d of the first world war, to
indicate the strategically important territories with fabulous p e t r o l e u m deposits,
newly conquered by B r i t a i n a n d France
and which w e r e previously included in t h e
general t e r m of N e a r East.
Collier's Eneylopaedia defines Middle
East as "comprising t h a t expanse of territory in which Asia, Africa a n d E u r o p e
converge". This would include Iraq, Syria,
Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, A r a b i a a n d
Egypt. Some definitions include Sudan,
Libya, Tunis, A l g e r i a and e v e n Morocco,
which m a k e s t h e t e r m synonymous w i t h
the " A r a b World".
Iran (and e v e n beyond) is often included
a n d sometimes also T u r k e y a n d Greece
(but not Cyprus): Greece, because it was
within the N e a r East which Middle East
has now largely replaced. T u r k e y and
Greece, together with.the lands a r o u n d t h e
Eastern e n d of t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n w e r e
formerly called t h e Levant. T h e A m e r i c a n
State D e p a r t m e n t still employs officially
the t e r m N e a r E a s t r a t h e r t h a n M i d d l e
East.
O n e dictionary divides t h e East, always
in relation to E u r o p e , into N e a r East, Far
East for C h i n a a n d Japan, l e a f i n g Middle
East to cover India a n d Pakistan, which
seems logical[
M a n y Middle E a s t e r n people are beginning to object having to adhere to terms
d e v i s e d by t h e i r former colonisers a n d
imperia/masters.
Incidentally, prevailing conditions i n t h e
Middle E a s t after t h e establishment of the
State of Israel, prevented us from returning home. Thus, o u r honeymoon lasted 25
months travelling to m a n y c o u n t r i e s - N e w
year at M o n t e Carlo, Olympic G a m e s at St
Moritz a n d London. I was i n f o r m e d by t h e
Guinness Book o f Records t h a t this is v e r y
dose to the longest h o n e y m o o n on their
records.
W e r e t u r n e d to Baghdad in 1950, from
N e w Y o r k w h e r e w e w e r e planning to
settle, in order to start, w i t h m y M o s l e m
partner, t h e Coca-Cola bottling operations
for the w h o l e of Iraq, w h i l e the IraqiJewish community was preparing for its
historic mass aliya to IsraelO
My a t t a c h m e n t to you comes from my
origin and I a m transmitting to my four
children t h e pride of having Babylonian
Jewry in our roots.
T h e picture of the Babylonian Rabbis
(Scribe 58) brought out some feverish
excitement, as (Chief Rabbi) H a k h a m
D a v i d Papu is great-grandfather to m y
children, and this was t h e first time h e is
m o r e t h a n a n a m e : a face, a presence.
T h a n k you ScribeO
Geneva
Mine Jeannette Aykut-Rejwan
P a g e 10
Reception on the occasion of the new Israeli Embassy at New Delhi on 18 May 1993.
F r o m left to right: D r S S M a h a p a t r a , Patron of All-India Indo-Israel Friendship League;
Justice H R Khanna; President of the League; Mr Shimon Peres, Israel Foreign. Minister;
Mr Vusantrao Shinde, Secretary & T r e a s u r e r ; M r s Sarojini Mahishi, C h a i r m a n New Delhi
Branch; H . E . M r E p h r a i m Duck, First Israeli Ambassador to India at New Delhi; Ms Sophy
Ka,re
INDO ISRAEL FRIENDSHIP LEAGUE
From:
Ms Sophy Kelly
H o n Secretary
~"A'~
~
H i l l Grange Residential Complex
13A Pedder Road
Bombay 400 026, India
I cannot congratulate you e n o u g h for the supberb publication of The Scribe - it is a
unique publication, f r o m a n y Jewish perspective - religious, historical, Baghdadi,
Sephardic, Babylonian, or Biblical.
It is spiritually elevating which is simultaneously refreshing. Its excellence surpasses
description, a n d all t h e issues, since its inception, h a v e already m a d e deep inroads and
invaluable historic records into Jewish history a n d the Jewish Bible, and the story of w h a t is
k n o w n as Z i o n i s m today can b e traced to t h e roots of t h e Babylonian Jewish civilisation
w h e r e the spiritual romance with the God of t h e Hebrews took birth.
Indeed, t h e A l m i g h t y has showered his blessings on you abundantly, to h a v e the
privilege to publish such a wonderful paper.
Y o u are part a n d parcel of t h e miraculous resurrection of the State of Israel, the
Renaissance of Judaism a n d above all t h e H e b r e w Babylonian eivilisation which embraces
all the aforesaid.
A n i m p o r t a n t feature of t h e D i n n e r at t h e Jewish Club on the occasion of the H a b o n i m
B o m b a y R e u n i o n was t h a t two representatives from the B B C World Service kindly and
graciously covered the function and recorded Mrs E z r a Aboody's conversation. T h e same
was broadcast on 7 M a r c h 1993 a n d repeated o n 8 M a r c h 1993, along with the recordings of
the special interview t h e y granted to m e personally at Hill Grange.
W i t h the establishment of diplomatic relations between India a n d Israel, t h e Indo Israel
Friendship L e a g u e , which was founded in t h e w a k e of the Six D a y War, came to life.
T h e r e is a great enthusiasm and joy in all sections of Indian Society about the final
establishment of diplomatic relations. W e intend to establish a branch of our League in
each and every state in India. However, the L e a g u e is in acute n e e d of funds.
W h e n t h e I r a q i Jews w e r e in Bombay, they always came to the rescue in such situations,
but t h e r e is not e v e n a m i n y a n in the synagogue nowadays. Nevertheless, small in number
as w e are, w e h a v e e n o u g h influence a n d ha~;e already mustered a great deal of political
and m o r a l support f r o m the L o k Sabha a n d R a j y a Sabha (both Houses of Parliament).
W o u l d you kindly p e r m i t us to reproduce a few of y o u r valuable articles, either in the
16~al press or news handouts?
"Our library requires replenishing so books a b o u t Jews a n d Jewish history, about Israel
a n d h e r achievements, a b o u t t h e birth and survival of Judaism, will be most welcome and
appreciated.
I noticed from t h e M a i l i n g List you h a v e published t h a t no names from India are
included.
Scribe: The list t h a t appeared in t h e last issue is only o n e of 30 such lists t h a t are being
serialised in our j o u r n a l O
In answer to m y request, you sent m e
issue No. 58 which I read thoroughly. M y
s o n was b o r n in N e w Y o r k . H e is 31 years
old a n d has m u c h interest in his parents'
heritage. H e wants to k n o w everything
a b o u t our life in B a g h d a d a n d t h e language
we spoke a n d a r e still speaking at h o m e .
C a n you please send m e all the back
issues?O
Forest Hills, NY
William M o S l e m
I a m D r Shlomo Basil's sister. I have
b e e n very m o v e d to see in the March issue
of The Scribe t h e picture of t h e Baghdad
Medical College with m y brother and all
his friends w h o m I k n e w personally. I will
be grateful if you can include m e among
those to w h o m you send The Scribe and
e v e n m o r e thankful if I can get it from
January 19930
Nave-Avivim, Israel
Hanna Rahamim
Finally w e h a v e our very own copy of
For years w e h a v e b e e n
reading o t h e r people's copies.
To give you a little background. Fred
grew up in Baghdad, L e b a n o n a n d France,
and I h a d m y early years in T e h e r a n and
England. W e m e t , got m a r r i e d a n d h a v e
lived in N e w Y o r k for 35 years. E v e r y
winter for the last 10 years w e h a v e b e e n
going to Ft. Lauderdale. W h a t a unique
and amazing experience. In 1983 t h e r e
w e r e about 110 people at a N e w Year's
Eve party there. Last year I believe over
400 attended and m a n y w e r e t u r n e d a w a y
because of space. T h e r e is no age barrier.
W e look forward to being t h e r e because we
have a n opportunity to r e n e w old friendships which h a v e a glow t h a t n e v e r fades
away. E a c h year w e say let's go s o m e w h e r e
else for a change, but the Ft. L a u d e r d a l e
magnet draws us b a c k O
Great Neck, N Y
D o r a Kooby
The Scribe
SCRI.BI
